They may have each been working diligently in the industry beforehand, but it was A Better Tomorrow and its sequels that catapulted both to international superstardom. Now, courtesy of Fortune Star's A Better Tomorrow Trilogy box set, we can revisit what made their partnership so special. When, for instance, Chow walks onscreen in his long woolen coat, sunglasses on and unlit matchstick gritted between his teeth, a pistol in each hand blazing away, the movie instantly transcends its B-movie origins and becomes a thrilling pop phenomenon. It's an iconic image, courtesy of Woo, and at that moment Chow Yun-Fat is undeniably the coolest motherfucker on Planet Earth.

A Better Tomorrow from 1986 is still the defining example of the HK "Heroic Bloodshed" genre. The picture was designed as a sort of Chinese Scarface, in which Chow's character Mark start as a low-level hood rising through the gangland ranks via his money-laundering operation, only to be betrayed from within by his own partners. His best friend Ho tries to go the straight and narrow after a few years in prison, but the down-and-out Mark soon drags him back into the action for some bloody retribution. The plot is pure pulp and in any other movie the loud ‘80s fashion and colors would be too horribly dated to endure. There's even a direct rip-off of the famous Godfather restaurant scene that is pretty shameless. But in Woo's hands the film becomes a paean to the virtues of brotherhood and misguided honor. The movie features what can be described as no less than an orgy of violence, each gunshot and blood splatter fetishized in Woo's trademark slo-mo ballet of bullets and bodies. The gunfights are simply awesome, and Woo uses them to elevate the dramatics to operatic proportions. It's a remarkably delicate balancing act and an amazingly entertaining joyride.

As with anything so wildly successful, a sequel was inevitable. Under pressure from super-producer Tsui Hark, Woo cranked out A Better Tomorrow II in time for release the following year, 1987. Chow Yun-Fat also returns to star, and anyone who actually saw all of the first movie probably wondered how the hell that could be possible considering…. well, if you've seen it you know. The cop-out explanation is that Chow now plays Ken, identical twin to his previous character Mark. Yes, it's lame, but it had to be done. There could be no sequel without Chow Yun-Fat, and frankly any excuse to put him and Woo back together can be easily forgiven.

Once you get over this basic contrivance, though, some other disappointments set in. In order to make the lead more identifiable for the audience and friendlier for international distribution, Ken is a much softer, less devious character than Mark. He's basically just a good guy who gets reluctantly dragged into his brother's old life. The movie's action is more ambitious in scope than the last picture, spread out between Hong Kong and New York, but after a strong start the story gets sidetracked in a lengthy and frankly asinine subplot about one of the main characters having a nervous breakdown. Woo and Tsui Hark reportedly clashed over the direction the series should take, and this results in a wildly uneven picture. On the other hand, when it works it really works. The action is again spectacular, and by its latter half the plot finally settles down into a basic but functional revenge tale that is perfectly sufficient to build up enough momentum for the intense climax in which Ken, returning sidekick Ho, and Ho's little brother Kit (also returning from the first movie) lay siege to a mansion full of gangsters and turn it into a grisly abattoir of close-quarters machine gun fire. Part II is not nearly as good as part I on the whole, but it has more than enough highlights to make it a satisfying follow-up to the original.

By the time A Better Tomorrow III came around in 1989, John Woo had left the series and producer Tsui Hark (a prolific A-list director himself) took over the reigns. Chow is back as Mark again, which can only mean one thing; yes, the third entry is a prequel, showing us the origin of the character we met in the first film. Set entirely as a flashback to the Vietnam era, if part III has one fundamental problem it is that the movie has next to nothing to do with either of the first two pictures. Sure, the character shares the same name, and Tsui throws in a few token references to the sources of his famous coat, sunglasses, and dual-pistol shootout technique, but otherwise any connections are tenuous. Mark here acts nothing at all like the Mark of the first film; he's more of a good-natured fellow like Ken, whose existence by the way is never mentioned a single time. Nor is there any reference to vital characters Ho and Kit. There are other characters named Kit and Ho in this movie, completely unassociated with the originals (maybe that's meant as a joke, or maybe the filmmakers never even made the connection). It's as though the film began life as an unrelated Vietnam project that Tsui decided to shoehorn into his popular franchise.

The third movie is by far the weakest of the trilogy. Although Tsui has made more than his share of action movies and knows a thing or two about putting together an effective shootout, he's more concerned with setting up flashy "hero" shots of the actors posed with their guns firing that look good on posters and in movie trailers. The violence here is much less bloody and intense than what Woo had established for the series. Tsui tries to make the plot into a larger-than-life love triangle between Mark, friend Mun (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), and mutual girlfriend Kit (the late Anita Mui), but only achieves mixed results. His attempts at social commentary also come across ham-fisted, and the big climax goes too far over the top with its ridiculously staged action and heroics. Tsui wants the movie to be an epic, but it almost turns into a parody. There are a handful of good moments in the film, and if it were released as an independent picture without trying to be a Better Tomorrow sequel it might be OK, but the storyline is just too inconsistent to be considered a legitimate prequel to the other movies, and it comes out as a big disappointment.

What is not disappointing is the totality of the A Better Tomorrow Trilogy as a single package. Despite their ups and downs, the movies are great and easily repeatable entertainment.

Final Thoughts:
The films in the A Better Tomorrow Trilogy are undisputed landmarks of Hong Kong action cinema...

Tsui Hark and John Woo had by this time fallen out after successfully colaborating on a number of movies including The Killer (with Tsui as producer and John directing). Woo wanted the backstory of Mark (as done in this film) into the second movie, which would've made it a big sprawling epic. As producer, Hark disagreed and Woo went on to make his Vietnam movie Bullet In The Head while Hark did this prequel to A Better Tomorrow. Woo's film has nothing to do with the trilogy but the urine drinking story told by Mark in the first A Better Tomorow was shot but never ended up in Woo's cut. It's now probably lost. Tsui Hark did get Chow Yun-Fat to once again star as Mark and with that also the freedom to take the series in his own direction. That the focus ended up being more on romance disappointed fans. Sure, there's action present but A Better Tomorrow III essentially is a three character love-drama that doesn't resemble anything Woo ever did despite the fairly similar themes. In this movie we get to see Mark receiving his famous coat and sun glasses and how he became trained by a woman, all adding to the story arc of A Better Tomorrow.

Mark (Chow Yun-Fat) travels to Vietnam in 1974 to meet up with his old friend Mun (Tony Leung Kar-Fai from Victim). Mun needs help to raise enough money to get him and his father (Sek Kin from Hong Kong 1941) back to Hong Kong, away from a Vietnam in war. They know the money can't be obtained legally that fast though. With the help of Kit (Anita Mui from Rogue) they set up a heist against the military that, after some complications, is successful and they leave the country. Meanwhile both Mun and Mark have fallen in love with Kit and they eagerly await for her to join them in Hong Kong. When she returns, so does her past and Mark and Mun are suddenly in great danger...

Tsui Hark may not have shown the same strength as a director during the last few years but his work during the 80s and up to middle 90s is going to be highly regarded for a long time. Tsui Hark is going to be considered one of the best directors out of Hong Kong long after he's gone. When he's at his best he always infuses an epic sense in his movies, which of course is needed in the likes of Once Upon A Time In China but he has a great eye for visuals as well (Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain where the visuals almost borderlines on insanity). He can still tell a story despite having all that in his films so what we have here is almost a perfect director. Every director has it's bad moments though which is so evident in The Master for example. Still I admire Tsui Hark greatly.

In A Better Tomorrow III we see all that mentioned skill but the visual style takes a little bit of a backseat. It is more subtle but well after the movie has ended you'll remember many striking images from the film, most notable of Chow Yun-Fat towards the end with his double machine guns. Tsui Hark takes the script (penned by Leung Yiu Ming and Daai Foo Ho) and focus his attention on that instead. The theme is necessarily not about the Vietnam war or war for that matter but simply love and what one does to maintain or obtain that. Despite the jumps between Vietnam and Hong Kong, the director has full attention on the main characters and the love triangle that occurs at first. I thought that this triangle would run through the entire film but surprisingly it is soon over when the screenwriters let Mark and Kit fully embrace each other. That doesn't mean the end of the movie but now it's a story of how it and they will survive in this turbulent time in history. Tsui nicely fleshes out each important character and while clichés may be evident on paper, the execution is not that.

I've seen this movie a number of times so I'm quite used to the pacing of it. Despite this edition's extended length, I was always engaged in the story and never felt the movie was particularly slow. It's much this movie goes through but the professionalism in director Hark makes this a smooth ride. There are some flaws in the narrative that I feel I have to point out though. After Mark and Mun have received their money to get out of Vietnam, we launch into a montage where the trio are now bonding like old friends. To me it just seemed that they became close just a little too fast but it's nothing the further development really suffers from. Later in the movie Kit's old lover and now gangsterboss (Tokito Saburo) enters and I honestly thought that things became a little uninteresting when he was introduced. He plays a crucial part from this point on but it just came off as the only boring part of the movie. I do have to stress that all that I've mentioned make it seems like the movie is executed perfect. It's not and despite well done aspects the movie 'only' reaches the strong 3 out of 5 (if I had to grade).

In terms of action, Hark's way of doing it differs quite from John Woo. We do get to see some large scale shootouts but I noticed that the director seemed to highlight the impact of individual death more than endless killing. There are moments when the camera stays longer on a fallen character (generic baddie or important character doesn't matter) and honestly I don't think Woo's way of doing it would've fitted this story. Tsui Hark also holds back when it comes to bloodshed pretty much all the way up to the finale where it seems fitting amidst the chaos. The impact and feeling is still there despite us rarely seeing blood spurting. The action finale continues out on the abondoned streets of Saigon which the movie could've done without in my opinion. It's certainly not boring or exciting but it seems to be there more for the action loving public than for the story. We previously had a closure to all things but again, it's eye candy. Another distraction in this finale comes in the form of a designated bad guy, the military character of Bong, but he serves no real purpose and what definitly not needed. Those are misses in the final section of the film but somehow it doesn't affect the overall emotional feeling after the movie ends.

These action scenes and the drama is enhanced so much more thanks to Lowell Lo's rousing score (composer of An Autumn's Tale). It's a big score suitable for a movie like this and while it plays on our emotions, it wouldn't have worked if we didn't feel the emotions from the events on screen. We care and the music benefits and makes us care even more. Horace Wong's photography must also be mentioned and he went on to shoot John Woo's Bullet In The Head after this.

The main trio of actors do good work as well and leading man Chow Yun-Fat is responsible for providing us with the image of Mark when he wasn't a gun-toting gangster. Chow is as always very charismatic but since he isn't yet the Mark from A Better Tomorrow, his romantic side is more evident at this time. The character arc is competently written and performed and it gives us some nice background to Mark. Nothing award winning but he makes sure the performance becomes a part of the trilogy.

Anita Mui was a surprise as the woman behind Mark so to say. In a really effective way she acts out the cold and tough Kit in combination with the tender side of her character. She has been involved with criminal activity for so long that she's never been able to let her feelings, for someone, breath until Mark comes along. It feels like a side of her that she's never seen. Anita looks so beautiful and is really part of what makes this movie touching at times. Tony Leung Kar-Fai's character could've become annoying in another actor's hands but the, at first, naive Mun is handled nicely by Tony. He grows after he realises what is best for Kit and Mark and really takes responsibility in his part of the unfolding events. Also worth mentioning is Sek Kin (Mr. Han from Enter The Dragon) who has a memorable part as Mun's father.

There are those who loves Tsui Hark's Peking Opera Blues which I wasn't as fond of. In my opinion A Better Tomorrow III is better and most importantly an underrated film. One can't help to think how it would've been received if it wasn't part of the A Better Tomorrow-trilogy.

Tsui Hark (producer of the first two ABT films) and John Woo (director) has a falling out during the filming of ABT2. Woo took his idea for a prequel and made the excellent Bullet in the Head; Hark took the idea and made this slightly above-average movie. While the idea may look good on paper (hey, let's have Chow Yun-Fat come back in his most popular role and have him get cozy with one of the sexiest women in HK cinema), in excecution it really falls flat. Instead of relying on his own directorial style, Tsui instead decided to mimic Woo's, which results in one big mess of a film. Simply put, the romantic and the action elements just don't mesh, and even fans of the first two movies may get put off by the high level of melodrama in ABT3. That being said, the movie does have some high points; Mui does look good shooting off M-16s in the beginning shootout and the ending sequence is quite well done. It's just that there's so much fluff in the middle.

I think I (and other fans) would have enjoyed ABT3 a lot more if it explored the formative relationship between Mark and Ho, growing up together in the Triad, or even Mark and Ken, exploring how Ken became disenchanted with being a gangster. As such ABT3 comes off as somebody just trying to cash in on the popular character of Mark Gor -- which other people have done, but I expected more from Tsui Hark.

Many people say that this sequel to the film that redefined action is better. I couldn't agree any more. The story, consisting of many subplots combine with some powerful gunblazing action that will take you off the edge of your seat. Dean Shek, usually the comic butt of HK films, takes a serious turn as the depraved and betrayed Lung, and the films proves of his excellent acting skills. Chow Yun-Fat is back as Ken, the twin brother of Mark, the hero who dies at the end of Part 1. Ti Lung and pop star Leslie Cheung are back as well as former gangster Ho and his brother, Policeman Kit. The highlight is the finale of the film. For 15 minutes, you see people getting blown away with guns and grenades galore. The walls are literally blood red by the end of the film. A must see for all fans of John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, and pretty much ALL ACTION FANS!!!!!!

Mark arrives in Vietnam at the end of the war to help in his uncle's restaurant. His cousin (Tony Leung) is a small time crook trying to make connections with the local triad leaders while avoiding trouble from the corrupt army officials. Anita Mui provides a bit of glamour and a love interest for Chow Yun Fat as the girlfriend of the local triad leader but who finds herself falling for Mark.

Tsui Hark directs with his usual flair for visuals which is distinctively different in style to that of John Woo. At times there seems to be over use of slow motion action but aside from that the gunplay is still well handled with some memorable scenes.

The film explores the characters is much more depth than the John Woo movies and Tsui Hark manages to draw parallels between 1970's Vietnam and the impending Hong Kong hand over. There is much emphasis on the difficulty of getting the passports needed to escape.

Anybody expecting a replay of the first two films is probably going to be a little disappointed as this is a completely different kind of film with a story on a much grander scale. The film also has its very own style, something which was probably entirely intentional on the part of the director.

Why Would I Like This Movie? More detailed characterization than normal for an action flick -- this movie is much more of a drama than viewers of ABT and ABT2 would expect. A complex portrayal of the collective hysteria that grips societies in civil war, and of course an allegory for the bleak mood in Hong Kong in 1989 regarding 1997. Some wonderful scenes as Mark assumes the character known in the first two movies in this series: the first shot of Mark rigged out in his dustcoat, glasses, and toothpick had audiences cheering wildly when I watched this film in the theatre.

Why Wouldn't I Like This Movie? Many fans of Woo dislike the lack of action in this movie. Also, some fans of heroic bloodshed reject the portrait of Mark Gor as a student: in the first half of the movie, Mark is heroic in character, but amusingly incompetent in execution. Finally, Mui's character is difficult to take at face value: simultaneously hardened gangster, capable of taking out a squad of Vietnamese soldiers with a machine gun held in each hand, and romantic love interest, passively stumbling from one partner to another as the film goes on.