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Review
by Kozo: |
It all ends here! After the solid blockbuster Infernal
Affairs, and the tense, meaty prequel Infernal
Affairs II, all the principals of the first flicks
regroup for Infernal Affairs III, a final blowout
epic which promises to decide once and for all the
fate of sneaky undercover triad guy Lau Kin-Ming (Andy
Lau). His opposite, the sneaky undercover cop Chan
Wing-Yan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), is not so lucky; his
fate was decided in the first film when he took a
bullet to the head from Billy (Gordon Lam), another
sneaky undercover triad guy. Still, this is an Infernal
Affairs movie. It can't just have one big star—it
has to have ALL the big stars. Not only does Andy
Lau return as the still sinister Ming, but IA
writers Alan Mak and Felix Chong have devised a way
for Tony Leung Chiu-Wau to continue haunting the streets
of Hong Kong as Yan. Give them credit for being creative,
as the filmmakers manage to craft a compelling and
surprisingly not totally ridiculous crime thriller—and
they do it with a record number of dead protagonists
returning for more.
IA3 takes place
in essentially two distinct time periods: the months
leading up to the death of Yan, and nearly a year
after his death. Here in the present time, Ming has
just been cleared of any charges in Yan's death, a
process that was more red tape than actual suspicion
of guilt. Still, he hasn't been sitting on his hands.
Apparently, when Ming offed Billy in the elevator
at the end of IA1, Billy offered up some interesting
news: some cassette tapes were delivered to Ming's
boss, which supposedly contained conversations between
bastard crimelord Sam (Eric Tsang) and his moles.
The tapes were intercepted by one of the moles, but
now months later the tapes have resurfaced in the
possession of Security Inspector Yeung (Leon Lai).
There were five moles, four of which are now dead
of missing. Ming knows he's the last one, but how
to make sure no one else finds out?
The path to Ming's goal
(total separation from his secret triad life) seems
a rather obvious one: finger someone else as the mole,
a task which seems a lot easier since Yeung apparently
had secret ties to Sam. Even more, Yeung has some
sort of relationship with Shen (Chen Dao-Ming of Hero),
a Mainland crimelord who had a deal going with Sam
over a year earlier. That deal is at the center of
Yan's tale, which unfolds during the time when he
was still under Sam's wing. Yan is still trying to
feed intel to Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong), but things
are murkier than he would like. Sam is paranoid and
unpredictable, and Yan frequently finds himself caught
in Sam's tricky mind games. Adding to the intrigue
is Yeung, who apparently was hip deep in Wong, Sam
and Yan's dealings before the events of IA1.
What is Yeung's deal? Was he in bed with Sam? Is he
now in bed with Shen? Will Ming frame Yeung as a triad
mole? Or will he simply expose that Yeung really IS
a triad mole? And will Ming ever get his supposed
heart's desire: to be a good guy?
The filmmakers have
set up a virtual cornucopia of potential plotlines,
doublecrosses and revelations for Infernal Affairs
III, a feat which brings the film dangerously
close to "confusing" territory. More asute
cinematic readers will be able to follow the film's
multiple storylines, which unfold with multiple flashbacks
and flashforwards, some intriguing "dream"
sequences, and more than a few misleading moments
that are meant to indicate the deteriorating mental
stability of one primary character. The filmmakers
should be given a lot of credit for devising the film's
complex storyline, which manages to take lots of dead
characters and bring them back in surprisingly vital
ways. However, for every three well-versed film watchers
who can decipher IA3's byzantine storyline,
there are probably seven popcorn-munchers who will
find themselves totally baffled. This is not an easy-to-digest
film, and even those who pay ultra-close attention
may find themselves annoyed. Despite the creative
narrative of the film, IA3 possesses more than
a few massive plot holes which simply do not hold
up on closer inspection. Going into them would veer
dangerously close to spoiler territory, but basically
it comes down to this: did ALL the events in IA3 really have to happen?
In all likelihood, the
answer to that question is "no", though
that's probably to be expected. The Infernal Affairs series is an incredibly polished trilogy of films,
but when you take one film and attempt to stretch
it into three, some marks are going to show. Plotwise,
the film takes things to cinematic extremes that probably
didn't have to exist, given all the evidence at hand.
Further stretching matters is the casting, which possesses
the IA hallmark of squeezing in as many big
stars as possible AND getting them to appear together
on more than one occasion. The fact that they can
cram Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Gordon Lam, Anthony Wong,
Eric Tsang, Chen Dao-Ming, Leon Lai AND Chapman To
into a single scene seems to be totally ridiculous,
but the filmmakers go for it and do it anyway. They
also manage to find a way to reunite Tony Leung and
Andy Lau for a total of five scenes, some of which
don't even take place in reality. If IA1 was
all about the chase, and IA2 was all about
the characters, then IA3 seems to be all about
big star face time.
Not that that's a bad
thing. In truth, the star-mania of Infernal Affairs
III is one of the things that makes it enjoyable,
if not too egregiously commercial. Andy Lau exudes
sinister charm as Ming, who reaches his destiny in
a way which may not please all fans, but is a fitting,
haunting fate nonetheless. Leon Lai is all opaque
charismatic cool as Yeung, and Chen Dao-Ming brings
gravity to the integral role of Shen. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
gets to chew his own scenery, though not in the same
way as the first film. Instead of the suffocating
inner turmoil that we saw in IA1, we get suave
ladykiller charm and goo-goo eyes aplenty. Kelly Chen
reprises her role from the first film as Dr. Lee,
Yan's appointed psychiatrist and the greatest-looking
health practioner ever. Thanks to the magic of flashbacks,
Lee and Yan get to flirt and make eyes at one another,
even though their romance is doomed to "what
if" territory. Their scenes are charming and
funny, and will likely be uber-satisfying to the popstar
chasers out there. Still, some will wonder: is all
of this really appropriate or necessary?
Again, the answer to
that question is probably "no". Infernal
Affairs III is not tightly crafted like the first
film, nor meaty and dramatic like the second. Instead,
it seems to be a gargantuan commercial vehicle meant
to give the masses want they want—and maybe a
little of what they don't want, too. The masses want
big stars, awesome production values and some cinematic
tension. You got it. More demanding moviegoers might
want intelligence, compelling plotlines and maybe
a little fitting tragedy. Hey, you got it...or maybe
sort of. IA3 tries to cram all of the above
and more into a two hour marathon, and does a decent
job of it. The filmmakers may not totally succeed
at all the above, but they try pretty hard to.
IA3 could have been
an easier film to make. A simple sequel detailing
Ming's fate—and not including Wong, Yan, Sam
and the other dead characters—would have been
just fine, but the filmmakers did not go the easy
route. Instead they tried to make something hugely
epic, and the result is a film which nearly capsizes
beneath weighty expectations and even weightier content.
When you try to hit every mark possible, you're bound
to miss a few, and they certainly do here. The big
flashback to Lee and Yan? Probably not necessary.
The continuing presence of Chapman To? Also not necessary.
Manufactured scenes with Andy Lau and Tony Leung?
Totally not necessary. But hey, who cares? This is
big, big commercial stuff, and somewhat compelling
and entertaining stuff, too. Infernal Affairs III will not be remembered for amazing filmmaking, but
those seeking Hong Kong Cinema—and the big stars,
iconic drama, and compelling twists it promises—should
be okay. (Kozo 2004) |
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