Well, it looks like things are pretty much settled for the US remake of Infernal Affairs and I gotta say I’m not real pleased. According to The Hollywood Reporter the Scorsese helmed remake has been titled “The Departed”, and will star Leonardo Dicaprio as the deep cover cop infiltrating the mob with Matt Damon as the mobster infiltrating the police force.
While it’s not as bad as it could’ve been there’s no way this is going to match the tone of the original. They’ve gone much younger and much prettier with the casting and while both Damon and Dicaprio are skilled performers I just don’t see them being believable in these parts. The original film stars Andy Lau – who gives a career best performance – in the Damon role with Tony Leung – one of the finest dramatic actors in the world – in the Dicaprio part. Damon’s a better fit for his role, but I really don’t envy Dicaprio the task of following Leung’s power house performance and both stars are far too young to be playing characters that have been in deep cover roles for upwards of fifteen years. Scorsese strikes me as a solid choice as a director, but what’s with that title? “The Departed”? Sounds like a bad ghost story, not a cop thriller …
