disdressed12 this prequel to the first movie is mixed bag,in my opinion.at times,i found it even more muddled and hard to follow than the first film.however the action sequences are very good here.and there are some really gripping edge of your seat moments.once i could figure out what was going on and who was who,i actually found myself getting really involved in the story and the action.overall,i did think it was more exciting than the first film and i cared more about the characters,which makes sense since the movie does delve into the past of the main characters.even though the movie felt muddled at times,the excitement and the gripping moments made up for it.for me,Mou gaan dou II is a 7/10

Michael DeZubiria There is an unusual relationship between Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II, which is the first sequel but is also a prequel and may even be better viewed before the first film. One of my Chinese friends, who suggested the trilogy to me, gave me part II first and said I could watch that before the original film, but I waited until I could buy the entire trilogy and watch them all in order. As it turns out, I may as well have listened to her. The premise is pretty much the same, a police officer working undercover for a mafia godfather, while the godfather has a trusted lieutenant working as a successful police inspector. Like the first film, it is an interesting play in the space between breaking and protecting the law, as each side is simultaneously living life as a criminal and law enforcement agent, which is clearly a difficult task.There is an interesting backdrop of the film of the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the 10 year anniversary of which I experienced here in central China last June. And let me tell you, these people are really happy to have Hong Kong. They don't mess around with fireworks. For the Chinese New Year, for example, fireworks are set off almost nonstop for WEEKS. Trust me. I'm literally hearing the last of it outside my window at this very moment. None of this 30 minutes just after midnight nonsense!It's true that the sequel is slightly lesser than the brilliant first film, but it is an engaging crime drama, especially impressive because of the performances of Police Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong) and the gangster Sam (Eric Tsang), who were in charge of placing the moles on the opposing team, you might say. They are good friends and seem to have an easy relationship, except that each pretty much knows what the other is doing, they just don't know everything. And like in the original, this is a recipe for a pretty absorbing crime film.

movieman_kev Time hopping and "Godfather" homages are the order of the day in this prequel to the masterpiece of Infernal Affairs 1. Helping to flesh out the back story of Ming, Yan, Inspector Wong and future Triad boss Sam. Sam's rise to power is damn good, and Francis NG really came into his own with this film and proved he definitely has the chops as a rival Triad boss whom both sides want taken down. Also it's interesting to see how the rising of the 'bad guys' corresponds with the downfalls and hardships of the 'good guys'. Lines are blurred further then they were in the first film. But this film is very impenetrable if one hasn't seen the first film (and if you haven't, shame on you go buy/rent it NOW), hell it's still a tad confusing even if you did. And the original's fast pace is replaced by more of a methodical slow-burn (not to be mistaken for boring as this film is definitely not that). Despite the differences, this film remains the same awesome quality as the original and comes highly recommended My Grade: A

iggster_194 The film is about loyalty, friendship and commitment to duty. These are strong themes in gangster and Chinese movies (great combo huh?). It does have a strong similarity to the Godfather movies and walks the fine line between over romanticizing the genre and dealing with reality. It does show that gangsters can be people too - even the most ruthless of them. I suppose that the only complaint that I have is that while the Andy Lau (or will be Andy) character looks a lot like him, the Tony Leung character does not. I have to say that the screenplay for this film (as it the case with the first one) is very strong and deals with the character development in a way that I've not seen in any other Chinese movie. I actually cringe at what Scorcese might make of this series. He's a fine teacher but as a director he's been doing junk for quite a while.