Ying hung boon sik II (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Hark Tsui (story)
John Woo (writer)

Release Date:

17 December 1987 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Police | Mafia | Boss | Twins

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Dean Shek	...	Lung Si
Lung Ti	...	Sung Tse-Ho (also archive footage) (as Ti Lung)
Leslie Cheung	...	Sung Tse-Kit (also archive footage)
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Ken / Mark Lee / Mark 'Gor' (also archive footage) (as Chow Yun Fat)
Emily Chu	...	Jackie Sung
Fui-On Shing	...	Ko's Right-Hand Man
Kenneth Tsang	...	Ken
Regina Kent	...	Peggy Lung
Sing Chau Wai
Marco Wo
Ken Boyle	...	Bearded Crime Boss
Ming Yan Lung	...	Chong
Sammy Lee
Chindy Lau
Shan Kwan	...	Ko Ying Pui

Also Known As:

A Better Tomorrow II (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
Better Tomorrow: Rapid Fire II (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Ontario) | Malaysia:18PL | France:-12 | South Korea:15 (2008) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (re-rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | USA:R | Japan:R-15 | Ireland:18

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Trivia:

There is a scene in the film where we see a group of kids wearing long coats. The previous film in this series was so popular that young people in Hong Kong dressed like the lead character and the scene comments on that trend.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Kit gets shot in the basement, we can see a shadow of the camera.

Quotes:

Ken: [To Ko and Sung, after a bloodbath] We're dying; can we leave now?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Kaubôi bibappu: The Real Folk Blues: Part 2 (#1.26)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Birdy's Flight

A near perfect film

Honor. Loyalty. Betrayal. Truth. Family.

Those are the themes in many great crime dramas and "A Better Tomorrow 2" is no exception. With the original "A Better Tomorrow" director John Woo pretty much convinced with me that he is a great director and this film only increased that feeling. I don't want to go into a lot of the plot because I don't want to spoil anything. This film is an experience. The acting and the cinematography are top notch as one would expect with John Woo. Several times I was almost brought to tears because the scene was so poignant. There is also loads of action and it still is highly entertaining. The characterization is also suburb. John Woo is truly the master of showing both sides of the story. The cops are not pigs and the criminals are not scum, they are both groups of people trying to make a living with their own code of ethics. In so many crime genres our sympathies only lie with one group (including many of the good ones) but in "A Better Tomorrow 2", both groups are equally sympathetic. Of course any of you Quentin Tarantino junkies (which I am one) should check this out to see where he got the idea for the infamous black suit.

I suppose if I had to lay down one complaint it'd be that this film is not as good as the first. Of course the original was one of the best films of the 1980's, not just action and not just from Hong Kong, but overall. So John Woo can only be slightly faulted for not living up to that fantastic first installment. And on that it may be simply because I was not in quite as much awe at John Woo's style this time; I expected it. Either way is a definite must see.