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  • A Better Tomorrow II (1987) was rushed into production after the success of the first film. Armed with a bigger budget, Cinema City forged ahead with this sequel. Following after the events of part one. Lung Ti is about to be released from prison when he's offered a job as an undercover agent. His mission is to find some criminal evidence to topple his former boss (Cinema City board member Dean Shek). A first he dismisses the gig until he realizes they're going to his eager younger brother (Leslie Cheung). Once Lung is out, he notices that everything is not quite as it seems.

    An interesting film. This time Tsui Hark had more of a hand in the production. He included his friend Dean Shek into the movie and he employed his best action director (Ching Siu-Tung) to direct the over-the-top action scenes. John Woo wasn't pleased with this and he voiced his displeasure. The final rift came during the editing of the film. Tsui Hark wanted the movie to be under two hours so it could have more showings, John Woo wanted it to be an epic. Guess who one out? Say what you will about this film, the action scenes are pure Ching Siu-Tung. His wild action scenes made this movie. Mr. Tsui must have liked him a lot because he went on to choreograph the action scenes in The Killer (although he was credited with stunt coordinator the action scenes have all of his visual trademarks).

    The budget was huge on this one. It was filmed in Hong Kong and in the United States. Tsui Hark had another one of his friends (Peter Wang) co-star in the movie as well (he plays the inner city priest Dean Shek meets in N.Y.C.). Despite the friction caused by the behind the scenes squabbling, A Better Tomorrow II is a magnificent exercise in the ultra-violence. Awesome!

    Highly recommended.

    The last film in the trilogy is the epic A Better Tomorrow III: Love and death in Saigon.
  • After the movie 'A Better Tomorrow' became a big success around Hong Kong, a sequel was inevitable to happen. Most of the original cast return, including Chow Yun-Fat as Mark Lee's twin brother Ken.

    Taking place a few years after the events of the first film, we see how things are finally starting to look up. Ho is in prison but he's finally re concealed his relationship with his brother Kit, who has become a loving husband and soon to be father. But like the first film, things get bad real quick. Ho's former master Lung has been framed for murder and even loses his mind as his life gets worse. He's sent over to New York to keep a low profile and to be looked after by Ken who owns a restaurant and lives there. Meanwhile Ho and Kit are working together to end the triad gangs.

    This is where the problem starts. The first film revolved around Ho and the people around him, but this film spends way too much time with Ken trying to get Lung back to normal. Ho and Kit's plot seems to delve deeper into the main story ark, yet they never seem to get enough scenes. Ken is pretty much similar to Mark although he may be a little darker and you can tell he's only in the film because of Chow Yun-Fat's character was so popular in the last film.

    The film doesn't seem to make a huge continuation onto the first film either. Instead of being it's own story, it seems to just be an expansion of the first film, but not in a good way. We don't delve too much into the characters and they seem underused. The film is also known for having a sillier feel in a few scenes(Famous Rice Scene), but it didn't ruin the experience for me. These flaws are apparently due to disagreement between John Woo and producer/second writer Tsui Hark about the tone of the film, causing Woo to disown most of the film, except the end shootout. John Woo's original cut was around 3 hours and is rumoured to improve on some of the flawed moments. A version I hope will appear in some future release of the film.

    Now for the goods. The film seems to get noticeable better during the second half, beginning with the amazing hotel shootout. The film is well known for it's exaggerated violence and blood and the film doesn't disappoint. The action is a big step up from the first and some of the best ever filmed for its time. Chow Yun-Fat is once again cooler than ice, with his trademark sunglasses, trench coat, matchstick and dual pistols and may be one of the main appeals of the film. The Climatic assault on the triad mansion is one of the greatest shootouts and one of the greatest ending ever filmed. It's no wonder that it's the only thing Woo likes about the film. The amazing soundtrack returns and their are a few emotional scenes that actually work well.

    With many iconic scenes (The stairs scene being one), the film is a lot better than it gets credit for. The film is no masterpiece and doesn't compare to the first but it has its moments. Silly and flawed moments aside the film is actually quite enjoyable and as long as you keep an open mind, I think you'll enjoy this conclusion to the Better Tomorrow saga. Part 3 doesn't count!
  • Chow Yun-Fat is back, teaming up the cop "Kit" and ex-con "Ho" to deal some serious whup-ass on a gang of thugs, for killing their friend's daughter.

    This one's not John Woo's best but it's still great in the genre of HK cop movies. The first half is not as good as the second, with some plot holes and kind of weird scenes establishing the state of mind of their friend (whose daughter was killed). Not to give anything away but - you will see what I mean.

    Better Tomorrow II proves that nobody looks cooler wielding a 12-gauge shotgun than Chow Yun-Fat (ok, maybe Schwarzeneggar in T2).

    The final gun battle at Ko's mansion is phenomenal - it gives Scarface a run for its money in terms of body count and ropes of blood splashing on walls. I love Woo's explosive style of close gun battles and over-the-top carnage. I mean, is it really necessary, once pumping 2 lethal rounds into the bad guy's chest thus assuring his death, to empty the clips from both handguns into him as he is staggering back? Better Tomorrow II states emphatically - YES!
  • This film broke off a potentially very creative relationship between Tsui hark and John Woo; and it certainly feels like more than one film Certainly, until Chow Yun Fat shows up, the plot is a little complicated, and a little unbelievable. Once Chow appears, the plot becomes wildly unbelievable, but one can follow it with amusement and interest. Ti lung must also be credited with turning in a strong and well-grounded performance, even when the script calls for him to get schmaltzy.

    This is also the film that salvaged character actor dean Shek from obscurity, he wanted to prove he could act, and though he over acts occasionally, he actually does pretty well, especially in the final gun battle.

    It must be said that throughout his career, John Woo has repeatedly attempted to grasp the essence of the 'battle of bloody porch' from Sam Peckinpah's "the Wild Bunch" and duplicate it - and he has always failed. that's because (to be honest) Woo is a believing Christian; and although raised in the Calvinist tradition, Peckinpah clearly does not believe. Woo simply cannot grasp the basics of Peckinpah's existentialism.

    Consequently, the final battle here, while a lot of gory fun, doesn't really make the point Woo clearly wants for it (which is a believing Christian's interpretation of the Wild Bunch), but - never mind. On its own terms, as I say, it's quite fun.

    As for the 'serious' story concerning the young undercover cop and his pregnant wife, I didn't believe it for a moment, and, frankly, didn't care. I'm afraid I'm not a believing Christian, either.
  • Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a John Woo's best adrenaline HK classic action sequel flick , ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.

    A Better Tomorrow II (1987) is an adrenaline action sequel flick the best one of the two from John Woo. I know that the first one is an action classic for many of the people and they always going for the first one, but my favorite flick is this sequel. I know that The Godfather (1972) is my favorite film in the series but from John Woo's A Better Tomorrow is actually A Better Tomorrow II my favorite John Woo film. I love this movie to death, the acting is wonderful, believable and very realistic and Chow Yun-Fat which is my favorite actor gives one of his best convincing performances I have ever seen as Mark Gor's twin brother Ken. Not only he but everyone of the cast gives a wonderful performances on a screen which I love it.

    Plot: Restaurant owner Ken Gor, twin brother of Mark Gor, teams up with police detective Kit and his struggling ex-con brother Ho to avenge his old friend's daughter's death by a Triad gang.

    What I love about this movie is: Chow Yun-Fat does not die in this movie he acted wonderful his different character Ken. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung are back as the brothers from the first film which I am not sure but I have saw a lot of actors from The Killer in this movie. This movie was also filmed in New York which you can see Twin Towers from the distance before it was destroyed in 9/11 terrorist attack. John Woo made one of his best action debut and making a perfect shots with the camera of this film. I admitted I am not a the biggest fan of the first and the third movie but this one surprised me which I loved it. In my opinion this film is better than the original. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung's characters Ho and Kit are actually more well written than they were in the first. I hated it how Kit was treating his older brother beating him in the rain, treating him like a peace of garbage I hated that. In this film we see Kit's love and compassion toward his older brother Lung. Both of their characters were well written.

    This film is about a counterfeit dollars that are produced in the business and a new boss from Ho took over Lung Sei's business while framing Lung for a triad gang member's boss murder which he did not committed in which Lung had to flee to America New York, but his daughter was killed. The plot is about a revenge: Lung Sei (Dean Shek), Ho (Ti Lung) and Ken (Chow Yun-fat) are taking revenge against new triad boss Ko Ying-pui (Kwan Shan) and his group of army killers. Lung Sei want's revenge for the murder of his daughter Peggy (Regina Kent), Ho want's revenge for Kit's (Leslie Cheung) murder and Ken want's revenge for his restaurant in New York that has been destroyed. That is the film about. It has a lot of action and kick ass scenes and it also has a human emotional portrayal from the actors.

    I love the action sequences in New York from Ken (Chow Yun-Fat) in the hotel a group of assassins comes to kill Ken and Lung Sei (Dean Shek) Which Ken (Chow Yun-Fat) uses shotgun Franchi SPAS-12 and kills several mafia gangsters in the hotel New York. He fires several rounds with two Berettas 92F on a gangsters than flees while he fires another round with another gun on an assassins car. The final showdown and the last stand off with two Berettas between Ken (Chow Yun-Fat) and Chong (Lung Ming-yan) the firing scene was outstanding performed I have ever seen. John Woo tried that scene in Hard Boiled but he didn't want to copied his own work so he change it. Ti Lung uses a samurai sword and he kills bunch of gangsters. The trio of friends uses a lot of guns and grandees while killing a bunch of gangsters. The final showdown for me was spectacular.

    Overall: This flick get's a perfect 10 by me. Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung's screen time was beautiful shot, well written and acted perfectly. Theme score from the first movie was also beautiful, the action scenes where incredible. They don't make action movies like this one today. This flick is far way better than John Woo's Once A Thief. With Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Hard Boiled, Paycheck and The Killer would be a Better Tomorrow II my sixth John Woo favorite film that I love to death.

    A Better Tomorrow 2 is a 1987 Hong Kong action film written and directed by John Woo. A follow-up to its popular predecessor, A Better Tomorrow, the film stars returning cast members Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung alongside new cast member Dean Shek. The film was released in Hong Kong on 17 December 1987.

    10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Cinema City Film Workshop Distributed by Golden Princess Film Production Starring: Dean Shek, Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Emily Chu, Kwan Shan, Kenneth Tsang, Shing Fui-On, Lam Chung, Ng Man-tat, Peter Wang, Lung Ming-yan, Louis Roth, Regina Kent Director: John Woo Producer: Tsui Hark Screenplay: John Woo, Tsui Hark Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 45 Mins. Box Office: HKD 22.700 (Hong Kong)
  • Even though "A Better Tomorrow II" is a pretty good sequel to its great predecessor, it is no masterpiece like "The Killer", but still much better than Woo´s awful Hollywood-garbage "MI:2"!!! Once more Chow Yun Fat´s giving an over the top performance, the gunfights are well choreographed and the score of Joseph Koo and Lowell Lo are real adrenalizers! This film doesn´t deserve the predicate "cult movie" and it will never reach the status of it, but nevertheless it´s a fine Hong Kong-actioner that lovers of Asian cinema should check out!
  • A BETTER TOMORROW II is the superior follow-up to the John Woo original. This time around, both Tsui Hark and Woo share directorial duties in a typical tale of gangsters. Betrayal, violent shoot-outs and madness are the order of the day, and for the most part you'll be watching for the exemplary action.

    Be warned: this is a film that requires you to suspend your disbelief. Chow Yun Fat's character doesn't return from the original - for obvious reasons - so instead his 'twin brother' makes an appearance here. Still, it gives Woo the chance to feature his favourite actor in more outrageous set-pieces, with the stair-sliding scene being a real highlight here.

    The storyline involves a couple of ex-cons given the task of going undercover to take down a suspected smuggler (Dean Shek, of DRUNKEN MASTER fame). They soon find themselves embroiled in a murky world where a crime boss is planning a massive takeover and murder is the order of the day. As in GOD OF GAMBLERS, one character's madness takes up a big part of the running time.

    What you get here are a number of Hong Kong megastars (alongside Yun Fat, Ti Lung has a welcome role, plus A Chinese GHOST STORY's Leslie Cheung) indulging themselves in some frenetically exciting shoot-outs. Woo's action choreography is superb, with hard-hitting bullets flying around the screen, slow motion blood sprays, and all manner of outrageousness. The ending, which is impossibly violent and over the top, proves a neat precursor to the later madness of THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED.
  • Azzy19 May 1999
    I have seen true ultra-violence in films many times in my life, but the last 10 minutes of this movie surpasses anything I have ever seen or imagined. men are mowed down by the hundreds, blood splattering every which way in frighteningly large volumes. it exceeds even the hospital shootout in Hard Boiled, which took four times as long. It is also more inventive than most of John Woo's gunfights (I am NOT critisizing his other works!!!). The heroes use grenades and swords. Two parts stand out from this amazing carnage. The first is Ti lung's smash up with shing fu on. swords and axes, guts and glass, everything goes flying. The second is the duel between Chow Yun-Fat and Chong, The silent mafioso killer. Their Gun trade is a classic. The rest of the movie is pretty cool, including a gunfight in a Brooklyn hotel, Ala Taxi Driver, and a scene where Chow Yun-Fat makes fun of the fetishized Better Tomorrow dress.
  • What a mess, and what a disappointment by Woo's standards. The plot does this weird thing where it's super simple, yet kind of hard to follow because of the lack of flow, and the pretty bad pacing. It goes on for at least 40 minutes without any action, and when the action arrives... it's not quite as good as the first A Better Tomorrow (with the exception of the ending). Also: really didn't like the character of Lung, for some reason.

    Probably didn't do the movie any favours that I recently watched Hard Boiled, which is one of Woo's best (action-wise, I think it is his best). And then I committed a bit of a movie viewer sin by pausing the movie halfway through to read reviews... I wanted to know if the rest of the movie was worth my time tbh.

    I guess it was in the end. Chow Yun-Fat slid down a staircase while firing guns. I found out where that gif of the guy leaning through the doorway and giving a thumbs up came from. And then the last 20 minutes are good enough to feel like a completely different movie. A solid emotional payoff and a fantastic climactic action scene (that might well have influenced Kill Bill Vol. 1's big fight scene as well as Django Unchained's big shootout scene... and maybe Pineapple Express' ending too lol) that partially redeems the movie.

    If the whole movie had felt like the last 20 minutes, this could be another John Woo classic. As it stands, it still sort of disappoints, even if just for the reason that most top-tier John Woo movies contain more than one big/memorable action setpiece.
  • This sequel to the 1986 predecessor is fantastic. Although Woo wasn't too happy about making a sequel and he didn't really care much about the film whilst making it, I think it totally worked and I think it's a lot better than the original. This time, the twin brother of Mark, (a character played by Chow Yun-Fat from the first A BETTER TOMORROW) Ken (Chow Yun Fat), must team up with undercover cop, Kit (Leslie Cheung), and his brother Ho (Ti Lung) and a good friend named Lung (Dean Shek) to avenge the death of Lung's daughter who was murdered by a Triads. Like the first film, it's got a hard storyline to follow, however, it has some fine acting that makes you care for the characters and it has some awesome action scenes (most notably, the final shootout). But if you liked the first A BETTER TOMORROW, then you'll enjoy this one even more.
  • Having seen A Better Tomorrow 1 and thoroughly enjoying it, I was eager to see it's sequel. Even though not all reviews I had read of it were positive, I still thought I should give it a go. I found out that A Better Tomorrow II is quite different from it's predecessor.

    Probably the thing that stands out as the most different is the style it has been filmed in. More advanced camera angles etc. plus the picture quality is better.

    That may be an improvement, but most of the other changes are not so good. For starters, there a lot changes to do with the characters. Lung Ti's character "Ho", who was definitely the main character in the last film, is turned into a secondary character this time round, but he still does a good job acting. Lung Ti's top spot is taken by Dean Shek, who plays an old friend of Ho's. While good at times, I don't think he should of been given the main role. The rest of the cast do a good job, with the stand out being, of course, Chow Yun-Fat.

    One thing that does stay the same is the fabulous shoot-outs. They are more bloody this time and more elaborate, plus there is also more of them than in A Better Tomorrow 1. Even though it changes around some characters, it still has a good John Woo story. Filled with drama, emotion and plenty of action.

    Overall it is still a good movie. It does have some big changes, but it does remain an above the average action movie.
  • The classic of hero movie. A big hit worldwhile. Terrific soundtrack. Never would it be surpassed.
  • The first "Better Tomorrow" was superb...quick, engrossing and VERY violent. This sequel is good, but not up to the first. The story is by-the-numbers (gangster tries to go good, but people won't let him), women are treated as nothing and there's HUGE gaps in reality (check one of the closing scenes when a man calls his wife in the hospital). Also, the acting (with the exception of Chow-Yun Fat) is laughable. Still, I was never bored. The action is explosive, the movie barely stops and the body count is easily in the triple digits. Worth watching, but no great shakes.
  • The first 'A Better Tomorrow' was a stunning, kinetic and emotional roller-coaster that changed the face of HK cinema. The success of ABT meant a sequel and some bright spark decided that Chow Yun Fat (whose character was definitely quite dead at ABT's finale) should make a return.

    A prequel would have made more sense, but instead Chow yun Fat returns as dead Mark's identical twin Ken. Holy plot contrivances Batman! After reformed gangster Ho is sent to prison at the end of ABT, his brother Kit has gone undercover to investigate a suspected counterfeiter. Given the chance to join the investigation, Ho is released to act as an informer, if only so he can protect Kit.

    All good so far right? The film does well to pick up from where last time left off, thankfully bringing back Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung... but then totally takes the wrong direction. To me, Chow Yun Fat may have been the charismatic centre of ABT but it was always about the brothers Ho and Kit. In ABT2, the film spends way too much time on two NEW characters - the twin brother Ken and framed gangster Si Lung, who is gradually going insane after falling foul of Hong Kong's triads. For every tense sequence of Ho and Kit's investigation, there's two or more scenes or Si Lung's shaking and shuddering and Ken's attempts to snap him out of it.

    As far as the action goes, there are no complaints here. The finale is top-drawer chaos on behalf of John Woo and at least gets a great build up sequence to lead into it. But the story focuses on characters and subplots that, to be frank, are mostly irrelevant. Before you criticise me, I love Woo's other work. But saying 'this is a John Woo film' and that 'action is the priority' would do a disservice to the original, which may have changed action cinema, but always kept in mind the story and characters at hand.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I liked the sequel to "A Better Tomorrow" better than the original film. It's low on the pathos and emotional impact that the first film had, but the action sequences are much better.

    One of the things that bothered me about "A Better Tomorrow" is how early in the film Mark Gor's fall from grace happened. We barely saw how kick-ass the character could be before he was crippled. But his conveniently-never-before-mentioned twin brother Ken is at full strength (and just as cool as his brother) throughout this sequel.

    Some of the instances in this movie defy explanation - such as how Ken could pick the one day to walk past his local insane asylum in Manhattan and recognize an old friend from mainland China being restrained by orderlies; and just how invulnerable is Kenneth Tsang in that final shoot-out (the guy was shot to the ground, once at point-blank range, three times and still nonchalantly walked away!)? Aw, who cares...this movie is low on the ideas of brotherhood, loyalty, and honor that made the first movie special, but it's still an entertaining live comic book unfolding before your eyes. The final twenty minutes is worth the price of admission alone.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I will admit I was expecting better from this film as lots of people say this film is better that the first one.The only reason people say that is because of the climatic Shoot-out in the end that last for about 10 to 15 min of nonstop action. besides the ending is the film any good? It's hard to tell I will admit I felt the film was a lot longer than the first film.It was too melodramatic and the whole Twin brother idea was very out of place.Though this film has some good scenes a Apartment shootout by chow Yun fat and A very memorable scene that involves Chow-yun fat and a bowl of rice.but let's get to the review.

    For those that don't know whoever has not seen the first film I suggest you don't read my review because it is full of spoilers.In the first film Ho(Ti Lung) and Mark(Chow-Yun Fat)were involved in a shootout with mob boss Shing though they killed him and his gang in the end, still both paid a price. Ho was sent back to Jail and Mark was killed in the end.

    Now the police want to make a deal with Ho. The police want him to get close to his old boss Lung(Dean Shek) because there's reasons to believe that he's been doing illegal things.At first Ho refuses but when he finds out his Brother Kit(Leslie Cheung) is on the case he changes his mind.

    Now Lung has been framed for murder and goes to new york to hideout.until his assassins find him and kill his daughter and his best friend in front of him.He goes insane and loses his mind.after what happened Ho goes to reminisce of the past and finds out Mark had a twin brother name Ken who also lives in New York.Ho contacts Ken and now Ken has to protect Lung from his assassins and other enemies.

    Now you think this already starting to get good until it gets to some melodramatic scenes that mostly involve Kit and Lung and I feel It's a waste of time because the sub-plots interfere with the pacing of the film but it's all worth it in the ending.

    as for character development it's decent but not as stand-out as the first film to me I felt the film was focus more on Kit than anyone else.The problems he's going through his life having a baby, his wife thinking he's having an affair and feeling guilty for the death of lung's daughter.Though he has mature too be honest the audience dosen't care.Ho before being the main character he has dropped to a supporting character.and someone that's bad.Also the new Character the guy That's on the cover of the DVD? Ken; He's not worth mentioning he doesn't stand out like mark did.to me it's just a fake mark.

    as for the acting it's sub-par but it could of been worse.First i'll start with Chow Yun Fat. what can I say about Chow-yun fat I mean he's a great actor but It feels like he's on cruise control in this film to be honest I feel like chow wasn't giving his all. Ti Lung I mean he gives his usual solid performance but it's far from noteworthy or even stand out as his performance from the first film.Leslie Cheung has improved in his acting to be honest he performance of the lot was one of the memorable performance from the film.Dean Shek was too over-the-top for me his insane scenes were bad and could of been a lot better I wish the film wasn't really focusing on him.but when's normal he gives a solid performance.

    overall just watch the ending to be honest I was going to give this film 4 stars but save the film from the ending and chow-Yun Fat's Rice scene.
  • In the first film John Woo, set the standard for action choreography. In the second one John Woo went past it like a speeding bullet. It takes a while to get going, but when it gets going it gets going in a big coat with a pair of berettas. The action is relentless. I loved the scene when Kit appears round the corner shoots everyone in sight, jumps onto a passing boat and delivers the briefcase to it's owner, and there was the scene when Ken is looking after Lung and they have a big shootout/car chase through New York. Although neither of those are as good as the scene when Ken manages to get hold of two beretta m92f automatics, a revolver and a spas 12 shotgun and goes on rampage through the hotel. Mowing down gangsters in a flurry of shots. (If you look closely Chow Yun Fat didn't use a stunt double for when he flips round on the stairs and slides down them headfirst, on his back with two guns. Not many Hollywood action stars could do that.) However all these action scenes seem like nothing when they are held up against the mighty finale, when dressed slickly in black suits, the heroes take up their weapons and storm through the villain's mansion. Bodies fly, blood spurting from their wounds, smoke and rubble fill the close quarter corridors as bullets rip everything to shreds. The walls were literally dripping with blood, and the sequence when Ho, (played by kung fu legend Ti Lung) catches a blo*dy great sword and cuts everyone in sight to pieces. The modern day "duel" between Ken and Chong, when they both remove their darkglasses to allow their worthy opponents a look at each other's eyes.It is a sign of honourable respect between the two gunmen. It is very different to the first and third in the series,not quite as good a film as the first and completely different to the third. However the action in this beats the two other films, making it alot easier to watch.
  • "A Better Tomorrow II" (aka "Ying Hung Boon Sik II") definitely is what one would think about when reminiscing about the Hong Kong cinema in the late 1980s. Why? Well, take the sheer amount of insane action that is packed into the movie into consideration, and then of course you have the likes of Chow Yun Fat and dead actor Leslie Cheung at the helm.

    The story in "A Better Tomorrow II" is pretty straight forward. There are no major surprises along the way, for better or worse. But it doesn't make for a mundane storyline, not at all. Sure, it is predictable, yes, but the entertainment value to the script and storyline is capable of carrying the movie. Was it all good? No, not really. The entire part with the mental breakdown and how easily it was overcome was a bit forced and felt somewhat out of place in the movie.

    "A Better Tomorrow" is definitely a movie franchise that you should be well familiar with, especially if you are a devoted fan to the Hong Kong cinema. And this definitely is from the golden age of the action cinema to make it from Hong Kong.

    As mentioned earlier, then the movie does have some good acting performances in it, not only from Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung, but also from the likes of Lung Ti, Kenneth Tsang, Man-Tat Ng and Ming Yan Lung.

    This is definitely a movie that should be on your to-watch-list if you are a fan of Asian cinema and in particular Hong Kong cinema. If you haven't already seen the franchise, I can strongly recommend that you do so if you have the time and chance. This is Hong Kong entertainment at its finest.
  • "A Better Tomorrow II", sequel to Hong Kong's most successful film of alltime, follows the continuing struggles of Ho, the ex-con, and his cop brother Kit, the good-guy who can never succeed because of his brother's reputation. Their teaming with Ken Gor -twin brother of deceased Mark- is really entertaining if you're a fan of the original. The action scenes when Ken protects his grieving uncle Lung from vengeful, gun-holding gangsters is reminiscent of the scenes in "Terminator 2", but then again, this movie was released before that one. The 20-minute scene at the end is really edge -of-your-seat stuff, with Mark, Ho, Lung and Ho's partner all using swords, axes, guns, fists and knives to kill hundreds of angry mobsters after they killed two of their friends. This is more of a fun moneymaker, using the first film's success to keep the careers of superstars Chow Yun Fat and John Woo going. Not an instant classic like Tomorrow 1 or The Killer, but worth taking a look at for people who've seen the first or enjoy watching Woo/Chow films.
  • Crime thriller. A direct continuation of the first part, in which John Woo has absorbed all the best. The finale of the first part made me very worried about the continuation, but watching it dispelled most of my doubts. And here's my brief opinion - an unnecessary continuation. I will single out all claims to this picture in a separate paragraph and explain how much, but for now let your humble servant dwell on the expressive merits of this hurricane criminal action movie. So, here they are: 1. The story told - if you remove my main claim, then you can get pleasure from the story, but what can I hide, I myself was completely delighted with it. The film will again tell about two brothers, the elder Ho and the younger Keith, who must bring down another triad from the inside, which is engaged in the creation and distribution of counterfeit money. Of course, along the way there will be serious obstacles, disruptions to plans, unexpected news, and so on. The story is more dynamic than in the first part. The new characters that have appeared here are quite colorful and arouse lively interest, although their images and character are guessed almost instantly. Let's just say, if you love high-quality action movies with a good and well-written story, then you definitely come here! 2. Music - this time I remember the title theme, which runs like a thin string through the whole picture. This is a progress in comparison with the first part, where there were no catchy melodies at all. The rest of the tunes are good, but without revelation. 3. Hurricane shootouts - that's why it was worth spending time on this picture, since the quality of the shootings at John Woo has only increased. Extras - apparently invisible, blood - gushing over the edge, and this is not striking due to the scale, accidental victims of criminal showdowns - there, Macedonian shooting - there, the unreal coolness of the heroes - available. I'm not talking about the final skirmish, where the heroes endure an entire army. Maybe some of its moments are out of tune, but it still looks pretty realistic, since the heroes are injured. Against this background, the final shootout from the first part pales. 4. Drama - I don't know why, but the dramatic moments in this part hooked me much more than in the first one. Why this happened is hard for me to say. Maybe it's the script, or the actors, or something else, but the drama here is much better and stronger. I just have to come to terms with this fact. Claims. First of all, the story ended in the first picture, and it did not require a continuation, since there all the points were placed in the right places. I expected another scenario from the continuation, but received a direct continuation. Praise the creators that they got out in a very elegant way and there were no logical holes. What can I say, in those old days they knew how to write scripts, from which the head would not go round. Secondly - some silly moments that seemed to me completely unnecessary, because from their contemplation you come to a stupor about the genre of this picture, because I am now watching a crime thriller! After all, exactly? That's for sure? Yes! Okay! Well, a few logical quibbles. That's all the claims that I have about the picture. A little about the main characters: 1. Ho played by Ti Lun - a former bigwigs of the triad, convicted of crimes, but now - a Hong Kong police agent with a particularly important mission. This is still the same Ho as in the first picture, without any major changes. Tee still performed this role perfectly. 2. Keith played by Leslie Chun - Ho's younger brother and a Hong Kong police lieutenant, embedded in the triad with a particularly important mission. All the same stubborn and splinter in one place, which this time does not enrage with his stupidity, but on the contrary - makes only a good impression. Leslie did not disappoint this time either. Well done! 3. Ken performed by Chou Yunfat is the twin brother of Mark who died in the first part. The complete opposite of his brother, except for one thing - the thirst for justice and the ability to shoot. Chow struck me - he played a completely different hero, only occasionally Mark slipped. Bravo Chow! Bravo! The last part remains, which takes place even before the events of the first picture. What did the writers do there? We will find out about this next time. In the end, we have a good, but completely unnecessary sequel to the crime thriller John Woo, with hurricane gunfights, solid script, good music and excellent acting.
  • John Woo directed and wrote this sequel, Better Tomorrow 2 (1987), to his heroic bloodshed action smash hit Better Tomorrow, which he had made year earlier in 1986. The story begins where the first film left as Ho (Ti Lung) is in prison after the gun battle in which he and his brother Kit (Leslie Cheung) and Mark Lee (Chow Yun Fat) met their destiny at the end of the first film. Ho gets an opportunity to free himself from prison by helping police in finding a powerful crime lord and trapping him. Kit is police again and works in the same underground operation as Ho. This all leads to series of betrayal, death and fighting back as Mark's twin brother Ken (Chow) arrives from New Your to Hong Kong to help his friends in this heroic fight that will end in one of the most over-the-top gun battles ever committed on celluloid.

    This film is more fierce than first Better Tomorrow, but not as fierce and merciless as Woo's most personal masterpiece, Bullet in the Head. Tomorrow 2 tells the same things about friendship and honor that the first film also told. In Woo's world, violence is always there and it is among the few ways his characters are able to communicate. Bullets are angry and when they hit, the result is always sad and irrevocable. Woo never accepts violence or justifies it, he just uses it in his films which are there to be interpreted and analyzed. His characters can be "good" and bad at the same time and he studies these elements in human psyche thru his films. He definitely doesn't praise violence as he has also said in interviews that he hates violence, and that's exactly why he depicts it so powerfully and also disturbingly in his films. He depicts violence in a way it is hard to neglect unlike most of the mainstream action films produced in Hollywood. When a man grabs a gun in order to use it at some other human being, he takes the full responsibility for his actions and this is once again, very sadly, shown in Better Tomorrow 2.

    Better Tomorrow 2 is not as visually stunning as the first film, which ends in brilliant night time scene at the harbor where smoke and blue are as alive as the characters in that sad finale. Even greater use of color and smoke is in Ringo Lam's City on Fire as the end of the film with all its bullet holes and menacing atmosphere is among the most memorable segments in Hong Kong action cinema history. Woo uses his camera in Tomorrow 2 again very professionally, but the film doesn't look exactly as great as first Tomorrow film.

    The final gun battle deserves also to be mentioned, since it is so incredible. The film was action choreographed by another Hong Kong master, Ching Siu Tung, who has been a choreographer in many Asian classics and has also directed films like Duel to the Death, Witch From Nepal, and more notably A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy and Swordsman films. The martial arts action and choreography in his films is totally stunning and also unique, and this really can be seen in Better Tomorrow 2 and especially in its finale, a gun battle so over the top it is almost cartoonish, but still never comic or laugh indulging at all. It is the most fierce segment of bullet spitting, blood spraying gun mayhem I have witnessed in any film, and I think the films which manage to come near this scene's power, come also from some Orient country, probably from Hong Kong since these film makers have their style in using camera and edits and it seems to have no comparison with films from other countries.

    Better Tomorrow 2 is great piece of action mayhem cinema, with heart too, but this is not its director's masterpiece, which is in my opinion Bullet in the Head, a film which the director himself prefers, too. Better Tomorrow gets 9/10 from me and since it is not as deep and philosophical as possible, I really want to appreciate its cinematic styles and interesting themes and messages of film maker John Woo.
  • Compared to the first "A Better Tomorrow," this sequel doesn't stand a chance in a shoot out. But...there are some awesome action sequences and good performances. And how does John Woo always make the main villain's second in command so cool? Some of the music becomes obnoxious in action scenes, it should be kept to the dramatic ones. The Melodrama is ten times more potent in this movie as well. It's a pretty good flick, anyhow.
  • The original "A Better Tomorrow" changed the face of action films forever. A shoot-em-up gangster melodrama from a then-little-known filmmaker named John Woo, "Tomorrow"'s rampant violence and stylish action scenes instantly established Woo as one of the greatest action directors in the world, and the result was one of Hong Kong's highest grossers ever. After the trend-setting scene where Chow Yun-Fat burst into a room and gunned down a group of bad guys in all sorts of stylish and inventive fashions, everybody in Hong Kong had to go out and buy a trench coat like the one he wore, which guaranteed the actor instant stardom as well. Naturally, a sequel had to be made right away, and in 1987 came "A Better Tomorrow II". You can tell it was rushed into production because it's a little rough around the edges (which probably explains why John Woo has never made another sequel since). And, unfortunately, most of the copies you are likely find of this movie will be marred by atrocious subtitles, which are hard to read, chopped off at the sides of the screen, and are fraught with spelling errors. You're not even two minutes into the movie before you see "hopefully" spelled "hope_lully". But bad subtitles do not ruin a film where what you see on the screen is too explosive to be described with words.

    This was the film where John Woo demonstrated that he could just go all-out, and two of his works that followed this, "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled", are placed by many among the ranks of the greatest action films of all time. While "A Better Tomorrow II" is certainly a dynamic piece of work by Woo, it will never be looked upon as a strong example of action movie storytelling. The plot is often confusing and lazily constructed, and commits the ultimate "sin of sequels" when Chow Yun-Fat is introduced into the story. You may recall that his character, Mark, was killed at the end of the original "Better Tomorrow", so how can he return for the sequel? Why, by saying that Mark had a twin brother, of course. Normally, absurd contrivances like that are enough to destroy the credibility of an entire movie, but all is instantly forgiven in Chow's introductory scene when he responds to a mafioso kingpin's bullying by forcing him to eat his rice. It's a delightful, hilarious sequence, and NO other action star could've pulled it off. After watching it, I was quite happy that Mark had a twin brother.

    It's the individual moments like that which make "A Better Tomorrow II" an action classic. On an overall scale, it may not be as good as its predecessor, but the moments that do work turn it into a much more exciting film. And boy, when this film works, it WORKS! The final twenty minutes may be the best you see in ANY action film! A very powerful death scene is immediately followed by an absolutely incredible finale in which the heroes barge into the home of the villain and deliver carnage like you've never seen it before. The heroes use guns, grenades and even a samurai sword to mow down the opposition and, by the end, there are more bodies than one can count. This is the first action set piece in which John Woo just decided to go completely berserk, though it would certainly not be the last. Of course, everything in "Better Tomorrow II" is over-the-top melodrama and would probably seem laughable if seen in an American action picture, but what sets the Hong Kong genre apart from all others is that the sheer energy and passion in the filmmaking can make even the hokiest of situations work wonders. And at its best, "Better Tomorrow II" does work wonders. It is so easy to overlook a film's flaws when it makes the can't-miss decision to deliver the goods in the most electrifying ways possible.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    The original A Better Tomorrow is one of my all time favorite films. The sequel, not so much. The serious change in style really hurts this muddled sequel. The main focus of the film seems to be undecided, obviously it should have been on our two lead brothers in the first film, Kit and Ho. But they seem to take a back seat to newbie Dean Shek, and the returning Chow Yun-Fat. SPOILER ALERT Now wait a minute... didn't Chow Yun-Fat's character die at the end of the original A Better Tomorrow? The character of Mark Gor was definitely dead at the end of the original, so Chow Yun-Fat returns to play his twin brother! That makes perfect sense, but it would have been better if there was any mention of him in the original movie. Instead, it feels like Chow Yun-Fat was just shoe horned in to meet popular demand. Our new character Ken is cool, although he is quite different to his brother. He more resembles Tequila, the character Mr Chow played in Hard Boiled, both physically, and in the way he acts. Apart from the lack of focus, A Better Tomorrow II is just too silly to properly be compared to its predecessor. Dean Shek's character seems to be able to casually drift in and out of sanity, and with Chow Yun-Fat yelling at him and throwing food all over the place it's hardly going to help him come back to health. This was actually one of those scenes that was so bad it was good. There are various other things that don't make sense, the majority of them being when Dean Shek's character went insane, which just shouldn't have happened in the first place. Now I watch A lot of action movies, and I always love a good stupid movie. But this is the last thing A Better Tomorrow should be, and so it left me disappointed. Still, the film has it's high points. Why else would I have given it a 7? The ridiculous "eat the rice!" scene is hilarious and memorable. The action is a huge improvement over the first movie, the ending action scene is one of the best of John Woo's entire career. Every action scene here is standard Woo, and then some, so they definitely get the job done. The movies drama isn't all bad, the story is pretty interesting (for this kind of movie). Still, in these areas, the sequel isn't a shadow of the original movie. The acting is all relatively good, not really any complaints (except when Dean Shek went insane). All in all, A Better Tomorrow II is a good movie, but it's lack of focus and serious change in style really hold it back, along with its silliness. It's widely known that there was a lot of behind the scenes squabbling that went on between Woo and producer Tsui Hark. And I can't help wonder, if Woo had just been left to make the movie we wanted, what kind of sequel would we have gotten?
  • Billygoat23 September 2004
    Being a big fan of John Woo's kinetically charged Hong Kong action films, including the first "A Better Tomorrow", this one came as a huge disappointment. In fact, I could barely watch it.

    I won't mention Woo's American films, because those are really studio controlled productions and not what I would consider 'true Woo'. (No, I don't like them at all.)

    But his Hong Kong films really were the works of the auteur. One had a sense that a significant amount of forethought went into planning many of the shots and fantastic action sequences. There was always a sense, after viewing movies such as "The Killer", "Hardboiled", "Bullet in the Head", etc. that one had just seen an original and creative take on a not so original genre. The slow motion shooting (a touch of Peckinpah) mixed in with fast and furious movement and close quarter gun battles was both stylish and exhilarating in these works.

    "A Better Tomorrow II" may be at best adequate for a run of the mill Hong Kong action flick. For a film with John Woo's name on it, it's a big letdown. The action scenes seem rushed and are simply uninspired. The shootout in Ken's New York hotel was generic and boring. Chow Yun Fat's backslide down the stairs while shooting at a bad guy seemed like a bad photocopy of vintage Woo. Maybe it was the bad lighting, I don't know...it just didn't seem to work.

    And while these films always indulge in overblown melodrama, often with humour, some of the scenes in ABT II were just painful to watch. Uncle Lung's breakdown in New York City was so overblown and ridiculous that one had the sense of watching a high school play.

    What makes this film even more frustrating is that there were small moments of true acting, indicating an unrealized potential. When Uncle Lung (Dean Shek) is at his daughter's grave, he looks up at his friends and for a couple of seconds his face reveals a true, unspoken sadness. It was a flash of brilliance in an otherwise plethora of forgettable performances.

    Another big problem with this production is a series of unexplained events and situations. One of the most obvious occurs after Kit has been shot by his big brother. We see his wife and brother at the hospital. A doctor comes out to talk to them. We don't hear what is said, but we see Kit's wife and brother break down and cry. One assumes that Kit has died. But later, without any explanation whatsoever, Kit appears ready for action.

    Another oddity is Kit's wife suddenly going into labour at the hospital, without any previous indication whatsoever that she was ever pregnant in the first place.

    All of these factors result in a poor work from someone who normally creates masterpieces (USA productions excepted). One has the sense that he allowed the studio to rush him, and as a result, we get this piece of wet cardboard.

    This film is only for true WOO fanatics who simply "must" see all of his films.
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