Overview
Two brothers on opposite sides of the law must navigate their tumultuous relationship amidst crime and redemption.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- explosive
- sentimental
- melodramatic
- action movie night
- hong kong cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised John Woo's explosive yet sentimental direction, stylized action, melodramatic storytelling, and importance within Hong Kong cinema, while acknowledging that later Woo films refined its approach.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film combines shootouts, slow motion, and explosions with sustained brotherly feeling and reconciliation.
Its criminal protagonists, brotherhood ethic, wuxia-derived morality, and balletic shootouts exemplify the Hong Kong movement.
Sung Chi Ho seeks to reform after prison while being drawn back into conflict with his former criminal world.
The bond between counterfeiter Sung Chi Ho and police officer Sung Chi Kit drives the central emotional and ethical conflict.
Films like A Better Tomorrow, and why
The Killer
shared heroic bloodshed style, brotherhood themes, melodramatic crime drama, and stylized gunplay
Hard Boiled
shared Hong Kong action filmmaking, loyalty themes, slow motion gunplay, and masculine melodrama
Bullet in the Head
shared brotherhood conflict, criminal underworld drama, revenge themes, and operatic violence
City on Fire
shared crime action, strained family loyalty, redemption, and emotionally heightened shootouts
Movie Details
- Director
- John Woo
- Release Date
- 1986-08-02
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (645)
Cast
- Ti Lung
- Chow Yun-Fat
- Leslie Cheung
- Emily Chu Bo-Yee
- Waise Lee Chi-Hung
- Tien Feng
- John Woo
- Sek Yin-Tsi
- Kenneth Tsang
- Wang Hsieh
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Better Tomorrow about?
- A Hong Kong crime-action melodrama where a repentant counterfeiter fights to protect his police-officer brother from the violent world he wants to leave behind.
- What is A Better Tomorrow like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Better Tomorrow as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Better Tomorrow violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in A Better Tomorrow as graphic.
- What did critics think of A Better Tomorrow?
- Critics broadly praised John Woo's explosive yet sentimental direction, stylized action, melodramatic storytelling, and importance within Hong Kong cinema, while acknowledging that later Woo films refined its approach.
- Which films are like A Better Tomorrow?
- Films with a similar feel include The Killer, Hard Boiled, Bullet in the Head, and City on Fire.
- How long is A Better Tomorrow?
- A Better Tomorrow runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Better Tomorrow?
- In United States, A Better Tomorrow streams on fuboTV.
