A Sequel With Substance?

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By Newsweek Editors

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Hong Kong's film industry is best known for churning out fun, mindless action flicks full of fancy martial-arts stunts. So it came as a pleasant surprise when "Infernal Affairs"--a thriller about a cop and a triad member, rich with suspense and plot twists--turned out to be last year's biggest box-office hit. The script was so strong that Warner Bros. bought the remake rights for $1.75 million; Brad Pitt is expected to star in the Hollywood version.

Those who fear something may get lost in the translation might want to hang around Hong Kong instead: the sequel--actually, a prequel--"Infernal Affairs II," is due out Oct. 1. (The third installment, filming now, will be released on Dec. 12.) But even Alan Mak Siu-fai, who co-directed the trilogy with Andrew Lau Wai-keung, has some misgivings this time. "I like all three movies, but I worry about the second one," he says. "It just doesn't have enough stars." The original featured the sharp-jawed Andy Lau Tak-wah ("Fulltime Killer") as a triad member who infiltrates the police force, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("In the Mood for Love," "Hero") as a cop who poses as a gangster. But since "IA2" looks at their earlier lives, the characters are played by younger actors, the lesser-known pop idols Edison Chen Koon-hei and Shawn Yue Man-lok. (Lau and Leung return in the third installment, which takes place two years after the original.) In making the trilogy, Mak says he focused only on Hong Kong--not Hollywood. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people just want to see a good Hong Kong movie," he says. "The last thing they want to watch is Hong Kong trying to mimic Hollywood." Because then who would Hollywood imitate?

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