|
 |
A Better Tomorrow II
|
by Starz / Anchor Bay
Sales Rank: 80171
Price: $14.98
|
|
|
"I won't give you nothing, man; I give you shit," sneers charismatic superstar Chow Yun Fat, speaking English (with a De Niro accent) in his role as a New York restaurateur who won't knuckle under to the (Italian) mob. Chow plays the twin brother of the character he played in the original <I>Tomorrow</I>, the ultraviolent, ultraromantic ultrapopular Hong Kong gangster melodrama. And the blatancy of that device is a fair indication of the sequel's shortcomings--and of its screwy charm: this is a film that knows no shame. The bond between the natural siblings played by Ti Lung (as a reformed mobster) and Leslie Cheung (as a hot shot cop) still resonate tellingly. As a good-guy ex-thug driven batty by the slaying of his only daughter, real-life Cinema City studio chief Dean Shek gets to play a garishly extended "mad scene," foaming at the mouth, chewing on soup bones. A later episode in which a dying man crawls to a phone booth to call his wife (and newborn daughter) in the hospital must also be some kind of lurid first in the soap sweepstakes. The final 15 minutes could be the bloodiest single shoot-out sequence ever committed to celluloid. The story line hasn't been shaped to any particular purpose here, but the images have a golden <I>Godfather</I>-like glow, and this faintly anachronistic, all-stops-out wish-fulfillment approach to moviemaking still has a lot of power. <i>--David Chute</i>
Viewer Reviews
The movie starts out showing Ti Lung in jail. He is given an offer to go undercover to bring down a counterfeit money operation. He says no, but immediately changes his mind when he finds out his brother (Leslie Cheung) is working on the case. The crime boss that Leslie Cheung is after is played by Dean Shek who gives a great dramatic performance. Dean Shek is best known for playing very goofy characters in Drunken Master, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog. When Shek is framed for murder, he must hideout with a friend in New York. Leslie Cheung and Ti Lung also head to New York when they find out Mark (Ti Lung's friend from the last movie) has a twin brother. If you have seen A Better Tomorrow, then you know that Mark (Chow Yun Fat) couldn't come back for this movie, so they just say he has a twin brother. This would be fine if it was the only part of the story that seemed to be hastily glued together, but there are too many things that fall into place unnaturally. Some scenes must have been cut out and the movie is just a mess. There are a few good action scenes and the end is very exciting, but sadly this is not one of John Woo's better efforts.
3/5
Picture and sound quality on the Anchor Bay DVD are good. Subtitles are well written and there is also a really bad English dub.
Back To Top
|
A Better Tomorrow II
Available from Amazon
|
|
NOTICE: All product prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
Copyright © 2009, Dominant Systems Corporation
info@HowlingVideo.com
Privacy Policy
Last Modified : 1-8-2009
|
