the audience applauded

A Major Disappointment

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Infernal Affairs III is a movie about what happened before and after the highly successful film,Infernal Affairs.It tells us the story of how Yan infiltrated Sam's group as an undercover police;the extent of the relationship between Yan and his psychologist; and finally,the pains,trials and tragedies that Ming has to go through after he finally became a real cop now that he no longer works for the Triad mob.I think that this was better than Infernal Affairs II,a film that tells about the story of the youngsters Yan and Ming in their lives in the police academy BUT it could never surpass the greatness of the first Infernal Affairs,a cat-and-mouse chase between Yan and Ming while working for the Police and Triad mob respectively.The third Infernal Affairs was a good movie to tie the gaps on what happened before the cat-and-mouse chase between Yan and Ming. But it wasn't as great as the first one in terms of the suspense and thriller that it brought.Aside from that,one has to know what happened in the first film to fully appreciate this film. One cannot watch independently as one has to know fully well what happened in the first film unlike installment movies like Superman,Spiderman or Mission Impossible. Indeed,one should have a clear understanding of the story of Infernal Affairs unlike Infernal Affairs II,a film that could possible stand on its own.The acting was still excellent in the film.Andy Lau and Tony Leung provides honesty to their portrayal of Ming and Yan respectively.Eric Tsang and Francis Wong delivered as they reprise their role as Sam and Inspector Wong respectively.But special mention should be given to Leon Lai,who portrayed the enigmatic police officer,Yeung. Although the first movie was flawless,this third installment of Infernal Affairs was somewhat slow especially in telling the story of Ming after Yan was killed. Some scenes seemed forced. Although,this movie tried its best to be a psychological thriller rather than a suspense action thriller to distinguish itself in the first two Infernal Affairs film.But nevertheless,I still find this film a great view despite of falling short as a great and classic film like the first one.A 10/10 rating is justifiable.Highly recommended and it provides great entertainment.

The last installment in the Infernal Affairs trilogy is surprisingly slow moving, but still has the high production values and intricate story of the first two, although as a whole it is slightly less engaging than the preceding films. There have been a lot of comparisons between this trilogy and The Godfather films, and the similarities in story-telling structure and the overall arc of the sequels are definitely there, although I have to admit that I think the Godfathers exist on an entirely different level as these films. The Infernal Affairs films are good, but they're not THAT good.There is a lot of work in bringing together the stories of the first two films and it definitely adds to them, but I found this one to be too slow moving, although the pace picked up by the third act and the final scene is definitely impressive.On the other hand, the trilogy ends on a serious downer - "Ksitigarbha Sutra - 'People of the like shall be cast into the Avinci Hell and will continue to suffer from Kalpas to Kalpas with no means of escape.'I may as well just admit that I don't know the meaning or source of this quote, but it sure seems like a depressing note to end the trilogy on. Nevertheless, despite being just a little bit of a let-down (like countless trilogy finales), Internal Affairs 3 is a necessary closure, and Asian cinema fans are sure to eat it up.

What exactly is her intention when dealing with Ming? Nick_Vorobyov said that she was contacted by Shen and was trying to test if Ming is a spy.But that doesn't make a lot of sense.Especially when she received the tape from Yan. and she called Ming without even listening to it.If she does not trust Ming, why doesn't she at least see what the tape is about?Also, she seemed more or less shocked when Ming confessed to her "I don't want to be Sam's guy anymore."So when she showed Yan's profile to Ming(or did she do it unintentionally?) on her computer and later hinted him the password, what exactly was she trying to do?

While in the U.S. the 3rd movie of anything is suppose to be the large-scale, big-budget, battle-destruction-galore ending to a series, Infernal Affairs 3 shamelessly does the opposite and delivers an introspective look devoid of any "battle" scene at all. Now that IA has become somewhat of a cult following (ironically the story is not meant to go any further) it seems fitting that we are delivered a film as if the cutting-room floor pieces were placed together from the previous two movies and sequenced for the conclusion.The story attempts to elaborate the most important details of the series and not presenting them in sequence, only a handful of present scenes exist which each are periodically given a large delve into the past. IA 3 explores what happened leading up to many scenes in the first Infernal Affairs which is really pretty neat for anyone who watches movies and seen the first. As a result its a jumble and mix of scenes giving you dates of when they occur (sometimes eliciting humor) and glimpsing every single character in the series as if they were the past but really filmed new for the movie. And in this way follows Yan and Ming's characters as they progress to their fates.But it seems perhaps that by doing so, the movie is simply what was left out in the first film and anyone new to the series will obviously not understand the significance of what is going on other than the artsy cinematography of white-washed cool hues, steady camera work, and continual sponsorship of devices and products. This also includes the chaotic, dizzy feeling of progressing back and forth sometimes not knowing when you are (as with scenes that occur in Ming's mind only). Perhaps only the avid movie goer will realize Mo Gan Do 3 is a representation of hell in a high-tech world, the redemption of Yan and Ming's fall into insanity. But most will be confused about why until they see it all.