I bought a ticket and watched "The Departed" on Monday, thinking that I needed a much-needed break.

Anyway, without giving too much away, the movie deserves a merit of its own, despite that it is based on the original Hong Kong version - Infernal Affairs. When I first heard about this film, I rolled my eyes when the movie critics described Leonardo's character as "an angry undercover", as opposed to Tony Leung's dispirited character.

Anyway, despite a flaws here and there (for example, Vera's fall for Leonardo is too unbelievable), this movie is still worth your money if you can forgive Martin for dropping the use of Morse code (which is so cool!), the missing traumatic scene (you know what I mean if you've watched the original), and the oh- so-head-scratching ending (I prefer the original's ending).

Do I feel my three hours wasted? Not really - the three hours spent on the movie simply means I have to work OT to catch up with my work.....