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Revive FTW.
When I saw FilmFour was becoming free and that Infernal Affairs was going to be on that night I was so happy.
Infernal Affairs: There wasn't much in the way of action, but the tension and build-up to the meeting between the two main characters at the end was great. The atmosphere and style was very nice. The score was very good too. However, the finale was frustrating. I was annoyed at how Tony Leung didn't require the other mole in the police force to throw down his weapon at the end. After all, it would've made sense for him to do so, but then the ending couldn't have been the way it was. Fortunately, the sequence was smooth and didn't feel forced. Furthermore, Leung could've easily exposed Lau at the police station when Lau went off to retrieve his file. There, no-one would've shot him and he would be deemed a hero.
Tony Leung is one of my favourite actors. The first time I saw him in a film was in Hard Boiled, which was brilliant, but I've watched him deliver impressive performances in Hero, Bullet in the Head, In the Mood for Love and now Infernal Affairs.
Still, I recommend Infernal Affairs.
City on Fire: The lead actors are Danny Lee and Chow Yun Fat, the same two leads in The Killer. The action scenes aren't that good, the dialogue isn't too bad but the plot and "twists" are only mediocre. I felt it was particularly let down by the build-up at the start which made the gang that Chow Yun Fat had to sell weapons to, to be really good but then it turned out they were somewhat inexperienced and didn't seem as much of a threat as the police made them out to be. The ending wasn't surprising, although quite sad like many Hong Kong action films I've seen. It may be worth your time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch this again.
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