Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageA Better Tomorrow II (1987)
Director: John Woo
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Chuffed by the success of A Better Tomorrow, Woo wanted to go straight on to The Killer and Bullet in the Head. But Tsui Hark insisted on a sequel, and came up with a storyline to press his point. The result is not 'the worst film ever made' (as Woo has been heard to describe it), but it's clear that his heart wasn't in it. The plot is a virtual rerun of the first one: ex-hoods and cops team up to beat ruthless counterfeiting racketeers by any means necessary. Since the Mark Lee character was killed off last time, it was necessary to invent Ken Lee, a twin brother in New York, to bring back Chow Yun-Fat - who (not surprisingly in the circumstances) treats the whole thing as a joke. There are odd flashes of Woo's talent, but the endless cross-cutting between characters generates no tension and the vast expenditure of (mostly ineffective) bullets and grenades looks more like Death Wish than a sign of visionary excess.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: John Woo
Producer: Tsui Hark
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Ti Lung, Dean Shek, Emily Chu full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 104 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now