Too much of everything

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

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.

I am a fan of Asian cinema. I have probably seen more Chinese, Korean, and Japanese films than anyone you know. I like Asian cinema because it is different- some things can be gotten away with in Asian cinema that cannot be gotten away with in Western/Eurpopean cinema- it is probably due to the language barrier that I can see many scenes in Asian cinema that don't bother me- but WOULD if it were done with English actors in the English language. I am straying from the topic, but it's important to preface this with the fact that I have seen more Asian gangster films than I have Western ones.The fact is: I wanted to like this movie but cannot and will not. It is a very poorly done movie. The action is over the top and unrealistic- like video game type violence- which is common in Chinese movies- and the story is simple- too simple- its like a children's story for adults- what I mean by that is- the language used is very simple. It's like ABC type stuff- elementary- nothing about the script is challenging for a writer to come up with. It's simply a revenge tale with a love/hate triangle. A brother loves his brother and his brother hates him and that brothers girlfriend wants to see them reunite- and so does a friend of the older brother- but the two brothers are opposites and this creates 1/2 of the drama- the other 1/2 being that the mob is after both of them and they have to survive while fighting each other which makes it harder to. The main characters have infinite ammo- in the whole movie I have seen the main character reload his gun maybe only once- in this movie barrels explode unlike in real life- and in this movie we see a cripple who normally walks with a limp- RUN like an athlete when he is being shot at and trying to avoid the bullets- but it's not done for comedic effect- simply done based on negligence of the director/choreographer who didn't notice this mistake or did not care. Worst of all about this movie is that I found it boring! Not only am i criticizing the action of it (which was fairly good but too over the top fake for me) but the pace is very slow and the acting is great, but the lines and story are not so it hardly matters to me. I have a bone to pick with most if not all Asian action movies that come to mind- gangster films or not there is always something that by the end makes me not want to watch it again or recommend it to anyone.....I say this because I would love to recommend a movie to watch in place of this but cannot think of a solid recommendation to act as a substitute. Watch this if your time means nothing to you and you would gladly waste it. Or if your time does mean something to you- watch the actions scenes of this movie alone on youtube- and perhaps play a first person shooter video game online- would be more fun than sitting through this boring movie.

Its odd how some gangster films from the 1970s and 1980s have dated more than those made in the 1930s and 1940s, probably because the pacing and the snappy dialog crammed into 80 minutes wears much better than long stretches of attitude and out-of-date clothes and second- rate music.The main reason folks seem to watch John Woo is for his grasp of kinetic gun play and maximum explosive violence, and that said, he does it infinitely better in his later films, mainly Hard Boiled, in which the last 30 minutes is absolute dynamite. There are a few scenes in A Better Tomorrow worth wading through in this film, and Chow Yun-Fat is persuasive as a silent gun man with a strong personal code, but you just want to smack the kid brother, whose petulance and whining grows tiresome after about ten minutes, and the final shootout, even though dozens of whirling bodies go flying through the air, is fairly predictable to seasoned viewers. This is a good film to watch to see where Woo was grounded, but I think his mature work shines in comparison

After watching two of John Woo's action flicks (Hard-Boiled & The Killer) I decided to check out another one of his classics 'A Better Tomorrow'. And while I wasn't a fan of its fewer action sequences ad slower paced style, at first, after re watching the film I think its probably Woo's best.I think the reason I disliked at first was the fact I was expecting a huge over the top actioners like Hard-Boiled and The Killer. But this film is a heroic bloodshed crime drama and focuses on the characters and emotions rather than the action (Which is still fantastic). Plus, it was dubbed...nuff said.The plot revolves around the big boss of a professional counterfeit business named Ho. His brother Kit however is training to be a cop and is unaware of his brothers business. Ho's best friend Mark (Played by the legendary Chow Yun-Fat) works with him as a professional killer who despite his occupation, is a very loyal and caring friend. After a betrayal during a bust, the three characters change over the course of three years and have to go through a lot of hell to deal with their new lives.All the characters keep your interest throughout and feature some really well acted emotional scenes. Ho is constantly struggling to deal with his brother, best friend and the triads he used to work for. Kit becomes a stubborn cop who doesn't know when to let things go. And Mark, one of the coolest characters ever has to deal with struggling life and helping his best friend. Chow Yun-Fat's trademark trench coat, sunglasses and match stick in the mouth increases the appeal of the film.The action scenes, though not at their peak(As said above) are some of the best around at the time of the film's release and are just as cool as ever. Duel pistols, exaggerated blood and ballistic shootout, all trademarks, Woo would later be famous for, appear here for the first time and influenced action cinema to this very day.The film is shot is such a classic fashion but also unique in many places of the film. The soundtrack for the film is also amazing, some of the best film music ever. More could be said about the film but I think this is a film you just have to see. But if you are going to see it, make sure you watch the Cantonese track with subtitle as the dub ruins the emotional moments. Also some DVD's don't have the original soundtrack, so be aware before you buy. Netherless, A Better Tomorrow' is one of the best films I've ever seen and is a definite must see.