Mou gaan dou II (2003)

Directors:

Wai-keung Lau
Siu Fai Mak

Writers:

Siu Fai Mak (written by) and
Felix Chong (written by)

Release Date:

1 October 2003 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The Birth Of A Legend (Yi Ge Chuan Qi De Dan Shen)

Plot:

In this prequel to Mou gaan dou (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss.

Plot Keywords:

Thailand | Shot In The Forehead | Gang War | Drug Traffic | Police Academy

Awards:

4 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Inspector Wong Chi Shing (as Anthony Wong)
Eric Tsang	...	Hon Sam
Carina Lau	...	Mary Hon
Francis Ng	...	Ngai Wing Hau
Edison Chen	...	Officer Lau Kin Ming
Shawn Yue	...	Chan Wing Yan
Jun Hu	...	SP Luk (as Hu Jun)
Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung	...	Kwun (as Joe Cheung)
Henry Fong	...	Gandhi (as Fong Ping)
Peter Ngor	...	Negro
Arthur Wong	...	Wah
Teddy Chan	...	Ching
Chung-yue Chiu	...	Mary (as Yu Chiu)
Phorjeat Keanpetch	...	Sunny
Shipin Ye	...	Socialites (as Ye Shi Pin)

Also Known As:

Infernal Affairs II (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title) (Singapore: English title)
Wu jian dao 2 (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

119 min | Germany:110 min (TV version)

Country:

Hong Kong | China | Singapore

Language:

Cantonese | English | Mandarin | Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Malaysia:18SG | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15A (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | UK:15

Company:

Media Asia Films

Trivia:

The line that SP Wong says, "Evil prevails. Only the good die young," is a simplified translation of what he actually says in Cantonese which is an old Chinese saying.

Quotes:

Ngai Wing-Hau: My father always says "what goes around comes around."

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Departed (2006)

Soundtrack:

BLACK HAWK

Engrossing and intelligent prequel

A loose prequel to 2002's hit Infernal Affairs, this goes back to the 1980s and '90s when the Hong Kong police force and the city's ruling triad sent undercover agents into each other's organisations.

Tony Leung and Andy Lau are missed as the supermoles (played here by young look-alikes) but directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak have something smart up their sleeves, shifting the emphasis of the story onto the able shoulders of the pair's world-weary veteran superiors. Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang are excellent as the morally compromised cop and likable but capable capo, ageing friends who understand they stand just over the line from each other.

A knowledge of the first film helps navigate the labyrinthine plots of the dizzying opening act but once it finds its pace, it's a slick, slow-burning thriller all the way – marred only by the directors' occasional lapse into Godfather pretensions – while the backdrop of 1997's hand-over of Hong Kong is effective shorthand for the huge changes taking place within the forces of both law and disorder.