Nobody does heroic bloodshed like John Woo. 'A Better Tomorrow (1986)' is considered to be Woo's first foray into the genre and it's one heck of a initial attempt. Although 'The Killer (1989)' and 'Hard Boiled (1991)' would refine his approach to the genre by distilling it down to the dove-laden, acrobatic action extravaganza everyone expects when they hear his name, this movie lays the foundations of what's to come and holds up even if you've seen those later pictures first (as I did). Mixing the melancholic poetry of Wong Kar-Wai with the explosive violence of Sam Peckinpah, the piece tells the tale of a high-end criminal who comes to blows with his policeman brother after the death of their father. It's essentially about the criminal's attempts to leave his old life behind and prove to his kin that he's a new man, but of course that life proves exceptionally difficult to get away from. The core of the movie isn't a duo, it's a trio; the lead's best friend and brother-in-arms goes to great lengths to honour the silent code that exists between them. The conflict between these characters and those on both sides of the law who seem incapable of letting sleeping dogs lie drives the narrative forward. It's paced almost like an epic, with large stretches of time passing by in montage to craft an overview of the large internal journeys the characters go on. It's the same sort of tragically romanticised stuff that makes both 'The Killer (1989)' and 'Hard Boiled (1991)' so distinct, except here there's a slightly more serious tone. That tone gives the movie a melodramatic, arguably more traditional atmosphere but it also makes the central character drama resonate rather deeply. The bonafide drama would work well enough even if the flick didn't escalate into all-out relentlessness during its cool-as-cucumbers yet chaotic set-pieces. In a way, the violence seems to serve the story more than act as entertainment in and of itself; what I mean is that the film isn't so much an action movie as a movie with action in it. Yet, when the action does arrive, it's easily some of the best of its kind. While it isn't as outlandishly entertaining as that which Woo would deliver later, it's as fast-paced and exciting as you'd expect. It's truly brilliant stuff that just keeps getting bigger and bolder as the piece nears its inevitably explosive finale. Ultimately, this is a really solid slice of cinema that uses the potential tonal dissonance between its melodrama and its mayhem to craft a poetic yet muscular affair that's as relentless as it is touching.
Review of A Better Tomorrow
