Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong, it stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film follows an undercover Hong Kong Police Force officer who infiltrates a Triad, and another officer who is secretly a spy for the same Triad. It is the first in the Infernal Affairs series and is followed by Infernal Affairs II and Infernal Affairs III.
Theatrical release poster
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as David Bordwell suggested they were films that favor spectacle to storytelling, others such as Goeff King stated they allow the scenes of spectacle to be attuned to story telling. Action films are often hybrid with other genres, mixing into various forms ranging to comedies, science fiction films, and horror films.
John Cena performing a stunt in the 2006 American action film The Marine
The popularity of Bruce Lee (pictured) attracted a global audience for kung fu films, however his career was cut short following his untimely death in 1973, which lead to a decline in popularity for the artform.