Operation Undercover (2006)
Operation Undercover (2006) 5/10
The success of Infernal Affairs has spawned a slew of similarly themed undercover cop flicks. Operation Undercover is one such Infernal Affairs clone with a hook; Instead of sending one undercover, the police force decides to sent a big group of cops undercover. As in hundreds of cops infiltrating the triads. Such a twist, as unrealistic as it may be, is actually quite an interesting take on a tired genre and with polished execution it may even be good. Unfortunately, this is a Wong Jing film, which means any expectations that the film might actually be good quickly gets dashed soon. Although the film boasts of a impressive cast, amongst them Eric Tsang, Francis Ng and a few other HK film regulars, the film is a fairly predictable, unexciting ride. This is mainly because after setting up the hook of having hundreds of cops undercover, the scriptwriter promptly forgets about the hook. It then segues into a predictable gangland drama, with all the requisite backstabbing and triad feuds. The “undercover” motiff is quickly forgotten and the film inexplicably chooses to develop peripheral subplots, including a strange romantic subplot involving Eric Tsang. Having said that, the excellent cast save the film by making it at least somewhat watchable, but there is nothing particularly remarkable about this flick. Overall, a mediocre effort.
