leonblackwood Review: It's been years since I've seen this movie and I must admit, I didn't really enjoy it that much this time. Back in the day, I found John Woo's gun action quite amazing but after watching so many movies that have copied his style, it seems quite mediocre for this day and age. On top of that, the music throughout the movie was awful but the storyline made it quite an enjoyable watch. Anyway, best friends Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) and Mark Lee (Chow Yun Fat), work for a triad gang who distribute counterfeit US bank notes. As Ho's brother is training to become a police officer, he keeps his criminal life secret but his sick dad is aware of his criminal activities and he keeps on asking him to go straight. He then takes on one last job in Taiwan but it turns out to be a trap and Ho and his new apprentice have to shoot there way out of an impossible situation. With the police hot on there tail, they go into hiding and a gang member attempts to kidnap Ho's dad to ensure his silence but when Ho's brother, Kit, tries to save his dad and his girlfriend, his dad gets shot and pleas with Kit to forgive his brother. Ho then surrenders to the police and goes to jail and when Mark hears about the gang who tried to trap Ho, he kills the leading Taiwanese gang member but he gets shot in his leg which leaves him crippled. After 3 years behind bars, Ho is released from prison and he attempts to go straight by becoming a driver for a taxi company. His brother, Kit, blames Ho for there father's death, so he doesn't want anything to do with him, especially as he wants to become a police officer and his brother is a ex- con. When Ho bumps in Mark, he's shocked to see that he has become an errand boy for the new head of the triads, Shing. Mark wants to get back there reputation by taking out Shing but Ho wants to go straight to try and get closer to his brother. Shing also tries to get Ho to come back to the organisation but when he turns down his offer, he uses brutal tactics by beating up Mark, attacking Ho's co-workers and luring Kit into a trap. After a passionate speech from Mark, Ho decides to take revenge on Shing and they put together a plan to steal a tape that will destroy there organisation. When Shing finds out about the missing tape they strike a deal to swap Kit for the incriminating tape but Shing's henchmen are close by, so Ho, Mark & Kit end up fighting for there life's whilst trying to take-out Shing. John Woo's story lines are always intense and never straight forward. I'm not surprised that it takes him so long to release a film! Anyway, the action seemed a bit messy at times but I liked it when Chow Yun-Fat was in his "one man army" mode. Ho's brother, Kit, did get on my nerves after a while but I liked the chemistry between Ho and Mark. There were a few emotional scenes and the complex storyline was well put together but I was hoping for some more action. Its still a decent film and definitely worth a watch if your into your John Woo movies. Watchable!Round-Up: This is John Woo's first movie which brought his name to light across the globe, even though it was full of subtitles. This also brought Chow Yun-Fat, 60, to an international market because of his brilliant performance and his cool persona. With over 100 movie to his name, which include Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Bulletproof Monk, the international acclaimed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Anna and the King he's definitely a unique actor who doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat always bring something special to the big screen and I'm looking forward to seeing more of there movies during my Oriental movie season.I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/drama's starring Chow Yun-Fat, Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Waise Lee and Emily Chu. 4/10

TransAtlantyk This is the movie that made John Woo the reputation that he has for action films. If you enjoy action films, and in particular other Hong Kong action films then you will enjoy this. Stylistically it is easily identified as a Woo film and doesn't really transcend the action film genre but it does work marvelously within the confines of that genre.Some consider The Killer or Hard-Boiled to be the better John Woo HK film but I find that while the Killer and Hard-Boiled both have tighter, more elegant action sequences what really makes A Better Tomorrow lead the pack is the plot. It isn't an entirely original plot but it is well acted enough that you really feel for the characters and can understand the motivations. It isn't a typical action movie plot where the script serves simply as a device to create interesting action sequences. You get traditional Chinese themes such as honor, loyalty, and strong family ties.As always Chow Yun Fat is a pleasure to watch. He is simply one of the coolest action stars in the entire global movie industry. You could search far and wide and not find a more suave action star than the dual-pistol wielding, cigarette-in-mouth Chow Yun Fat. Worth watching for his presence alone. If you only know him from the American films he has done then you are doing yourself a disservice.In summation: if you like action films you will love A Better Tomorrow. It's that simple. Also check out other Woo HK films like The Killer and Hard Boiled.

oneguyrambling John Woo was making films for a full 20 years before he decided on a plot device that he has revisited again and again over the more successful phase of his career as an "action first / plot second" writer-director.That wrinkle was to have a good guy and a bad guy exist alongside one another, and indeed even team up at times, so that the audience could see that they might not really be that different, and to lead to several stand-offs and situations where they are in close proximity.The first notable time that occurred was in this film made in 1986, but of course Woo went back to the well with The Killer, Hardboiled and Face/Off, among others.This film also showed that Chow Yun Fat is a cool cat regardless whether he is playing a good or a bad guy. (His presence alone made me watch Bulletproof Monk not once, but TWICE.) In A Better Tomorrow, Yun-Fat is Mark, a small time gangster of little significance who piggybacks the success of Ho Sung, both are intimately involved in an operation counterfeiting US currency.(Mark is cool because he wears sunnies inside and he always has a toothpick hanging out the side of his mouth, even while he is smoking.) Ho Sung's little bro Kit is graduating from the Police Training Academy and entering the force, and their Dad's dying wish is that Ho Sung go straight and not allow Kit to find out what a bad guy he really is.Ho-Sung agrees, after one last job… Of course the "one last job" goes bad, and Ho Sung ends up in prison after his young new protégé Shing sells him out to the cops. After finding out that Ho is in da' joint Mark puts a hit on the bad guys, and is he himself shot in the leg. ( I might add here that even if it wasn't the first time he did it, Woo was already a fan of allowing his characters to shoot 77 rounds from a pistol without reloading.) Fast forward 3 years >>>>> Ho is out of prison and Kit is now a senior cop. Having copped a little grief from his peers and superiors at having a crim for a brother Kit wants nothing to do with Ho, who only wants to prove that he is true to his word and is in fact going straight.Ho gets a job and does go straight, and when he comes across Mark he is saddened that he is now nothing more than a limping dogsbody for his new gang-boss Shing, the very guy who sold Ho out just 3 years prior.That is a lot of stuff, apparently 3 years is a very long time in Hong Kong.From this point the film becomes a tug of war: Ho wants nothing more than to show Kit he's a good boy now, Shing wants Ho back in the business, as does Mark who will not be allowed in without him, and Kit just wants to bust the whole lot of them to prove he is a supercop with no family bias.Given all that, it's hard to see this ending happily.The usual Woo signature flashes are present, the slo-mo violence, the generous and effective use of blood-packs and squibs to show the spurts created by some of the 77 rounds fired from each magazine, and in the Big Shootout at the end of the film Mark gets to use two pistols at once, something that he then did in every film he ended up doing with Woo.A Better Tomorrow doesn't hold up well unfortunately despite being seen as a genre-setting film at the time, and being namechecked by everyone and his Tarantino as being influential. It is momentously cheesy at times (see below), has some obviously clumsy direction as Woo worked on his chops and just a terrible soundtrack, somehow though it manages to be a passable flick if nothing better is available. The problem is that nowadays there should always be something better available, namely almost everything that Woo did after this, for example.Final Rating – 6 / 10. A Better Tomorrow showed signs of what was to come without ever making me Woo-zy, and it never really reaches any heights.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com

freemantle_uk Since Bruce Lee reinvented Hong Kong and material arts cinema Hong Kong's film industry became one of the biggest in the world. Hong Kong cinema became well known for doing through different phases, from Jackie Chan comedy action, John Woo's heroic bloodshed films, historical material arts films and Hollywood influenced films like the Infernal Affairs series.In the mid-eighties John Woo, one of the most popular action directors in the world, reinvented Hong Kong cinema with producer Tsui Hark to create the heroic bloodshed genre, bloody action films set in the world of organised crime. A Better Tomorrow is the first of it kind, and became a popular in film in both Hong Kong and internationally.A Better Tomorrow tells the story of Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung), a captain within the Triads and running a successful counterfeiting operation. He is aided by his loyal lieutenant and best friend Mark (Chow Yun-Fat), he is handy with guns. Ho's younger brother Kit (Leslie Cheung) is training to be a police officer, and the two love each other every much. They both help take care of their sick father. But Ho's life of crime is destroyed when he gets arrested in Taiwan. His father is murdered in front of Kit, and when Mark gets revenge he is crippled. Three years later Ho tries to go straight, getting a job as a taxi driver. But his younger brother, now a rising cop hates him and Mark is a low ranking Triad member, forced to work for Shing (Waise Lee), Ho's replacement. Shing asks Ho to rejoin the Triads, and run the counterfeiting operation. When Ho refuses Shing threatens Kit and Mark, forcing Ho to take action to safeguard his loved ones.The mid-eighties and early nineties was when John Woo was at his creative powers, making very well known films and ended up getting calls from Hollywood. He because a director respected by his peers like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarrantino. A Better Tomorrow shows Woo's skill. He crafts out some every exciting, through, bloody action scenes. There are well managed gun and fist fights, and this should be shown to editors in Hollywood to show how to cut and action sequence. Woo also knows when to slow things down to allow the plot and characters to develop. The plot is a simple affair, it's an action film with gangsters, not a gangster film. But the plot is done well enough to keep you interested, and character are developed to give the story drive. Ho is an decent man who wants to pay for his crimes and forced back into action, whilst Kit starts off as a clumpy kid who turns into overzealist cop.A Better Tomorrow does start with some physical humour, but that quickly dies down and the film takes a more serious tone. It was also refreshing for me to see a John Woo film without his usual trademarks, the only one is a character using two guns.The acting is decent, Ti Lung was good lead, and Leslie Cheung was showed some range in his supporting role. This was Chow Yun-Fat's first major role and obvious this leads to bigger things for him. He too show's his skills as an actor. Waise Lee was also perfectly sinister as the villain of the piece.However, when the film does show English speaking characters, the dubbing makes them sound so fake, especially compared to the Cantonese characters.A very entertaining film and a must see for action fans. 8.3 out of 10.