A Better Tomorrow (1986)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

ACTING 9/10 A Better Tomorrow (1986) does great on showing the emotion on every scene. I like how those kinds of movies handle drama. Sometimes, it can be over the top, but, in the end, you might be left with a knot down your throat.SOUNDTRACK 5/10 You'll be hearing the same song over and over and over, with little nuances here and there, kinda like the Super Mario World Super Nintendo game.VISUAL EFFECTS 10/10 Everything is practical and kept simple.PLOT 8/10 A beautiful plot about choices, principles, friendship and loyalty.OVERALL 8/10 A Better Tomorrow is a nice drama to watch. It's not for every one, but those who end up getting interested for this movie won't get disappointed.

Director John Woo's first big breakthrough movie and still considered to be one of the best Hong Kong action movies. A movie that helped popularizing Hong Kong action in the West and is still, after multiple decades, an iron hard nailbiter.Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) is a member of the Triad in charge of their money deliveries. With him he has his trusted partner Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat). But things take a turn for the worse when his last deal goes south - don't they always - and he is caught by the police, thus letting his younger brother Kit (Leslie Cheung), a freshly graduated police officer, know about his criminal tendencies. And thus Ho's life is completely ruined, for even when he gets out of prison, he has lost his position in the Triad, his brother has cut all ties with him and even his partner isn't doing as well as he used to.What I like the most about this film is its ability to mix crazy, completely wild action scenes with scenes of surprising depth and character. Ho and Mark's struggle to regain their footing and position in the world is very identifiable, and Ho's willingness to at least try to straighten up makes him an admirable character. We also have Mark, whose character arc isn't as defined and deep, but who works as a good counterpoint to Ho because of his innate coolness and entertainment factor.John Woo is a legendary name in the action genre, and for a good reason. All the fight scenes are amazing, the special effects have withstood the test of time surprisingly well and you're never lost in space, even though the fights are very energetic and fast-paced.Woo has an instantly recognizable style and if you haven't seen any of his movies, this is a great place to start. It has it all. Great characters, even better action scenes, scenic locations, high stakes and boiling tension. Definitely recommended.

This movie brought John Woo to the attention of the filmmakers, while The Killer made him a legend (though I feel that A Bullet in the Head is a far better movie). What is really weird is that all of these superb movies come from the mind of somebody whose greatest desire is to make a musical. Weird.Anyway, A Better Tomorrow has a lot of themes ranging for sibling struggles, to redemption, to betrayal. I don't really want to say sibling rivalry because it suggests that it is a crappy American comedy. The rivalry is not about two brothers bickering but instead it is about the burden of the family. Anyway, the themes that we see here are similar to themes that we see in other Woo movies, (Face Off = Redemption; A Bullet in the Head = Betrayal; The burden of the Family = To Catch a Thief). This movie sort of started it all off, and Chow Yum Fat dies (as is expected in most Woo movies, except for Hard Boiled).This movie is based around three people, two brothers, Kit and Ho, and a friend, Mark. Kit is an ambitious police officer while Ho and Mark are members of the triad and are ambitious there. Ho is connected with a major counterfeiting ring and knows a lot of contacts while Mark is Ho's partner and in a way, bodyguard. Ho travels to Tiawan and when he is there he is betrayed by the bosses son and spends the next three years in gaol. News about this gets back to Hong Kong and Kit is denied a promotion because of the connection that his brother has with Triad. Mark, angered at Ho's betrayal, storms the a Triad controlled restaurant and kills everybody there, but is seriously injuring him in the leg and leaving him a cripple.This is not a bright movie. Each of the characters are struggling with their weaknesses rather than basking in their strengths. Mark cannot walk without a brace while Ho simply wants to lead a good life while is past is constantly trying to pull him back into the world of crime. Kit desires to be a great cop but is held back because of his brother and holds a great amount of anger towards him. This becomes the focus of the movie as Ho attempts to reconcile with his brother while his brother not only continues to reject him, but also tries to let go of a past that refuses to let go of him.This is a very bleak movie and there seems to be little way of solution. There is a huge gunfight where the bad guy is killed, but Ho is still wanted by the police and is still looking at a long time in gaol. The only redeeming feature is that his brother finds forgiveness in his brother, and this is revealed by Mark, who gives his life so that the broken relationship may be mended.As I write this, I come to see some huge reflections of Christianity here. It is subtle but it is there. We see that Ho is constantly seeking forgiveness but his brother refuses to give it to him, and no matter what he does Kit is blind to Ho's pleas. We see here the reflection of the fact that no matter what we do, we cannot get into God's good books. We have sinned and because of our sin we have angered God and nothing that we can do can wipe out these sins. Also the death of Mark reflects the fact that Christ, a third party, died for the sins that we have committed. Christ's death, like Mark's death, brings us into relationship with God. After Mark dies, Ho kills the Triad boss that is forcing him to return to a life of crime, thus removing that side of his life. This reflects us as well for without God sin is constantly trying to drag us back down into our old way of life. No matter how hard we try we cannot escape sin. It is not until we accept Christ's death that we can do something about sin, and we see it here with the death of the Boss.We must also look at the title of the movie as well because sometimes the title reflects what the movie is about (actually the title should tell us what the movie is about, though sometimes it is pointless). Here the title reflects Ho and Mark's desire to flee their life of crime and to find fulfillment in a straight life where one does not fear betrayal, prison, or death. A better tomorrow is what they seek, but tomorrow never comes so it seems to be a goal that is unreachable. Mark becomes little more than a window cleaner who must pick his earnings off of the side walk while Ho drives taxis and has a criminal record.Some of the lines of the movie really drive these ideas home (though the subtitles on this version sucked - they seemed rushed and were full of spelling errors). The strongest line is when Ho is told that a bad guy for a day will never be good again, once you sin you can never get back to righteousness. Ho does, but Mark had to die for it to happen. And then he is told that his sin not only affects him, but also his brother. He cannot go from Black to White, but by what he does he drags his brother from white to black.A Better Tomorrow is an awesome movie, but what would one expect from John Woo. It is deep and simply not a movie that one can casually watch. One needs to concentrate to understand the concepts that Woo is pushing through the movie, and the deep characters remove the need for action.

Perhaps the most influential director the action genre will ever see, John Woo honed his craft at the legendary Shaw Brothers studio before joining with producer Tsui Hark and finding his true calling in the crime genre. Woo's signature style, consisting of balletic action sequences alongside themes of religion, family and, of course, doves, is established with A Better Tomorrow. The Matrix, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Desperado, in fact, any film with a standoff, a dove, some slow motion or a black suited criminal owes a great debt to a signature style that was established with this film. John Woo has made better films, and he has made films that are much, much worse, but he will never come close to making the impact he did with this, his first slice of heroic bloodshed. KT