A Better Tomorrow (Ying huang boon sik, 1986)

Taking a break from my usual kung fu-heavy diet, I finally got the chance to check out this classic John Woo action/drama. OK, I can see what all the fuss is all about, and this is a real good one for those looking for some seriously slashy undercurrents. It's primarily a story about two brothers: Ho Tse (Ti Lung), who's trying to leave his Traid past behind, and Kit (Leslie Cheung), a rookie cop who can't forgive his brother for his past. Ho Tse's down-and-out former partner in crime, Mark (Chow Yun Fat), is his tie to the past he just can't leave behind, and it all leads to a violent, bloody, and somehow unavoidable finale.

Suffering heroes, angst, and two friends closer than the two biological brothers...this is slash heaven, yes indeed. CYN is beyond cool, and he and Ti Lung make a wonderful pair, sharing plenty of intense looks and silent moments that suggest a past together the viewer can only imagine. Leslie Cheung didn't really wow me as much, but his part was the least interesting of the three anyway. Minor points of demerit for Emily Chu as Kit's girlfriend Jackie...I wanted her to be a stronger character, the only scenes with her I liked was when she was working to try to reconcile the two brothers. Also the subtitles on the Media Asia DVD were awful...readable, yes, but grammatically indecipherable so much of the time, and lagging behind the screen dialog enough to be difficult to follow who was saying what. For once I may try to find a dubbed version of this for comparison because I'm sure I missed a lot.

SUMMARY:

Overall rating: A Tight and gritty, a movie that will leave a lasting impression.

Droolworthiness: A- Ti Lung and CYF are quite lustable.

Slashiness: A- More than a couple sit-up-and-take-notice moments between Ti Lung and CYF's characters. Buddy-bonding at its best.

Action: A- for gunplay. No martial arts to speak of though, except Ti Lung showing off a couple moves.

C'mon, give him a kiss already, dammit!

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