A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
Director: John Woo
Starring: Ti Lung, Dean Shek, Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung,
Primary genre: Action
A Better Tomorrow was the granddaddy of the heroic bloodshed action subgenre; a landmark film from Hong Kong full of dramatic heft and lots of bullets. The unexpected success of this gun-fu pioneer led quickly and inevitably to the production of a sequel merely a year later. However, the rushed schedule and frequent creative clashes between director John Woo and producer Tsui Hark resulted in an inferior product that feels like two movies stitched together badly.
A Better Tomorrow 2 has a minimal structure in its supposedly revenge-seeking tale introducing characters - whether heroes, villains, or bystanders - only to quickly dispose them. It’s as if Woo (or Hark) is uncertain about how to progress the story adding superficial plot threads just for the sake of it and one-dimensional archetypes to justify a rather lengthy running time. Leslie Cheung’s cop who was the central emotional anchor in the previous film, has now been criminally reduced to the role of an observer which makes one wonder why he was brought back at all.
“There’s no such thing as can’t. You always have a choice.”
In the first of two messy halves, we are spending way too much time with Dean Shek’s broken antihero (whose performance is embarrassing to watch) and Chow Yun-fat’s attempts as Mark’s twin brother(!), Ken in New York (shot on location) to bring him back to reality and kick some ass, the gun-fu way. Yet, A Better Tomorrow 2 rarely packs a punch. Only a brief hotel shootout awakens the senses. While the second half leans towards what we would expect Woo to do with lots of spraying bullets and explosions, it is neither inventive nor thrilling. If the shootouts in a John Woo film aren’t cool, you know there’s a problem. Despite the never-ending army of goons, it is mostly people firing their guns in every direction and the orchestral symphony of destruction that would later become synonymous with Woo’s delicious flair is practically non-existent. Some trademarks are scattered throughout, but the sequence lacks both substance and visual panache.
Its predecessor might have lacked the explosive set pieces and excessive body count that will define Woo’s style later on. Nevertheless, it was supported with big amount of pathos and morally complex and ultimately fascinating characters. Here most if not all of the cast members have weightless material. By the time the final confrontation arrives, you’ll be rooting for the closing credits contemplating about Woo’s trio of future exemplary actioners which left a permanent cinematic impression (The Killer (1989), Bullet to the Head (1990), Hard Boiled (1991)). A Better Tomorrow 2 is mostly a cash grab with one major flaw: its criminal underuse of Chow Yun-fat. The man has such a presence; it can overload the screen to the point of explosion. Wait till you see A Better Tomorrow 3: Love and Death in Saigon (1989).
Embarrassing sequel to a cult classic
+Some ok action
+Chow Yun-fat
-Cop out premise
-Quick cash-in
-Anemic by Woo’s standards action
-Overload with pointless characters
-Shek’s acting will test your nerves