A Better Tomorrow (2010) Is Awesome

A Better Tomorrow was the first Hong Kong Woo Fu Opera I had the grace of seeing. I think I bought it in a bargain bin at K-Mart, because it said "from the director of Face Off on it. I've always held the film dear because it opened me up to my favorite genre of action: the Hong Kong Opera.


Somehow A Better Tomorrow was remade without me knowing and I missed it until just now. I've seen some old school Woo purists livid about it being remade, but lets be honest a reboot of A Better Tomorrow is a damn good thing. Putting nostalgia aside A Better Tomorrow (2010) is a stronger film that Woo's original. The story remains about the same with some minor changes (ie location, small cultural references, etc), but what makes the remake worth while is the updated technical aspects. The original is plagued with terrible transfers and horrid translations. It may seem superficial, but the original A Better Tomorrow is hard to watch no matter what version you own.


Don't get me wrong, that isn't the only reason A Better Tomorrow (2010) deserves the crown, but it sure helps. ABT (2010) is beautiful, brutal, and expertly crafted. You can't beat the action films coming out of Asia lately. Sometimes A Better Tomorrow (2010) felt like Johnny To was behind the camera crafting a beautiful dance of bullets. Director Hae-sung Song shows that he is ready to play with the likes of To and Woo with this film and I hope he really grows into himself, because he can craft brutal action while make the rest of the frame dance with beauty. Overall I would say the remake of A Better Tomorrow is an awesome movie that any action lover should give it a watch.