A Better Tomorrow

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A Better Tomorrow

1986

1h 35m

Action

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A Hong Kong policeman (Leslie Cheung) blames his reformed-gangster brother (Chow Yun-Fat) for the death of their father.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Jun 25, 2026

4/5

There is nothing subtle about A Better Tomorrow, yet it is fierce, vehement and runs on rails.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Nov 11, 2025

An opera of sorts whose elaborate gunfights are its arias.

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

Aug 18, 2026

4/5

The artfully choreographed scenes of slow-motion destruction are all Woo's and more than compensate for the occasional lapses into clumsy sentimentality.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Mar 7, 2026

[John] Woo’s articulation of speed and movement, runaway-train pacing, and razor precise editing explode onto the screen unlike anything he’d created before.

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Peter Martin

ScreenAnarchy

Mar 4, 2026

4.5/5

Thrilling and entirely mesmerizing. ... I felt every emotion deeper than I ever did before, probably because of my own life experiences over the past 25 years. Every bullet shot and every body ripped apart, felt more painful.

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Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

Jan 27, 2026

4/5

Released in 1986, this first iconic collaboration between writer-director John Woo and actor Chow is a gripping action drama that set the template for an entire genre.

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DSN

Mar 14, 2026

A Better Tomorrow looked and sounded absolutely incredible. I missed hard boiled unfortunately but I’ve already got my ticket. Ought for The Killer. I highly recommend seeing it also, and getting all the new 4k home releases.

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Mr. Midnight

Mar 6, 2026

I liked it better than Hard Boiled (still good). Heres to the 3rd entry in the Cinema Hong Kong classics

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Adam

Mar 5, 2026

John Woo is the GOAT and all theaters should play his entire filmography on loop, year round.

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Mr Hollywood

Mar 3, 2026

Great story. Pills at the heart strings. And of course great action by the great John Woo. So glad I got to see it on the big screen

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shinra

Mar 3, 2026

A HK classic. Still good. Still full of energy.

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Wes

Mar 3, 2026

John Woo makes some of the best action movies. This is one of them!

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John Woo

Director

Ti Lung

Sung Tse-Ho

Chow Yun-Fat

Mark Gor

Leslie Cheung

Kit Sung

Emily Chu

Jackie

Waise Lee

Shing

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Synopsis

A Hong Kong policeman (Leslie Cheung) blames his reformed-gangster brother (Chow Yun-Fat) for the death of their father.

Director: John Woo
Producer: John Woo, Hark Tsui
Screenwriter: Chan Hing-Kai, Leung Suk-Wah, John Woo
Production Co: Cinema City Film Productions, Film Workshop
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 1986, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 2026
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 9, 2016
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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