Just out of curiosity, are most of the people who are saying "infernal affairs" is better than "the departed" Asian?
Im Chinese by the way and i thought Departed was better. However, I think it really depends on if you grew up in an American or Chinese society.
I'm Greek, not prejudiced against Asian cinema (in fact I love many Asian movies more than their remakes-if they have one-), but I believe the Departed is by far superior to IA, especially in direction, character development and central theme.
shareJust watched IA after seeing TD first. I enjoyed both, but I feel TD has better character development, acting and directing all in all.
shareneither blew me away, so I can't even answer in any meaningful way. Might have enjoyed the departed a little bit more but I remember Infernal Affairs being slightly better and less over-the-top. Both were good, not great but I don't think either one made the best out of the initial story idea. It sounds absurd but I would actually prefer another remake to see the potential flourish.
shareboth are different movie that just so happen share some same plot, IA is revolves around the buddhist philosophy of The Unceasing Path", a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism, where one endures suffering incessantly, and karma of some sort, while departed just purely a crime drama with plots borrow from IA... with better budget, actors and setting, without any ties to any grand message to the movie.
in IA... nobody is innocent all of them have sin and they got their own karma in return while andy lau character got the worse of it by having to endure the eternity of living hell in his mind for the rest of his life...
“The worst of the Eight Hells is called Continuous Hell. It has the meaning of Continuous Suffering. Thus the name.” – The Buddha "
Nicely put! A matter of taste for the audience I guess. IA made me feel something, mainly sadness. For almost all the characters. The Hollywood version took the same plots and made me feel nothing. But I can see how people may prefer the more mainstream movie with familiar faces, and a faster pace. Compare Martin Sheen vs SP Wong's death scenes. That pretty much is the epitome of the difference in each movie.
shareI am german and think Infernal Affairs is vastly superior. It's more subtle, character driven, doesn't rely on profanity, is more plausible and has a better ending (although I wish both ended differently).
However, I watched Infernal Affairs first, so that might also have to do with it.
I'm half German half french chinese portuguese, IA was better because it was. Thats that lol. Ontop of scorsese taking the idea and not doing anything original, there are countless other reasons why it is better.
shareI'm not Chinese either nor am I American but I have a fondness for American films more than others. I even prefer some American remakes over the original ones but I personally prefer IA over TD. I find that I could relate to the characters in IA over those in TD. But perhaps I'm biased as I saw IA long before TD and found it highly original and exciting.
Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel
While I will say that The Departed is a more "entertaining" film, I feel like Infernal Affairs is a better film based on the strength of its writing and acting. IA tells the exact same story but does it in only around 100 minutes when the Departed is almost a full hour longer. There's a lot of extra fat in The Departed that just drags the narrative down. The acting is also much better in IA. Jack Nicholson and Adam Baldwin were checking in from a different planet and they were both so over the top and it was irritating more than entertaining. DiCaprio and Damon were alright but they've both done better work elsewhere. Leung and and Lau were both amazing and really embodied their roles in my opinion, while Tsang and Wong were equally impressive.
A lot of the extra sleaze and profanity in the Departed was also unnecessary imo. I don't mind it so much in other Scorsese films like Goodfellas, but it just felt forced in The Departed. Infernal Affairs is also much more subtle in how it conveys its themes and the symbolism it chooses to use. The Departed in contrast gives us a CGI rat...
I will admit that Scorsese is a better director than Lau and Mak which makes The Departed more engaging as a result, but IA is still a better film. I just need to be in a more cerebral mood to watch it.