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A Better Tomorrow II

Play trailer Poster for A Better Tomorrow II 1987 1h 38m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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57% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A policeman (Leslie Cheung) and a reformed gangster (Ti Lung) meet their dead friend's twin, employed by a New York mob boss.
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A Better Tomorrow II

Critics Reviews

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Jake Cole Slant Magazine Nov 11
Only a few minutes longer than the first film, A Better Tomorrow II feels distended and unfocused. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 22
2.5/4
The least satisfying movie in the trilogy. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/25/2005
3/5
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid 03/18/2004
Less cohesive than the first, but also more charged. Go to Full Review
Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 01/24/2003
3/5
Ryan Cracknell Apollo Guide 07/24/2001
88/100
A showcase for John Woo's tremendous skill both as a storyteller and as a composer of violent masterpieces. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jason H Dec 1 This movie is positively ludicrous. Twin brothers, lack of ballistics, characters introduced and then killed almost immediately afterwards... it's all over the place, and not in a good way. I'm not going to bother watching part III. See more DanTheMan 2 06/06/2023 The fact that A Better Tomorrow II somehow manages to form a somewhat cohesive narrative and deliver some more uproarious Woo action is nothing short of a miracle. While the moment-to-moment editing is extremely questionable, seriously, the number of hard cuts in this movie that feel like we're jumping over some very necessary details; all get thrown out the door for an absolutely brilliant finale that is more than a highlight in Woo's already-stacked repertoire. The absolute mess of its production is infamous, with John Woo and Tsui Hark constantly disagreeing with each other over how the film should go eventually resulting in two different versions of the film being shot, separately edited and then edited together again by another team. Honestly, if someone were to find the original film elements of this movie, you could most likely cobble together, at minimum, 5 different cuts putting Blade Runner to shame. Chow Yun-fat is completely unhinged in this one, be it crying over some rice or nearly being blown up due to an explosion gone wrong, I love it. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung retain their great performances of certified bromance which made the original so endearing. Joseph Koo's soundtrack is great, at least when he isn't egregiously overusing the main theme at every possible moment. For what it's worth, however, while this film may be an unfocused mess, it's still ridiculously entertaining with all of Woo's loveable trademarks still very much in place. See more Jimmy P 01/20/2023 Just watch the last twenty minutes or so. See more 05/09/2022 a better tomorrow two is a perfect storm of an amazing movie. it wouldn't exist without disagreement and compromise between director and producer and you can feel all of it's production tensions play out on the screen in the very best of ways. See more 01/04/2022 Manages to make the whole twin brother thing work. It is a lazy reason to bring back Chow Yun-Fat who died in the first film. The movie would suck without him, so who cares. See more 08/13/2019 Just as good as the first one John Woo's Masterpiece. See more Read all reviews
A Better Tomorrow II

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Movie Info

Synopsis A policeman (Leslie Cheung) and a reformed gangster (Ti Lung) meet their dead friend's twin, employed by a New York mob boss.
Director
John Woo
Producer
Hark Tsui
Screenwriter
John Woo, Hark Tsui
Production Co
Cinema City Film Productions
Genre
Action
Original Language
Chinese
Runtime
1h 38m
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