Mou gaan dou 2002

Critics score:
95 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Asia is seizing another of our taken-for-granted, creatively neglected staples, the cop movie, and again shows us how relevant and entertaining it can be when given proper respect. Read more

Allison Benedikt, Chicago Tribune: Beauty in its consistent, washed-out blues and silvers, grace in its understated, intense male performances and energy in its unyielding commitment to tone and tension. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Everything you'd want in a police action thriller: powerhouse performances, Grade A production values, a good script and suspenseful direction. Read more

Boston Globe: Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: What gives Infernal Affairs its heat is the friction of who-am-I psychology and cool Hong Kong-style action. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: It's hard to resist the charismatic teaming of Tony Leung and Andy Lau as a cop and a criminal wearing like hats for cross purposes. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Smart, snazzy entertainment. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: The movie's engine is the relationships and the characters' inner lives, all of it boiling with emotional intensity. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: This stripped-down noir, about a pair of detectives leading undercover lives, signals a new era for Hong Kong filmmaking. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: What makes it special is the inner turmoil caused by living a lie. If everyone you know and everything you do for 10 years indicates you are one kind of person, and you know you are another, how do you live with that? Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: One of the truest American gangster films of all time. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A beautifully crafted, exciting story that keeps on surprising you to the very end. Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: Skilfully directed by cinematographer Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Infernal Affairs has the feel of a made-for-prime-time U.S. police thriller. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: It's amazing there haven't been a dozen movies like it. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: It offers a fairly fresh variation on a done-to-death genre. Read more

Derek Elley, Variety: Superbly honed at both script and performance levels, with character taking precedence over action. Read more

Dennis Lim, Village Voice: Spins in place with aplomb, generating exponentially more vertiginous doublings with each sweaty-palmed set piece. Read more