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 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.

An excellent movie. I love John Woo movies a lot because of the action. But A Better Tomorrow is one I didn't actually love for that reason. It does deliver action, and it's the graceful, balletic stuff that we expect from Woo, nothing less. But there isn't as much of it, and this is a good thing, because this is A Better Tomorrow, the story of two brothers, one a criminal, and one a cop, and how their different lives tear them apart. And then there's Chow Yun-Fat, who stars in the movie that practically started his entire career. This is one of his best performances, the charismatic, smart alec Mark. Did I mention, he is super, super cool. The movie isn't really even about him, yet he steals it completely. The script is well written, the melodrama that is now classic Woo may not be for everyone, but for devoted fans like me, it is just art in action. Everyone here does a great job acting, our two lovable gangsters Ti Lung and Chow Yun-Fat. Our young, bright spirited cop Leslie Cheung. The ever friendly Kenneth Tsang. And evil bad guy Waisse Lee (I hope I spelt that okay). All these characters are incredibly memorable, and the way they are at the end of the movie is quite different to how they were at the beginning. The story progresses at a nice pace, the action never intrudes, and comes in balanced doses. The story is the real star here, I just loved it, it's a shame that the sequel didn't love up to the grandness that is the original A Better Tomorrow. This movie made history, it would be a shame if you didn't go to your local video store right now and buy this movie.

Unfortunately John Woo has never done another Hard Boiled. A Better Tomorrow was a big disappointment for me, because I had expected a real stylish action packed film but it was not. The director is John Woo, it has Chow Yun Fat and the hype says it is action, but the movie was too slow paced again (like The Killer) and the action scenes (if it has any real one!) were not that great or unforgettable like the master's some other movies. The attack to the restaurant scene and the final part were remarkable, but that's all. The restaurant scene was pretty stylish, John Woo style, but it was too short. What about the high rating then? Well, I don't know. Unfortunately, the problem is not only lack of action, also the movie was not stylish as I had expected, the cinematography was just OK and I am sorry to say that, but it was not neither a first class film, nor an entertaining B movie. It was like a third class TV movie. Some people say that A Better Tomorrow and The Killer are John Woo's best movies and they are also "art". Simply, I disagree with that opinion. However, I am still hopeful that John Woo will be back one day and make movies like Hard Boiled.