Review of A Better Tomorrow 2

Introduction

There really is no label which works harder for the preservation of Hong Kong cinema gems than Contender Entertainment`s Hong Kong Legends brand. Consistently raising the bar in terms of restoration and presentation, you only need to look at the reviews for the latest batch of martial arts DVDs on Reviewer to see what to see what some of the HKL range could look like in the hands of a lesser label.

Here we have the latest in line of classic HK cinema flicks to get the HKL DVD treatment, `A Better Tomorrow II`, John Woo`s follow up to his phenomenally successful career archetype. In an unfortunate turn of events, the original `A Better Tomorrow` wound up in the hands of Optimum Asia for an Ultimate Edition makeover that had less personality and heart than Paris Hilton and Dorothy`s pal the Tin Man combined. Thankfully the sequel found it`s way to a better home.

Kind enough to start with a kindly reminder of what happened in the first film, `A Better Tomorrow II` opens with Ho, now serving time at the pleasure of the Hong Kong Government, being recruited out of prison to go undercover in a counterfeiting ring that may involve Sei, an old Triad buddy thought to have gone straight. Unbeknownst to Ho, his younger brother, police officer Kit, is working the same case. Things heat up when the innocent Sei is framed for the murder of a Triad and a high ranking police officer. Sent into hiding in New York, it`s not long before the old man crosses paths with Ken, the twin brother of the late Mark, the coolest ex-gangster in Hong Kong.

Two worlds collide as Ken and Sei find themselves back in Hong Kong and out for revenge. Ken soon finds himself walking his brother`s old territory, and donning Mark`s old shades and jacket, it`s only a matter of time before Ken and the gang start wreaking a bloody havoc...

Video

Anamorphic 1.85:1

Thankfully none of the horrendous cropping seen with Optimum`s `A Better Tomorrow` DVD, but some scenes are heavily littered with grain. However, for the most part HKL have done a great restoration job, with the majority of the film getting a rather impressively clean transfer with what looks like a much improved, more vivid colour saturation, belying the age of the movie.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 coming in Cantonese and English flavours.

Sadly lacking the original Cantonese 2.0 dual mono as a comparison (whereas the Ultimate Edition of `A Better Tomorrow` featured only the mono track), it`s seems no one wants to give us both the original track and a new surround mix on the UK release of these movies.

The Cantonese 5.1 is actually quite bland. For the amount of hectic action seen throughout, it`s surprising the engineer(s) responsible for the upmix here chose to forgo the rears for the majority of the film, and there sure isn`t much of a kick from the sub. They literally lie dormant for the entire running time. There`s much to be said for not introducing new effects that sit uncomfortably in a 5.1 upmix, but it`s rare to find a 5.1 mix so flat.

The effects and music are as to be expected from an 80`s HK film. Plenty of OTT, gung-ho sound effects and pulsing bangs, with a reprise of the score theme from the original making an appearance or two.

The optional English subtitles are fine and clear.

Features

No Bey Logan commentary here.

We do have a 20 minute interview with producer Tsui Hark, who reveals that half way through the production of `A Better Tomorrow`, the studio wanted to burn the footage that had been filmed and give up, convinced they had a complete failure on their hands!

Trilogy of Bloodshed: Animated Essay: Essentially fancy film notes spawning the three movies.

UK promo & theatrical trailers

A Better Tomorrow III preview

There`s also a segment on the DVD dedicated to previewing other releases from HKL, including `Once A Thief`, `The Killer`, `Bullet in the Head, `Dreadnaught` and the upcoming `Hapkido`.

Conclusion

The blessing of a superior sequel strikes John Woo with `A Better Tomorrow II`. Certainly not as groundbreaking as the original, but his follow-up has a more accomplished feel to it. The action is better choreographed and more adventurous, and the story has a smoother arc. That said, by playing with twin plot threads, Ho and Kit`s story lacks the attention to really flesh out their relationship further, and there are a few overly familar scenes, where it feels like Woo has simply retreaded old ground for filler. Really, how many times do Triads have to be betrayed at illicit dockside meetings before someone rents a hotel room? It`s also lacking anything approaching Mark`s pathos-filled flip from hip gangster to crippled nobody as seen in the original. It does make up for this by giving Ken a shot of cool, crazy humour in the arm that really adds to his character - although much of this doesn`t appear until the latter part of the film.

Saying that, it`s clear the addition of Ken to the plot is less a necessity to the story and more a play to keep the popular cultural phenom Chow Yun-Fat in the franchise. Pulling on the jacket and shades and emitting an unreproducible coolness, you`re reminded why every Chinese teenager wanted to be Mark in 1986. Chow Yun-Fat even adds a new trick to his repertoire, sucking on the flame of a cigarette lighter; doubtlessly copied en masse, resulting in temporary Pete Burns lips for many a daft teen. The highlight of the movie is the climax, a John Woo trademarked blood `n balls shootout. It`s here the bulk of the slick set pieces lie, as guns, grenades and swords make mincemeat of everything that has a pulse. Where bodies literally pile up, with whisps of smoke rising from their corpses. It`s also here you realise how much of the style and panache has been pilfered from the franchise by young and eager Hollywood directors.

A truly enjoyable HK caper, harking back to a time when all bad guy goons wore black suits, dark-tinted aviator sunglasses and drove black sedans. When all the head baddies wore white suits, couldn`t run or fire a gun very well, and had big ol` mansions for the good guys to storm. And when the good guys could be filled with a dozen bullet holes, and still fire off a quip or two. All done with that inimitable John Woo style.