Last Movie before Exams?

Watched The Departed with Yining in the evening today at The Cathay. As everybody knows, The Departed is adapted from Hong Kong's Infernal Affairs. Martin Scorsese helms the Hollywood version and he does a great job in creating his own style and adding new elements in the script. Jack Nicholson is brilliant as the looney mafia boss who discharges people with bullets without emotions. Leonardo DiCaprio also shines in his role originally played by Tony Leong as the undercover cop working under Costello. With a screentime of 2 hrs 30 mins, Martin Scorsese manages to engage audiences and keep them in suspense throughout the entire movie. The occasional black humour, the dirty talk, gazillions of expletives and the brutal violence keep this film gritty and dark. There are many winning performances including an unexpectedly good performance by Mark Wahlberg as the foul-mouthed and sarcastic detective.

Although this film stands on its own, i can't help but compare the 2 films subconsciously throughout the movie. Knowing almost all of the twists and turns in the script, i was not really surprised, shocked or overwhelmed. However, this film is a must watch for those who have not seen the original fantastic Infernal Affairs.
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