A Better Tomorrow II
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''A Better Tomorrow 2'' is a 1987
Hong Kong action film Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kon ...
written and directed by
John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...
. A follow-up to its popular predecessor, '' A Better Tomorrow'', the film stars returning cast members
Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: '' A Better Tomorrow'', '' A ...
,
Ti Lung Ti Lung (born 19 August 1946) is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly '' The Blood Brothers'', ''The Avenging Eagle'', ''Clans of Intrigue'', '' The Duel'', ''The Sentim ...
and
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
alongside new cast member
Dean Shek Dean Shek (17 June 1949 – 20 September 2021), also known as Dean Shek Tin, was a Hong Kong film actor and producer with over 72 film credits to his name. Shek was perhaps best known as Professor Kai-hsien in the 1978 film ''Drunken Master'', ...
. The film was released in Hong Kong on 17 December 1987. Due to the popularity of Chow's break-out performance in the previous instalment, he was cast in a new character as the twin brother of "Mark", who was killed in the previous film. ''A Better Tomorrow 2'' is known for its over the top violence, exaggerated blood and gore, and body counts nearing the hundreds. Film director John Woo and producer
Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as '' Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...
had disagreements over the focus of this film. Tsui felt that the film should focus more on Dean Shek's character. This led to the film being edited by both Tsui and Woo. Their disagreements would lead to a split after this film, with Hark directing '' A Better Tomorrow 3'' and Woo moving on to create '' The Killer''.


Plot

Several years after his arrest, Sung Tse-ho is offered early parole by the police in exchange for spying on his former boss and mentor, Lung Sei, who is suspected of heading a counterfeiting operation. Inspector Wu, the leader of the task force, wants to mark his retirement with the capture of a high profile criminal like Lung. Though Ho initially declines because of his loyalty to Lung, he eventually changes his mind when he discovers that his younger brother, Kit, who is expecting a child along with his pregnant wife Jackie, is working undercover on the same case. While working the case, the two brothers meet and agree to work together. After being framed for murder, Lung seeks Ho's help, who is able to help him escape to New York. However, Lung suffers a
psychotic break Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...
and is institutionalized after receiving news of his daughter's murder and witnessing the death of a friend. Meanwhile, Ho learns that his deceased friend Mark Lee has a long-lost twin brother, Ken, a former gang member who left Hong Kong as a teenager to travel across America, eventually opening a restaurant in New York City. Ho then locates Ken and enlists his assistance in freeing Lung. Targeted by both assassins attempting to kill Lung as well as American mobsters looking to extort Ken, Ken and a catatonic Lung take refuge in an apartment building where Ken arms himself. During a shoot-out with their attackers, Ken and Lung find themselves cornered; seeing Ken in trouble snaps Lung out of his stupor, and he kills the last of their pursuers. The two return to Hong Kong and regroup with Ho and Kit. The group discovers that one of Lung's employees, Ko Ying-pui, is responsible for attempt on Lung's life and has since taken over the organization in Lung's absence. Lung decides that he would rather destroy his organization with his own hands than let it fall into dishonor and ruin, and the group starts planning to act against Ko. After scouting out Ko's mansion alone, Kit is fatally wounded, but is rescued by Ken, who attempts to rush him to the hospital. Knowing that he will not make it however, Kit persuades Ken to stop at a phone booth to call Jackie, where he manages to name his newborn child Sung Ho-yin ("the Spirit of Righteousness") before succumbing to his wounds. After attending Kit's funeral, Ho, Ken, and Lung take revenge on Ko by attacking his mansion during a meeting with a counterfeiting client. The three manage to kill Ko and several of his men following an intense shootout, but are all critically wounded in the process. Following the shootout, the three men sit down in the mansion and are surrounded by the police forces led by Inspector Wu. Upon seeing the condition of the men, Wu orders his men to stand down, while Ho remarks against Inspector Wu's retirement, as there is "much work left for imto do."


Cast

*
Dean Shek Dean Shek (17 June 1949 – 20 September 2021), also known as Dean Shek Tin, was a Hong Kong film actor and producer with over 72 film credits to his name. Shek was perhaps best known as Professor Kai-hsien in the 1978 film ''Drunken Master'', ...
as Lung Sei *
Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: '' A Better Tomorrow'', '' A ...
as Ken "Gor" Lee *
Ti Lung Ti Lung (born 19 August 1946) is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly '' The Blood Brothers'', ''The Avenging Eagle'', ''Clans of Intrigue'', '' The Duel'', ''The Sentim ...
as Sung Tse-ho *
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
as Sung Tse-kit *
Emily Chu Emily Chu (; born 31 October 1960) is a Hong Kong film actress. Partial filmography * ''Jiu wan shi ba zhuan'' (1982) * '' Duel of the Masters'' (1983) * ''Funny Face'' (1985) * ''Heart of Dragon'' (1985) - Jenny * ''Millionaire's Express'' (1 ...
as Jackie Sung (Tse-kit's wife) * Kwan Shan as Ko Ying-pui (The main antagonist) * Kenneth Tsang as Ken (The taxi manager from the first film) * Shing Fui-On as Ko's partner *Lam Chung as Ko's partner *
Ng Man-tat Richard Ng Man-tat (, 2 January 1952 – 27 February 2021) was a Hong Kong actor originally from Fujian. He was a veteran actor in the Hong Kong film industry, with dozens of awards, including Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Fi ...
as Mr Wong (during the early stage of his film career) *Peter Wang as Sam (Lung's priest friend in New York) *Lung Ming-yan as Chong (Ko's cold blooded hitman) *Louis Roth as Protection Money Collector *
Regina Kent Regina Kent (September 4, 1967 – August 16, 1999) was a Hong Kong actress who acted in some notable Hong Kong films in the 1980s. Career Acting Kent starred as May in the 1986 film ''Legacy of Rage'' alongside Brandon Lee and Michael Wong. Sh ...
as Peggy Lung (Lung's daughter) *Ken Boyle as New York Counterfeit Buyer *Lau Siu-ming as Chief Inspector Wu *Mike Abbott as Assassin *Cindy Lau as Ken's restaurant staff *Steve Mak as Ko's thug


Music


Theme song

;"Will Rush Toward Future Day" (奔向未來日子) :*Lyrics:
Wong Jim James Wong Jim (; 18 March 1941 – 24 November 2004, also known as "霑叔" or "Uncle Jim") was a Cantopop lyricist and songwriter based primarily in Hong Kong. Beginning from the 1960s, he was the lyricist for over 2,000 songs, collaboratin ...
:*Composition and Arrangement:
Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo h ...
:*Performance:
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...


Music cues

This film contains music cues from other films: *"Birdy's Flight (From 'Not One of Us')" **Composer:
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
**From: '' Birdy'' (1984) *"Leo Gets It" **Composer: Gary Chang **From: '' 52 Pick-Up'' (1987) *"The Set-Up" **Composer:
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...
**From: '' Extreme Prejudice'' (1987)


Release

The film was theatrically released in Hong Kong on 17 December 1987. In the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, the film was released by First Films as ''Rapid Fire'' on 25 August 1988, with free sunglasses, jackets, and watches distributed on opening day.
Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television se ...
released the film on DVD in the US in January 2001. Extras include the trailer and biographies. In June 2004, HKflix.com released it again on DVD along with its two sequels in a boxed set.
Hong Kong Legends Hong Kong Legends was a United Kingdom DVD distribution company, based in Hertfordshire and operating from the UK and Australia between 1999 and 2007. Hong Kong Legends was initially part of Medusa Communications, who, along with Soulblade bough ...
released a special collector's edition in the UK in September 2006.


Reception

''
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
'', a
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that 83% of six surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 7/10. Writing in ''Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head'', Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins describe the film as "gorged with Woo's trademarks" and "a funhouse exaggeration of its central motifs".


Accolades


See also

*
Chow Yun-fat filmography This article contains the filmography of Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five ...
*
List of Hong Kong films of 1987 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1987:. 1987 See also * 1987 in Hong Kong References * External links IMDB list of Hong Kong films of 1987* Hong Kong films of 1987 aHKcinemamagic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong Kong Films Of 1987 ...
*
List of Hong Kong films This is a list of films produced in Hong Kong ordered by decade and year of release in separate pages. For film set in Hong Kong and produced elsewhere see ''List of films set in Hong Kong''. 1909–1949 *List of Hong Kong films before 1950 1 ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Better Tomorrow 2, A 1987 films 1987 action films 1980s crime action films 1980s crime drama films 1980s Cantonese-language films Films directed by John Woo Films set in Hong Kong Films set in New York City Films shot in Hong Kong Films shot in New York City Gun fu films A Better Tomorrow films Hong Kong crime action films Hong Kong sequel films Hong Kong New Wave films Triad films 1987 drama films 1980s Hong Kong films