Upon release, Infernal Affairs III was dismissed as a messy add-on. But time has been kind. Viewed today, through the lens of elevated genre cinema (from The Sopranos to Joker ), the film feels prescient.
This timeline follows Hon Sam’s (Eric Tsang) burgeoning triad empire and the early, desperate days of Chan Wing-Yan’s undercover work. Here, we meet a new character: Inspector Yeung (Leon Lai), a calm, mysterious officer working in Internal Affairs who begins to suspect Hon Sam has a mole in the force. Yeung is the spanner in the works—a wildcard whose morality remains opaque until the final frames. Infernal Affairs III
Rating: 5/5
The final ten minutes of Infernal Affairs III are among the most audacious in Hong Kong cinema. The film concludes with Ming, having killed all witnesses and secured his secret, walking free. He returns to the elevator—that infernal elevator—and steps inside. The doors close. Upon release, Infernal Affairs III was dismissed as