Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) They say this the first to create the crime jazz shoot-em-up gangsta drama , and it's still a classic to this day . ----------- Story follows two Triad counterfeiter's, Mark and Ho, Ho's inspector brother Sung, and their rookie partner turned traitor Shing . Ho is given a money deal in Taiwan which turns out to be staged assassination. Ho manages to escape but has to spend 3 years behind Taiwan's prison bars. Before Ho leaves for his business deal he promises his father he'll go straight ; his brother who's newly promoted to inspector has no idea what Ho does for a living. After a botched kidnapping, their father is killed by an assassin and Sung promises to never forgive his brother .3 years past, and Ho is living the clean life in the taxi business . He goes searching for his friend Mark and discovers he's both a cripple and been reduced to a servant-boy under Shing. Shing is the new leader of the Triads, the center of police surveillance, and the initiator of many problems coming for Ho.Shing sets up Sung (who's investigating case), destroys the taxi stand, and beats Mark to a bloody pulp .. Mark, thirsty for revenge, kidnaps incriminating evidence on the Triad's counterfeiting business and holds it ransom unless Shing pays 2mil. Sung, hungry both to bring Shing down and payback his brother, gets the drop on the final meet down and decides to crash the party ..The Final Showdown Ensues

leonblackwood Review: It's been years since I've seen this movie and I must admit, I didn't really enjoy it that much this time. Back in the day, I found John Woo's gun action quite amazing but after watching so many movies that have copied his style, it seems quite mediocre for this day and age. On top of that, the music throughout the movie was awful but the storyline made it quite an enjoyable watch. Anyway, best friends Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) and Mark Lee (Chow Yun Fat), work for a triad gang who distribute counterfeit US bank notes. As Ho's brother is training to become a police officer, he keeps his criminal life secret but his sick dad is aware of his criminal activities and he keeps on asking him to go straight. He then takes on one last job in Taiwan but it turns out to be a trap and Ho and his new apprentice have to shoot there way out of an impossible situation. With the police hot on there tail, they go into hiding and a gang member attempts to kidnap Ho's dad to ensure his silence but when Ho's brother, Kit, tries to save his dad and his girlfriend, his dad gets shot and pleas with Kit to forgive his brother. Ho then surrenders to the police and goes to jail and when Mark hears about the gang who tried to trap Ho, he kills the leading Taiwanese gang member but he gets shot in his leg which leaves him crippled. After 3 years behind bars, Ho is released from prison and he attempts to go straight by becoming a driver for a taxi company. His brother, Kit, blames Ho for there father's death, so he doesn't want anything to do with him, especially as he wants to become a police officer and his brother is a ex- con. When Ho bumps in Mark, he's shocked to see that he has become an errand boy for the new head of the triads, Shing. Mark wants to get back there reputation by taking out Shing but Ho wants to go straight to try and get closer to his brother. Shing also tries to get Ho to come back to the organisation but when he turns down his offer, he uses brutal tactics by beating up Mark, attacking Ho's co-workers and luring Kit into a trap. After a passionate speech from Mark, Ho decides to take revenge on Shing and they put together a plan to steal a tape that will destroy there organisation. When Shing finds out about the missing tape they strike a deal to swap Kit for the incriminating tape but Shing's henchmen are close by, so Ho, Mark & Kit end up fighting for there life's whilst trying to take-out Shing. John Woo's story lines are always intense and never straight forward. I'm not surprised that it takes him so long to release a film! Anyway, the action seemed a bit messy at times but I liked it when Chow Yun-Fat was in his "one man army" mode. Ho's brother, Kit, did get on my nerves after a while but I liked the chemistry between Ho and Mark. There were a few emotional scenes and the complex storyline was well put together but I was hoping for some more action. Its still a decent film and definitely worth a watch if your into your John Woo movies. Watchable!Round-Up: This is John Woo's first movie which brought his name to light across the globe, even though it was full of subtitles. This also brought Chow Yun-Fat, 60, to an international market because of his brilliant performance and his cool persona. With over 100 movie to his name, which include Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Bulletproof Monk, the international acclaimed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Anna and the King he's definitely a unique actor who doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat always bring something special to the big screen and I'm looking forward to seeing more of there movies during my Oriental movie season.I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/drama's starring Chow Yun-Fat, Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Waise Lee and Emily Chu. 4/10

Michael Neumann Hong Kong movies are not unlike Hong Kong itself: loud, brash, fast, and furious, and the Crown Colony's biggest box office hit is more or less representative of its type, offering unsophisticated escapism with energy to spare. The formula is simple: mimic time-tested American movie clichés, but blow them out of any realistic proportion; the result in this case is a whipcrack action adventure beginning where most Hollywood thrillers end. The sometimes incomprehensible plot follows two underworld 'brothers', betrayed by their own syndicate, who embark on a bloody campaign of revenge against the silky-smooth crime lord (once their apprentice) responsible for setting them up. Separate credit is given to an 'action director', and for good reason: the violence is often incredible, but is presented on an unreal and almost theatrical scale, with lots of balletic slow-motion shoot-outs and artful camera choreography. Even more entertaining are the odd malapropisms in the Cantonese-to-English subtitles of the original theatrical import, in which 'legal evidence' is translated as 'hints', and the macho threat "don't f*ck with me!" emerges as a somewhat less intimidating "don't depress me!"

thisissubtitledmovies Perhaps the most influential director the action genre will ever see, John Woo honed his craft at the legendary Shaw Brothers studio before joining with producer Tsui Hark and finding his true calling in the crime genre. Woo's signature style, consisting of balletic action sequences alongside themes of religion, family and, of course, doves, is established with A Better Tomorrow. The Matrix, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Desperado, in fact, any film with a standoff, a dove, some slow motion or a black suited criminal owes a great debt to a signature style that was established with this film. John Woo has made better films, and he has made films that are much, much worse, but he will never come close to making the impact he did with this, his first slice of heroic bloodshed. KT