• 英雄本色 (A Better Tomorrow)

10/24/25 (Fri)

John Woo’s 1986 flick apparently defied gloomy expectations and proved an unexpected blockbuster, making Woo a major presence, reigniting the film careers of Chow Yun-fat and Ti Lung, and propelling pop star Leslie Cheung to film stardom (he also sang the theme song). Moreover, it changed the game for Hong Kong action films, essentially creating a new genre.

A gangster (Ti) is involved in a counterfeiting business for the mob alongside his partner (Chow) but has pledged to leave after a final job. His little brother (Cheung), who worships him while knowing nothing of his illegal activity, joins the police academy. When Ti and a younger colleague (Waise Lee) go to Taiwan to make the delivery, they are ambushed. When the police arrive, Ti allows Lee to escape and takes the rap.

When he is released three years later, he vows to go straight and manages to get work as a taxi driver. He discovers to his dismay that his former partner Chow was crippled on a job and is struggling, while his former protégée Lee has become a feared triad boss.

Cheung was shocked to learn that his brother is a crook. Worse, the triad has murdered their father in a failed abduction aimed at ensuring Ti’s silence. Despite Cheung’s hard work in the police force, his career suffers due to his family association, and he is removed from the Lee case. He aims to prove himself by independently taking down Lee, not knowing the connection with his elder brother. Meanwhile, he refuses to have anything to do with his elder brother, much to the latter’s despair.

Lee tries to recruit Ti to help out with a drug deal, but the latter turns him down, determined to leave his criminal past behind. Lee responds by attacking the taxi company and brutally beating Chow. Pursued by Cheung, he also lures him into a trap (though not realizing the family ties) that puts him in the hospital.

In addition to the serious injuries inflicted by Lee on his best friend and brother, Chow learns that it was Lee himself who set up the ambush in Taiwan to further his own career. That, of course, spurs him to join Chow to take revenge. Their efforts coincide with Cheung, who ultimately has to overcome his distaste for his brother’s past and work together to bring Lee down. The results are not pretty. In the end, Ti handcuffs himself to Cheung so that the latter can be credited for arresting him, and the film closes as they walk toward the police.

The story is convoluted but convincing, and the characters are well drawn. But the real draw is the comic-strip-level violence, which defies description: guns have apparently unlimited quantities of bullets; shooters use two guns at once in virtual machine-gun fire; characters fly through the air in slow motion when shot, crashing through windows or furniture or whatever else is in the way; single shooters kill entire mobs on their own; major characters get shot over and over and can still walk away. It’s a gore fest made palatable by the sheer unreality of it all. It’s evidently known as “gun fu”, a fabulous title. Woo’s talent is in linking this with a more-or-less credible story and characters we care about. Very impressive in its way.

Ti gives the standout performance as the former convict who can’t seem to escape his past, but he gets great support from all three of his co-stars. It was nice to see Lee’s young gang boss as opposed to the old guys that are typically slotted Kabuki-like into those roles. Leung was given a girlfriend, but this is basically a man’s world.

I don’t know why they didn’t use the nice Chinese title, something like “The Nature of a Hero”. The English title doesn’t instantly connect with the material, so I wasn’t sure where it came from until the scene with the children’s chorus singing the old Taiwanese pop song “明天會更好”, which translates precisely to the English title. I suppose it relates to Ti’s desire to reject his past and move forward, including repairing relations with his brother.

Woo decisively overturned his image as a comedy director with this flick and went on to greater glory in Hong Kong, Hollywood and China. An experience for sure, elevated by its performances and the no-holds-barred action sequences.