A Better Tomorrow 2

So good we had to return immediately to John Woo’s sweaty gangster tragi-ballad, A Better Tomorrow II, to revel in the blood soaked ballet that inspired so many films (ahem, reservoir dogs).

Cobbled together a year after Woo’s original 1986 smash hit, A Better Tomorrow II brings back Chow Yun Fat (but of course!), Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung, but also presents an uncharacteristically grounded performance from the late great Dean Shek, and pre-Stephen Chow villainous Ng Man Tat.
It’s been established that Chow is the thief of our hearts, stealing scenes aplenty, but this instalment has some great performances with multiple nominations and awards with huge shout outs to Leslie’s Cheungs heartbreaking phonebooth scene and Chow’s legendary ‘Apologise to the Rice’ scene. Put on your suits and ties, grab your shotguns and gear up with us.