The movie.
Crap.
The Mission was a whole lot better.
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I actually like PTU. The movie contains a lot of dark comedy elements, and the interactions between the characters were great. Story of the small potatoes.
I suppose you have either not seen The Mission or you might have forgotten that movie. PTU is very (reads “too”) similar to the Mission, but lacks the story or “room” which allowed the actor/actresses to perform.
Despite that fact that Yam Tat Wah (the leader cop)only had a very small role in the Mission and as a main charactor in PTU, he had a lot more room to play out his charactor in the Mission than PTU and did a much better job there. Whereas in PTU, both Yam and Lam Suit’s(the cop that lost his piece) charactors had much less difficulty in the role than their respective roles in the Mission to allow them to show their abilities in fine acting. That said, Lam Suit’s performance was still pretty good in PTU.
I remember the Mission well. There is no doubt about it that it’s very good. I do not however agree that the stories were similar.
The Mission had much grander story, and nearly all the main characters were competent and heros in their own ways. OTOH in the PTU nearly all the characters were pretty much losers, and as I said, “small potatoes” struggling to survive.
Notice that the IP (Yam’s superior officer) never showed his face, and Yam had to deal with the Orderly (of lower rank) as the authority. The WIP was all confidently in charge, but in the last scene she was shiting herself in the gun battle. Cynical, and I love it.
The triad member dying in the taxi was dark comedy done very well. The scene in Fong Wing Kee was just excellent, with the inconspicuous hitman as nice touch. I would say that the producers of Infernal Affairs II tried to copy a similar hotpot scene, but the tone was very different.
It looked like big shit was going to happen any minute, but that nothing really big came out of it added to the WTF factor. The audiences wanted to see heros, but this film failed to deliver any, so they were disappointed. In any case, an under-appreciated film I must say.
I didn’t mean their “story” are similar as I mentioned PTU did not have ‘the story or “room” which allowed the actor/actresses to perform’. I meant their formulae are similar.
The team work, the standing shoot out (without ducking a bit, which was very nice to watch in a movie but down right silly in real live in both movies), and right down to the shiting bit you mentioned which was also played out by the body guard in the restuarant who ended up mall floor mopping in the Mission were all so similar.
I’d agree the ever so long dying scene of the triad member in the taxi was possibly more realistic in real live than those in other movies who’d have died instantly; and it is so Monty Python’s mistery Black Knight in the Holy Grail like.
As far as under-appreciated is concerned, I think Yam Dat Wah is one of the most under-appreciated actors in Hong Kong who have so many good performances in so many movies up his sleeves and he had yet to have won any awards. Unlike Sak Gin the “bad guy” in many movies and the charactors were all played out alike, Yam’s “bad guy” and his movies were all played out well, beleivably, and (most importantly) differently, as they are not the same charactor. However, his being nominated as best actor in PTU was a surprising one since there wasn’t much room in PTU for him to show his capabilities.