David Edelstein of New York Magazine likes it but has reservations:
J. Hoberman at Village Voice is more critical:The movie works smashingly, especially if you haven’t seen its Hong Kong counterpart and haven’t a clue what’s coming. But for all its snap, crackle, and pop, it’s nowhere near as galvanic emotionally. The star of Infernal Affairs, Tony Leung, had the stillness of a volcano; in the film Hero, he made practicing calligraphy seem fiery. DiCaprio, as good as he is, is on the lumpish side. He has a wide face and lots of brow to furrow, but Scorsese doesn’t linger on him long enough to help us connect with his feverish alienation. It’s easier to read Damon, with his darting little eyes and slippery-squirt smile, but we don’t give a fig about him. Monahan has made the character more of an out-and-out villain―a conscienceless opportunist―than he was in the original. Sullivan hungers for a career in politics. He has no loyalty to anyone, not even his surrogate-father crime boss, and so he has no dramatic stature. Plus, he’s lousy in bed.
Todd McCarthy at Variety has a more favorable review.Its key dramatic roles assumed mainly by cell phones, Infernal Affairs is one of those rare movies in which the premise is the star; Scorsese, however, has necessarily packed his remake with names. Matt Damon plays the rogue cop (Andy Lau's role in the original), with Leonardo DiCaprio as his undercover counterpart (embodied with soulful vulnerability by Tony Leung). Towering over both youngsters, Jack Nicholson has the meaty―and here vastly inflated―role of the patriarchal crime boss. Eric Tsang stole Infernal Affairs with his high-spirited moonfaced malevolence; Nicholson is handed the keys to the kingdom in his first scene.
Neither a debacle nor a bore, The Departed works but only up to a point, and never emotionally―even if the director does contrive to supply his version of a happy ending.
The strength of this version may be the script, which is supposed to be crackling with "colorful" dialogues. It's very violent, probably a lot more violent than the original. Some people cannot stand Jack Nicholson's schtik, others love it. I happen to be in the former camp. He is no competition compared with Eric Tseng, at least in my heart. I also disapprove of the casting choice of DiCaprio but what can you do? I hope the one female role (the psychologist) is not as ludicrious and insufferable as the original. Finally, the Boston streets seem perfectly suited for the story and may feel even more authentic than the original -- oddly enough.
I have my reservations for the original in the first place. My expectations for the remake are moderate. It doesn't seem like the remake is a lot more logical than the orginal.
