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Has a raw intensity that is appealing.
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
May 3, 2004
3
of
3 people found this review helpful
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Though the bell has long since tolled on this British holding, in 1986, Hong Kong was a different place: vibrant and alive, but also uneasy. For always lurking in the back of their minds was 1997; the year China regained control. This uncertainty colored many of the Hong Kong films of the 1980's, including this one.
A Better Tomorrow is my favorite among John Woo's works. Though it's not as polished as The Killer, it's got a raw intensity that's appealing to me. Plus, it was my first exposure to the genre of Heroic Bloodshed, so it has a special place in my heart.
Ho (Ti Lung) and Kit (Leslie Cheung) are brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Kit has just graduated from the police academy, and their father asks Ho, a Triad member, to quit for the sake of his brother. He agrees, taking one last assignment to Macao. They are betrayed there, and Ho gives himself up, allowing a younger member, Shing, to escape.
Ho's best friend, Mark (Chow Yun Fat in his defining role), exacts sweet revenge, but he is crippled in the process.
A few years later, Ho returns to Hong Kong. He finds his brother deeply resentful, as he can't be promoted, being the brother of a convicted criminal. Mark has been reduced to washing windows for the now-in-command Shing. Ho is offered a role within the Triad, but he refuses. Ho wants to leave that life behind. But he can't escape his past, as no one believes he has really changed his ways. Furthermore, the Triad is all that Mark has.
The film opens with Ho dreaming of Kit being shot. Ho bolts upright in bed, awash in sweat. Yes, 1997 was coming. John Woo has talked about his feelings concerning the handover, and his films reflected his concern (characters lamenting the changing times, the outmoded characters, the uncertainty of their futures). Woo was not excited about it, and would be even less so after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
But what really stands out is the stylistic action that has made Woo so popular. His gunfights are elevated to high art, intricately choreographed like a musical number. I analyzed the first key battle, which takes place in a restaurant (and if I ever find that analysis, I'll post it..hehe). Briefly, I found that Woo selected the camera angles and editing based on who was in control of the situation. Chow Yun Fat was filmed mostly low-angle, up to eye level, and at regular speed. The other gangsters are filmed high angle and in slow motion. Mark is invincible. This is evidenced later, when a crippled Mark is involved in another gunfight, and there are no distinctions in filming between characters.
Woo's action scenes have been copied so many times that it's almost silly. But no one does it quite like Woo. The restaurant sequence stands as one of my favorite film moments: annoying Canto-pop soundtrack, a carefree Mark stumbling down the hall, woman in hand. The woman pulls away, and it's all business. As the door slides open, everyone in the room looks up. The music stops, replaced by gunfire. Lots and lots and lots of gunfire. Cool and collected, he empties his guns and saunters away, pausing to grab more hardware from a potted plant.
This film also contains more drama and genuine emotion than you're likely to find in any Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, or Seagal film. Example: After Ho returns, he visits Mark. Mark has been telling Ho that everything is fine. Of course, he's been lying and, caught in the lie, Mark just stares at Ho. His face is somewhere between joy and embarassment. The momemt is held, then suddenly, all is forgotten. They're just happy to see each other.
That's what separates this film from most action films. Chow Yun Fat is a gifted actor (just ignore his recent U.S. efforts). He immerses himself in every role, and this enthusiasm shows in his characters. They've got depth, something that always seems to be missing from American action heroes. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung give great performances as well, with Cheung's anger and intensity contrasting nicely with Ti Lung's cool and collected demeanor. It's interesting to note that, at the time this film was released, Chow Yun Fat was considered box office poison, and Ti Lung was a washed up martial arts actor. How quickly things can change. |
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