Reviewed by: dandan Date: 02/13/2011 Summary: why is it so hard to be a good person? with mark dead and ho (ti lung) in prison, kit (leslie cheung) starts working undercover: schmoozing with lung's (dean shek) daughter, peggy (regina kent). the police ask ho to get involved and, after discovering kit's involvement, he reluctantly agrees, but soon discovers that lung - the man who gave ho his start in the underworld - has gone straight, but is under threat from those who want to take his business from him. lung is forced to flee to america where he takes refuge with ken (chow yun-fat), mark's twin, before returning to hong kong to sort things out... so, you've created a classic, but killed off the most charismatic character: no problemo, he had a twin, so all is well. and, after helping to launch leslie cheung's film career and revitalising the careers of ti lung, chow yun-fat and john woo's, it's rumoured that this sequel was thought, by tsui hark, to be an ideal opportunity to help out his friend dean shek, who was apparently in deep trouble at the time. then there's the alleged arguments between john woo and tsui hark about the running time and the focus of the film, which led to it being edited in house by cinema city's editing team, with no involvement from either of them. this doesn't bode too well for the quality of the film. still, despite john woo say it's his worst work and disowning all but the finale; i'd say that's bullshit. john woo must have started believing his own hype after the success of the first film, drawn a mental blank and forgotten some of the stinkers that bear his name. then, there's talk about his demanding that the film be released in its original three hour form; i struggle to foresee how that would've been anything but a disaster. so, is it a disaster? nope, not in my house, at least. glossing over the mild clunkiness of the initial set up and the existence of mark's twin, oh, and not forgetting the mild lunacy of the 'rice' scene, this works out pretty well. and, for this you have to thank cinema city for editing it down to 105 minutes, dean shek for putting in a good turn (although i will admit to having enjoyed a lot of his work which people seem to hate), ti lung, chow yun-fat and leslie cheung picking up where they left off in the first film and the decision to employ ching sui-tung as action choreographer. although i'd forgotten just how much of this takes place in new york, i must say that i do quite like dean shek's narrative arc and, to be fair, he never outdoes chow yun-fat, when it comes to being a touch melodramatic. and, when it comes down to it, the film has one of the greatest finales ever committed to film, with our protagonists descending on their rivals in a three on to dozens gun battle, which is an absolute treat. plus, lung ming-yan's performance as the silent gun for hire, is one of my favourite supporting roles ever. so, by no means the classic that followed, but well worth watching and very entertaining.

Reviewed by: ewaffle Date: 11/26/2010 John Woo and Tsui Hark must have known within hours after the final credits rolled on the premiere of "A Better Tomorrow" that they had a problem. As problems go it was a god one, a hit movie that captured the imagination of young men in Hong Kong and throughout the Chinese diaspora. But in a film culture and business that honored sequels they had made a huge error. Mark Gor, the coolest and most charismatic hero to come from the studios of Hong Kong in years lay dead on the beach, killed in a final riot of heroic bloodshed. But he was not only dead, drilled through with what might have been hundreds of bullets, but had died a flamboyant, righteous gangster death. There was no way out. If he had miraculously walked away from the burning wreckage of an airplane or had been the only survivor washed up on shore after the boat went down he wouldn’t have been Mark Gor but just another lucky gangster who cheated death in order to die in a gutter some time later. Everyone was around for the next chapter. Ti Lung was as phlegmatic and deadly as ever; Leslie Cheung was gorgeous and idealistically conflicted; Emily Chu was beautiful and long suffering as a person could be. But lacking Chow Yun-Fat in his topcoat and dark glasses, chewing on a matchstick and firing a pistol from each hand there was no movie. What to do? In a postmodern nod to their iconic character Woo and Hark had art follow life by creating a mini-museum of all things Mark Gor complete with a cartoonist/curator who not only captured the legend on storyboards but solved everything when he showed a picture of the Mark and his twin--his identical in every possible way twin, now running a restaurant in New York City. He doesn’t seem to mourn his brother--the only way he even acknowledges him is not allowing Asian American kids to come into the restaurant in Mark Gor gear. A bit more garrulous than the taciturn Mark, Ken Lee is also a man of action who humiliates and shoots it out with hoodlums from the Mafia while always staying loyal to his friends. The ten minutes in the middle of the movie that was largely Dean Shek being restrained in a mental institution and having food shoved into his mouth followed by Hark at home with Ken Lee who also tried to get him to eat could have been left out although those scenes were less offensively stupid the second or third viewing. Lung's recovery made him an implacable killing machine in a dark suit, the perfect addition to Ken and Sung. What is lacking in this movie is the agonizing tension of the "A Better Tomorrow". In the first film we saw the old "honorable" Triad ways fracture under the hammer blows of huge amounts of easy money. It was no longer necessary to be a good soldier and work one's way up in the organization to prosper--any thug with a gun and the willingness to sell out his comrades to other gangsters or to the police could prosper. The old ways, of course, would only be mourned by criminals. There are a few embarrassing lacunae or continuity problems or issues of just plain sloppiness which keep "A Better Tomorrow 2" from the highest rung of cinematic excellence. One of the most obvious is when Kit shows up at the home he shares with his wife--his pregnant wife who has been suspicious due to overheard conversations he has had with a girl named Peggy. So he decides to hide Peggy at his home but doesn't explain anything to his wife, simply introduces them--"this is my wife; this is my girlfriend". Emily Chu playing his wife just stands there looking stricken while Regina Kent runs into a bedroom crying. A strange, unexplained and probably unexplainable scene that didn't lead anywhere. The real calling card is the insanely over the top, Grand Guignol final battle in which the three heroes kill a battalion of bad guys. It is ridiculous--about fifty men died just from being in the same room with Chun Yow-Fat and all they had to do was point their weapons to have a roomful (a large room at that) of villains fall dead. Their main weapons were pistols and hand grenades, real close quarters weapons, and all three of our guys wielded them with deadly aplomb.

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 11/09/2010 The plot of this sequel to one of Hong Kong's biggest box office hits is a little unclear compared to its predecessor, but basically continues the tale of two brothers on opposite sides of the law and the examination of the difficulty of escaping a life of crime once entered. Chow Yun-Fat's character Mark was clearly the most popular in the original, inspiring a whole host of imitators of his style, so the writers must have been regretting killing him off. No problem, just magic up a twin brother who is exactly the same and hope nobody notices or something. It's cheap but it achieves the desired end - couldn't have had a sequel without CYF doing his thing. The film was apparently made to help Dean Shek out of some financial difficulties, which unfortunately means he had to be in it. Surely the most annoying actor in Hong Kong history? He actually acquits himself quite well at the beginning of the film, but then his character goes mad and he hams it up rather unconvincingly. Definitely the weakest part of the film. The sequel is certainly not as tight as the original due to these shoehorns, but it still manages to recall the things that made the first film so successful - the strong characters played by Leslie and Ti Lung, the coolness that gives way to burning intensity in Chow Yun-Fat, the ultra-cool visuals and the inventive and stylish gunplay (though the finally at times lapses into people waving a toy uzi around and other people waving their arms around and falling over) that put John Woo on the filmic map more than anything else. In other words, it's still a pretty damn good film. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 10/30/2010 Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: cal42 Date: 04/01/2007 Summary: Crap, corny and contrived, but still occasionally magical Sung Chi Ho (Ti Lung) is still in prison for the crimes committed in the first instalment. Kit (Leslie Cheung) is now a competent Police Officer. Mark Goh is dead and mourned by all. When a new counterfeiting syndicate rolls into town, Kit goes undercover to bring them to justice, but the authorities don’t think this is enough and bring Ho out of prison to go undercover himself. There’s a frame up of Ho’s old mentor Lung Sei (Dean Shek) when a particularly nasty Triad boss (played by Ng Man-Tat, surprisingly) gets his comeuppance, forcing Lung to flee to New York. There, he finds insanity and Ken (Chow Yun-Fat), the twin brother of Mark from the first film, working in a Chinese restaurant. The foursome then take on the syndicate in a blood-drenched finale. A BETTER TOMORROW 2 starts off extremely well, but problems soon set in. For the first twenty minutes or so, everything is peachy. But then, the unthinkable happens; the oldest trick in the book is applied: Chow Yun-Fat appears as dead Mark’s hitherto unmentioned twin brother Ken (up until my first viewing of this film I was unaware of the term “Deus Ex Machina”. Since learning what it meant, I can’t hear the phrase without thinking “Chow Yun-Fat in A BETTER TOMORROW 2”). The irony is that you weren’t missing his character at all, as the other characters are so strong and the storytelling compelling. But when he enters the frame, I just found it too much to believe. Another problem is the Dean Shek character. Everyone who has a fondness for 70’s kung fu movies will probably know this guy from all of the comedy characters he played (well, he only had one character but he was in many movies!). Whatever you think of his particular talent, here he’s ultra serious, thankfully. However, for most of the film he’s affected by mental illness and whether or not you will be convinced is probably down to the individual. I found his acting far too broad, and the scenes with him and Chow Yun-Fat border too much on melodrama for my taste. With the negatives out of the way, one bright spot is Leslie Cheung. I always thought he was miscast as the police cadet in the first film, but rewatching this now I finally have to admit he really grew into the role. Whereas in the original I thought he was too lightweight and fey, now that the character has gained experience and is now a hardened policeman he seems to play him a lot tougher. Even the harshest critic of this film has to admit that the final ten minutes are a blinder. Chow Yun-Fat loses his cool for real when a grenade effect has a little too much bang, Ti Lung acquires a samurai sword and starts taking down foes old-school style, and we have one of the most impressive bodycounts in Hong Kong movie history – all in one house! Of course, you also have the meeting of Chow Yun-Fat and his mirror image – which results in a magical moment of respect when they trade guns across a blood-soaked floor. John Woo himself was very critical of the film at the time; even going as far as saying it was the worst he’d directed. This seems more than a little unfair as it does have some cracking setpieces. Besides, from memory, HEROES SHED NO TEARS was no masterpiece and what I saw of PLAIN JANE TO THE RESCUE was pretty underwhelming. I think it’s more a case of Woo was acting somewhat under duress for this film (he agreed to do it as a favour for Dean Shek, who was having financial difficulties at the time) and didn’t have the creative control he was used to. It’ll never acheive the classic status of its predecessor, but A BETTER TOMORROW 2 occasionally delights. And the last ten minutes are unmissable. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: Chungking_Cash Date: 02/22/2007 John Woo and Tsui Hark both wrote and directed this peculiar follow-up to their watershed classic mixing brutality with self-awareness. The three leads from the first film are back in spite of the death of Chow Yun-fat's character (who returns courtesy of a soap opera loophole as Mark Gor's twin brother Ken). The first half of the film focuses on Dean Shek, a former triad boss enjoying the straight life, who goes mad when exiled stateside after his new life in Hong Kong's been knocked off its axis. The second half resembles the sequel it's supposed to be and features some of John Woo's better work as an action choreographer. Audiences, in relation to the humorless original, might struggle with a sequel that often borders on self-parody but that's Hong Kong and "A Better Tomorrow II" is one of action cinema's finer schizophrenic entries. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: gfanikf Date: 02/03/2005 Great film. I actually saw this film before I saw the first one and I have to say that I think it gets unfairly bashed by critics. I think CYF's perfomance in the rice since is one of his best and a master piece of cinema. It has some great action to boot so there is something there for everyone. *** 1/2 out of ****

Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 09/18/2003 At the end of A Better Tomorrow, Ho is captured by the cops and sent to prison. In ABT2, Ho is offered early parole if he works with the police to take down a crime boss named Lung. Since Lung gave Ho his start in the "business," he refuses out of loyalty to his former boss. However, once he finds out his brother Kit (who is now married, with a child on the way) has taken the case, he reverses his decision and takes the job. After Lung is framed for the murder of another crime boss, he escapes to New York, where he ends up in a sanitarium after learning of his daughter's death. He is eventually nursed back to health by Ken, who is Mark's (from ABT1) twin brother. Ken is a former gangster trying to go straight, but when he learns of Lung, Ho and Mark's relationship, he decides to back to Hong Kong with Lung. The four friends join forces to get revenge, leading up to a high-powered, blood-spattered finale. While not as powerful as the first film, ABT2 is still a high-powered crime drama with incredible gunfights. I think most of the problems in the film come from the fact that ABT became so synonymous with gunfights that the realtionships Woo wanted to stress became lost in the shuffle, so he kind of over-compensated for it in ABT2 by developing the characters more fully. While there is nothing wrong with dramatics, I think the beginning of the film is too slow and really only appeals to fans of the first film (though the famous "rice" scene where Ken force-feeds a local gangster is great). I also think the whole "twin" angle is kind of stupid and undermines the credibility of the story, and some scenes come off as really melodramatic (even when compared to some other Hong Kong movies). The final half of the film, where the plot really starts to move, is pure Woo all the way and quite enjoyable to watch. Though not his best work, ABT2 is still definetly above-average and worth watching.

Reviewed by: balstino Date: 07/23/2002 Summary: It's still Good, worth a purchase. No this film is not as good as the first. But the first was GREAT (see my review!). ABT2 is good and has some storming action in. Chow is top and there are choice moments that would make me buy it just on merit of those. Woo + Fat = -£20 from my wallet.

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 01/12/2002 Summary: Very good, highly recommended. To be honest, I have always thought that as far as entertainment goes, this was better than it's originator, although I doubt too many people would agree with me. The story writers have managed to get Chow Yun Fat back even though he died in the first film, this time to play Marks twin brother, Ken. As stupid (and desperate) as it might sound to get the original actor back to play the main role, it surprisingly works well and you can actually believe it. Everyone plays strongly here, even Leslie Cheung (who was a let down in the original). Dean Shek is especially good, this was the first time (in fact the only time I can think of) that I have seen him in a serious acting role and actually comes off as one of the best performers. Plenty of gun fights as usual, with a few more sub plots to keep you interested, it's very enjoyable. It's as long as the original, and although most films get boring after 90 minutes, this one keeps you going. Really overall then this is as good as the original, and highly recommended especially if you liked the first outing. Reviewer Score: 10

Reviewed by: Hongkie Date: 06/10/2001 Summary: This Tomorrow isn't so better Well maybe the pun is a little bad, but man this movie drags. There are a few spunky bits here and there, with the rice and the first time CYF shoots out in this movie. However, the characters for the most part aren't interesting, and the story drags. Did I already say that? However, it's worth sitting through it all (or maybe simply fast-forwarding) to watch the finale. It's hard not to laugh though when Ti Lung starts chopping up thugs armed with guns. Still, it's the kind of scene you would put in a movie if you directed action movies.

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 05/08/2001 Summary: Pretty Good A contination of the first movie!! But i think the writers didn't have mucht ow rite so they killed soem people off!! Pretty good action but no where near as good as the first!! 7.5/10

Reviewed by: Fatty Date: 02/18/2001 Summary: ABT II: Somewhat better then first One year later, out comes John Woo's sequel to the gr8 orgional. This time, this story takes place I guess like a month after the first, Shing is dead..Mark is dead and Ho is sleeping in his sweat again.Plus we get to see some new characters aswell in this action sequel. Kit is now a Hard Ass Cop and some new Gangster's in Town in all..Good Fun!!! Now I really did enoy this film, it did have some boring parts but the ending solved that problem. I still missed Mark but we get to see Ken kick some ass, but he ain't good like his Brother thou. Fat did a good job as Ken, I never thought something like a twin would work...but it did. Good job Woo! Ti Lung still kicks ass as Ho who is now working with the cops in taking down some Gangster. But then teams up with his old friend Lung. who becomes Insane or something when he see's a little girl get killed and his brother.Dean Shik did a good job with Lung aswell. Leslie came back as Kit but poor Kit gets killed :(. But the guy I loved was that baddie who always wear shades plus he is the strong and silent type, plus he doesn't fuck around aswell. Now the plot wa aight, but a little weird. I didn't understand it abit but as I said it was aight. I did like the characters thou and the plot gave them that time. Now the music was like the first one but it's still good. They played my fav song again near then end when Ho,Ken and Lung were ready to kick some ass!!! The action was very sweet. Explosions and lot of dead bodies. The last part of the movie was the best. Plus we saw my Shades man get blown away by Ken(Bastard! :D) But we didn't see anyone with two shotguns in two hands..like in The spinoff I guess called *Return to a Better Tomorrow* where we saw Ekin do that shiaznitty. But when we saw Ho, Ken and Lung sitting in the chairs smoking up and dead bodies all around was definatley too fricking sweet!!!! In all ABT II was quite good with still damn good characters a cool sub boss I guess(Shades man) and a boring plot but the action gets rid of that in the end. 4.5/5 (Just because of Shades man and the big ass gun battle at the end) This Review is brought to you by Fatty

Reviewed by: resdog781 Date: 08/22/2000 To be fair, this movie suddenly sputtered to life during the last hlaf hour, and was running on all 6 cylinders. But the majority of this movie sucked. It was pretty boring, and not nearly as slick as the first ABT. But damn, that last showdown between Ti Lung's posse and damn near the entire HK and NYC mafia is one to be seen in order to be believed. Chow Yun-Fat (as Mark Gor's...long lost twin brother??), being a little too cocky with his grenades, Dean Shek goes plumb crazy, and Ti Lung even does a phat little swordfighting sequence where he slices up a few bad guys. And you wonder where Tarantino got the idea for the black-and-white suits in his movies...

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 Not quite as good as its predecessor... sloppily made... but the last 15 minutes of this film will blow anyone away. The climax alone is worth the price of admission. (7/10) [Reviewed by Andrej Blazeka]

Reviewed by: hokazak Date: 12/09/1999 Chow Yun Fat returns as his own twin brother, and asks, unforgettably, "you don't like my rice?"

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 The thrilling sequel to "A Better Tomorrow". Leslie Cheungand Ti Lung reprise their roles as brothers, Ho a reformed gangster (Lung) and Kit a rookie cop (Cheung). Together with the help of Ken (Chow Yun Fat), they try to crack a massive underworld conspiracy. When Kit is killed, Ken and Ho team up with an ex-underworld figure, Lung, and in samurai-like fashion, deal with the mob in a final climatic and bloody confrontation. [Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL John Woo crime melodrama, reportedly financed with triad money, revives our heroic trio (Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat); but since the Chow Yun-Fat character died in part one, he returns as his high-principled younger brother. Together with reformed counterfeiter Dean Shek (who goes insane, but gains complete lucidity just at the crucial moment of a gunfight), they aim to snap the triad/NY mob connection that wants to elimininate them. The plot takes a while to fall together, but once it does, it sets up an impressive series of gunfights (sans Woo's annoying male-bonding crap), with blood covering the walls, a smog-bank of gunsmoke, and smoking piles of bodies piled knee-high everywhere you look. The soundtrack is especially good, though occasionally incongruous. (3/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 7