I am not ashamed to be a fan of Infernal Affairs, and consider it superior to the American remake. This film is just another version, but it does have some charm of its own.The basic premise is the same. The cops are infusing 1000 police into the Triad to break them up. After one is found, they must rush to get arrests done before any more are found.Both Andy Lau (Inspector Lau Ming) and Tony Leung's (Yan) names were mentioned in this movie. I thought that to be funny.The movie includes Shawn Yue as "Killer." Yue played young Yan in the Infernal Affairs trilogy. In addition, Eric Tsang is back. he played Hon Sam in the trilogy, and is a Triad under-boss here. He is the best part of the movie.The movie itself has some very funny moments and doesn't seem to take itself too seriously. There are only two or three killings - they are done with a machete.Jim (Tsang) is a boss that seems to be so good that he could easily be your uncle. Of course, he does order people killed. The most interesting, and non-Triad film part, is when he falls in love. I'm sorry, I just cannot image Tony Soprano or Don Corleone falling in love, but Jim does. I am talking about love, too, not even a kiss, and he is head over heels. The object of his affection is Sonija Kwok; someone I am definitely going to look out for as she was darling. The fact that she was Miss Hong Kong of 1999 doesn't play into it. Remember, there wasn't even a kiss between. This was pure romance, and it was touching to see him IMing love notes to her just before he ...(a great scene).They certainly set this up for a sequel as the mole (Francis Ng) is blackmailed into continuing when Superintendent Mok (Yuan Nie) takes over after Superintendent Wai (Kiu Wai Miu) has a crisis of conscience.An enjoyable film.

This film has a strong ensemble cast including silver screen veterans like Eric Tsang and Francis Ng. The premise of the movie is that HK police sent hundreds of undercover cops to infiltrate the various gangs in HK. However, that plot element is relegated to a very minor role as the film is more about focusing on the lives and internal struggles of the gang leaders as they cope with internal conflict among gang factions and the gang's survival is threatened. There are funny moments in this film and a few moving scenes as well, but there's no consistent pacing and the plot never had coherent progression. If the film makers were going for realism, they ruined it with a ridiculous and lame romance subplot involving a gang leader and a beautiful young woman who apparently loves to chat up weird looking middle aged men wandering alone late at night. (And no, the character is not a hooker) That subplot does lead to a hilariously unrealistic death scene so perhaps there is a small payoff.

"Wo Hu" literally translates to "Crouching Tiger" (yeah yeah, one half of that famous Chinese proverb/movie of the same title), which refers to hidden talents, agendas and the likes. In yet another Hong Kong triad movie produced by the infamous Wong Jing, Operation Undercover (the less stylish English title) tells the story of how Hong Kong's police sent a rumoured thousand undercover cops to infiltrate the triads at all levels, leading to numerous high profiled arrests of triad members.But no, this story doesn't begin and end just like that. It's actually a misnomer of a plot device, and you're not going to see thousands of similar Tony Leung/Andy Lau characters invading the screen. In fact, this movie is anything but pitting mole against mole. While the story may seem to be familiar, with the theme of the discovery and realization of bad hats in any organization, and those whose hearts and intentions are pure, the delivery, although stylistically looking similar to Infernal Affairs with its strained blue hues, actually excelled, very much dependent on the ensemble cast.It's great to see Miu Kiu Wai back on the big screen after a long hiatus. In fact, this film had a number of actors whom we haven't seen for a while. With Wai playing a police superintendent, the rest make up the triads. I haven't seen Julian Cheung take on a bad guy role before, even though his scheming character here is nothing to shout about. Regular insane character actor Francis Ng returns to his mould, although his performance here surpassed the recent Exiled and On the Edge. A welcome return is Jordan Chan, famed for his dynamic pairing with Ekin Cheng in the Young and Dangerous franchise, playing a hen- pecked and muddled gangster chief, and rounding up the triad organization at the top, is Eric Tsang, probably in a role we're so familiar with given his Infernal Affairs connection. Shawn Yue cameos too as an assassin with few words.Given the slew of movies in the same genre, you might balk at this one, given the low level publicity muscle, and probable thoughts of it emulating Election or Infernal Affairs. But the filmmakers perhaps realized the inevitable comparisons, and have early in the movie, given subtle jibes at those other movies, as a reminder that hey, we're from the same genre, but we're not emulating anyone, although the themes and plots might be threading the same ground. It doesn't take the typical microscopic look at the life of undercovers, but adopts a macroscopic view instead. Suggestions were provided as to how undercover cops lead their lives, and how much license they are given to walk on the wrong side of the law. Sadly this potentially interesting aspect wasn't looked into much, and came more of an afterthought following a surprising revelation.The usual scheming and double crossings surface rather fast and furious in the second half of the movie, and it's quite puzzling to wonder why a bit part mushy romance was thrown in to upset the pace. While the subplot might be used to gain some sympathy for the characters involved, it could have been a darker film should this aspect not be explored, and it's quite unnecessary at times. My guess would be actually for the actress to make some kind of debut performance and sharing the credits with a rather stellar cast. Or perhaps to highlight the point again that some gangsters do have hearts (of gold) as well.The finale, if wrapped up earlier, could have made the movie feel more compact and satisfying. However, it chose to end abruptly, and leaving things so open, there is room for a possible sequel. I won't hold my breath for that to happen though.

I saw this film last week at a cinema in Guangzhou, and although I enjoyed it, I was wondering how to classify it. It has a lot of humour in it, but it is certainly more a film about organised crime than a comedy. I won't spoil any plot details by giving character names, but one death in the film is particularly sad, and the scene is rather well done. Also a rather amusing scene involving a minor car accident had the audience laughing too, and I must admit it made me laugh! This is an interesting film, but I think it will be difficult to find a print of this film that has English subtitles for a while yet. Still, check it out if you can!