Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) This isn't A Better Tomorrow. It's a love story. A cliched love story at that. The love story was just as confusing as their one-handed machine gun wielding spraying, missing all of their targets (yet somehow still landing) .. Action plot was a mess, whoever gave Hark Tsui a go on this movie instead of John Woo should be fined .The main actress was gorgeous though , with that - 5/10

kjpsychology Tsui Hark should've stopped with the 2nd ABT. Even if he wanted to push the envelope on the series by making a prequel, he should've done a wayyyyy better job.The storyline takes Mark back to Vietnam, where we learn his life as a younger, much less "gangly" individual. However, don't count out Mark when guns are ablazing wherever they may be. It also has a take on his romantic days with a mysterious mob boss' girlfriend, Anita Mui, and the love square they all shared with the Japanese boss and Tony Leung.Let's talk what's important 1st in these movies. The action. Whatever you can expect in a late 80's, early 90's action Hong Kong film = it's all there. Tsui Hark definitely made it through with the gun fighting scenes. Yet - they weren't as stylish, and you could even say they can become boring once you recognize the similar scenes from other movies. Everyone's wielding an M16 or AK47 shooting the crap out of each other while Mark flies through the air with his signature double fisting handguns.Where's the edge? Where's the coolness that Mark had from the 1st movie when he strolled through the restaurant nonchalantly dropping berettas everywhere, as he plans to slowly walk in to kill the boss while he's eating hotpot? Where's the climax that we felt in the 2nd movie where all three Ken, Lung and uncle Keen all dressed up and were ready to avenge Kit's death? Let's talk about the plot. Vietnam. WHAT?!? The 1st thing I thought of when I heard prequel was = How brother Lung and Mark started it all - from humble beginnings as street punks, to an established powerful gang where they both reign as kingpins. Or even how uncle Keen brought Mark and Lung into the gang, and how they became who they are today. However; what I found was a seemingly ridiculous plot where Mark is thousands of miles away fighting stupid wars that he got himself into. THEN he's somehow involved with Anita Mui. I'm sorry, but some scenes where Mark is caught up in love made me lose respect for the character of Mark that I know.What makes these ABT films is through the theme of brotherhood - in this movie, there simply wasn't enough - or it just wasn't standing out. What your eyes see is romance romance romance. Not to say that a love story isn't nice once in awhile, but come on. As a prequel?! No - that just won't do.If John Woo was involved in this movie, he definitely would've said - Ummm no - we're not going to shoot this movie because it's gonna be terrible. Looks like he dodged a bullet. (No pun intended) For an ABT fan, you might enjoy it because you get to learn more about Mark. But as a movie goer, avoid this one. It's a major disappointment and you'll be happy that you didn't waste 2 hours of your life.

stendhalsyndrome Sure, it's not a crowd pleaser and exactly as enjoyable on a superficial level like Woo/Hark's previous good installments... this film has something Woo never had, and that's a very good idealistic, detailed but at the same time a complex screenplay that is also opening the door for many various interpretations of the viewer as far as characters beliefs and motivations go; very long spontaneous but also intense dramatic moments led sometimes by the three characters at the very same time, brilliantly structured moody cinematography and "many" distinct characters differing one from another with their own issues interconnected throughout the story, and most of all the ability telling a story mainly only by the images and songs. Not to mention the fact that this film features much more flushy and opulent deeply profound story-line than anyone could have ever witnessed in any J.Woo film to this day! Although, one thing one could find lacking here that many fans of the first two films were affected by, which are the action sequences that this film has clearly no such interest in or simply not being as focused on as many Woo's films, though, such scenes appear here now and then if sporadically but when they show up they're coming with a sense of the unanticipation, shock and philosophical meaningness. As one biographer wrote: "In The Killer Woo shows two men firing guns, back to back, a sort of enclosed circle; Tsui Hark has the same shot in A Better Tomorrow III, except that it's Ho and Kit! Likewise, Tsui has no interest in copying Woo's "bullet ballet" style of directing action sequences; instead, Tsui emphasizes the characters and the situations. Woo directs action for the sake of the action; Tsui directs it for the sake of the story!" Why people usually prefer the first one to this much dramatically superior film was already many times explained before and one of the things very often mentioned is the element of the commercialism and the appeal well-disposed to the western tastes that was ironically and effectively sold out. This film is totally different by its Chinese aesthetics that works in a more operatic, dreamy, poetic and sometimes fully surrealistic and artistic way J.Woo could only dream of to achieve. This time the meaning of the film is not about the traditional honor, loyalty or brotherhood we've already seen in a never ending line of similar maudlin homo-erotic movies; Here we are introduced to the very meditative themes about the complexities of love and equality, and above all Tsui Hark makes a much more ambitious effort as he brings these themes to a world swallowed by chaos. In the process of portraying the relationship between the main characters, he humbles the viewers with the realization of how insignificant each one of us can be in the face of change. Yet, he does not drag us into the abyss of desperation, as he offers hope and redemption for those who keep trying. Otherwise he brings plentiful other themes resonating with the modern time, among the politics, the fear of the 97 handover and the sprawling examination of gender roles, the film's background centers on the celebration of the Chinese nationality by the usage of the mutual heritage in favor of all or the Chinese notion of fate circling around all the main characters, basically involving Anita Mui's meditative Kit pondering over all her doomed life that's conversely gonna reflect the life of Fat's Mark Gor later in his gangster period (previous sequels -- mind you).Each 24 or 20 frames per second are filled with an incredible ingenious sense for the timing and meaningful idea that both come along making a totally explosive impact on the mind of the viewer, either verbally or visually. The film employs a jaggy, documentary style to capture the chaos of its time; then later in more quiet moments of the film's time-frame it's creating a lovely montage of Mun, Mark and Kit shopping, using gradated filters for a dreamy, romantic feel that's bringing a sort of allegorical meaning that life continues even under the worst situations, and can also continue with joy.There's another thing that makes this timeless masterpiece different from other installments: this is one of the very few films that can never be REMADE. Possibly the best and the most provocative T.Hark movie ever! Let me say that now it doesn't quite surprise me that most of the critics were praising this film as the very best one in this classical series... they could never be more right this time.

GIB 01 Though people have been saying how much of a disappointment this prequel is, I watched it anyways, being a fan of the first two movies. And to be fair, it wasn't a bad experience at all.I can see how people would be frustrated going in expecting more of the same and getting an action/drama movie instead, but I was told that it was less action and more romance beforehand. So I was prepared to take it for what it is worth. Which is an above average movie overall.The Good: Chow Yun Fat returns to his character from the first film, which is great. Imagine the movie without him. Can you? Anita Mui plays her part very well and at times you really believe that she is upset or frustrated. The storyline is decent, and done pretty well. No, there are no scenes like the finale of A Better Tomorrow 2, but come on, did you really expect that kind of scene again? The ending of A Better Tomorrow 2 is so spectacular, can you blame the prequel for not trying to top it and go elsewhere instead? The chemistry between Chow Yun Fat's Mark and Anita Mui's Kit is great, especially with Kit. The viewer really feels for her. Great job.The not so good: Many people accuse John Woo's films of totally ignoring women. But when it comes to A Better Tomorrow, many people criticize part three for placing a woman in the mix. It's supposed to be a story of brotherhood and friendship. In a way I agree. There should be more women representation is some of John Woo's work, but with this series, many fans prefer a team of friends, guys, more specifically Ho, Mark, and Kit from the first in the series. I would rather have had part three be a true sequel picking up where the second left off [with Ho and Mark's brother Ken (also played by Fat)] and tell about there struggles and how they are getting over the events of the last movie. Then you can put Anita Mui in the storyline somewhere and have her help them out in some way.Overall, A Better Tomorrow 3 is pretty good. Not much like the first two, but an alternative that strays from the formula and may be accpted by some, and not by others.