The Departed (and Infernal Affairs)

[hipeach]

I heard this year's Oscar winner The Departed is a remake of a Chinese movie called Infernal Affairs. Are they good? Which one is better? If I'm to rent one of these two movies, which one do you think I should rent?

[FubaredByAnime]

I thought both movies were good, but not masterpieces as admirers on both sides claim them to be. I prefer that people judge a movie on its own merits rather than comparison, though I have to admit I do tend to compare the two films together.

Watch infernal affairs first, as it's a shorter, tighter effective thriller and you'll get the basic gist of the story. The Departed pretty much copies the original story and tries to make a much grander crime drama out of it, making the movie 2 1/2 hours long. Personally, I felt they screwed up the original plot much worse in making the Departed, but Martin Scorsese's direction and the acting of Dicaprio, Nicholson, Damon and Wahlberg do make up a lot for some of that.

[jedinat]

Yeah this movie was way overhyped for me, though I'll admit I don't really like the genre. My brother went on about it from the time he saw in theaters until he bought it on dvd and I watched it. I mean it was okay, but not anything I'd ever consider watching again. I actually thought it was kind of boring... the only thing notable about it was the almost pedestrian way in which major characters were killed.

[WanderingKnight]

I went to watch it to a theater in the first week of its release... I liked the movie, but it's definitely not one of my top 10.

the only thing notable about it was the almost pedestrian way in which major characters were killed.

Spoiler for final scene:

"Oh, okay..."

xD

[Kinny Riddle]

It's good to see Scorsese finally win. I like the moment when he came up and asked if Steven Speilberg (who read out Scorsese's name) had read the name on the letter wrong, since he was used to losing.

Seen the original Hong Kong version and thought it was awesome. Not seen Scorsese's version, but I hear it's quite faithful to the original. Though the plot of Scorsese's previous works, like Taxi Driver and Gangs of New York, were far superior to Infernal Affairs/The Departed, I guess this is the Academy's way of correcting its past mistakes of not awarding Scorsese with the Best Director award.

[Sazelyt]

Originally Posted by Kinny Riddle

It's good to see Scorsese finally win. I like the moment when he came up and asked if Steven Speilberg (who read out Scorsese's name) had read the name on the letter wrong, since he was used to losing.

I think the discussion among the big three (Lucas, Coppola, Spielberg) was more amusing. And, I thought, that Lucas was there to give comfort to Scorcese in case he hadn't won it - as he never won one himself. But, maybe, they were all made as the announcers to present the award to a long-term friend who is as great as them. Also, I thought before the announcement that Scorsese had already prepared himself for a loss - exactly opposite of Peter O'toole.

[hipeach]

Originally Posted by kayos

Don't be cheap, you could probably cop out another $1-$5 dollars. Both movies are good, just at their own level. I couldn't compare them, I saw them as two different movies with the same plot.

it's not about money as much as I usually don't like watching the same plot twice, that's why I never watch a movie more than once, the only exception being Brave Heart. maybe I'll try both this time, thx

[hipeach]

I think the Chinese movie is named Infernal Affairs, not Internal Affairs?

[NoSanninWa]

The typo in the thread title was my fault. It has now been fixed. Thank you.

[hipeach]

lol, just heard that ABC mis-announced Infernal Affairs as a Japanese movie, and Penelope Cruz as a Mexican

[Bandersnatch]

I loved The Departed, thought it was much better than Infernal Affairs. Thought they pulled off the ending better in Departed. Haven't seen the other Infernal Affairs movies yet. Anyone else notice they seemingly refused to call Infernal Affairs by name when talking about The Departed? In all the commercials, at the Oscars, no mention of Infernal Affairs by name. Always was "based on an asian film" or something like that. They should of given a little credit where credit is due, especially after it just won an award.

[Knightmare213]

@Bandersnatch: Everyone who had seen the original trilogy and then The Departed said that the trilogy was better made. As for me, I've only seen the first one. However, I'll probably pick up the last two whenever I have the chance.


Also, anyone heard that there might be a The Departed 2?

[Jiji]

Probably will not be a "Departed 2", since The Departed pretty much took the plot of all three movies (Infernal Affairs I - III) for it's screenplay. As for if it's good or not; well, it doesn't have lots of explosions, loud noises and shiny things but it has phenominal acting, masterful direction, and of course (Scorsese's actual forte) great editing. It says something that DiCaprio, who I have never seen as anything but a punk in anything he's done until now, was actually beleivable and *good*. Hard to believe, I know.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Ueda

Probably will not be a "Departed 2", since The Departed pretty much took the plot of all three movies (Infernal Affairs I - III) for it's screenplay. As for if it's good or not; well, it doesn't have lots of explosions, loud noises and shiny things but it has phenominal acting, masterful direction, and of course (Scorsese's actual forte) great editing. It says something that DiCaprio, who I have never seen as anything but a punk in anything he's done until now, was actually beleivable and *good*. Hard to believe, I know.

Well, he was impressive as well in Blood Diamond where he played a South African mercenary, albeit with a crappy Rhodesian-Afrikaner accent (from what I've read).

In fact, the first time I saw him as more than just a pretty face from Titanic was when he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in the Steven Spielberg directed Catch Me If You Can in 2002. Blood Diamond saw him mature even more, though he's still got a long way to go.

[Legend Ver 2]

infernal affairs 2 was actually a prequel, and 3 was a continuation of the first one with new characters coming into the story.

wut i liked about the original was all the black suits and leather jackets of all the cops and traids. the dress code, for the lack of a better word, was too casual for my tastes after all the other action govt related movies such as bourne identity and bond series, where everybody seems to wear long coats and suits

[-KarumA-]

so it was a sort of remake, damn i was seeing that movie with my mom and seriously all i could think about was Infernal Affairs and i first thought it was kinda rip off, but heck as i watched i thought the movie was quite awsome

for me even beter than Infernal Affairs, though for originality id still vote for Infernal Affairs, but it is probably one of the best pimped up movies ive seen

[hipeach]

Now I kinda dislike DiCaprio's character, at times he seems to be too emotional (even hysterical) to be a successful undercover cop IMO, I'm not sure if it's his acting or the writing.