A Better Tomorrow II 英雄本色 II (1987): The Sequel Where They Brought Chow Yun-fat Back from the Dead, Added a Hundred Explosions, and Made Everyone Cry Over a Phone Booth
First, please enjoy this short film.
One Sentence
The sequel to the greatest Hong Kong gangster film ever made — where they brought back the dead, added a hundred explosions, and somehow made it work.
The Sequel That Shouldn't Have Worked
Here's a fun fact: A Better Tomorrow II was filmed in just 30 days, under an extremely rushed schedule.
The director, John Woo, and producer, Tsui Hark, argued constantly about the direction of the film. Tsui wanted the focus on the new character, Lung Sei (Dean Shek). Woo wanted to maintain the tone of the first film. They disagreed so strongly that they would later split over creative differences.
And yet, despite the chaos, the film became a massive success. It grossed HK$22.7 million at the Hong Kong box office — making it the sixth-highest grossing film of 1987. It earned an 8.4 on Douban with over 187,000 ratings. And it proved that the A Better Tomorrow franchise was bigger than any single creative vision.
The Plot: A New Brother, A New War
The story picks up where the first film left off.
Song Tse-ho (Ti Lung) is released from prison early, at the request of the police. His mission: help them investigate his former mentor, Lung Sei (Dean Shek), who is suspected of running a counterfeiting ring.
Meanwhile, Song Tse-kit (Leslie Cheung) goes undercover to get close to Lung. He's trying to protect his brother, but he's also trying to prove himself. His wife is pregnant.
Lung, however, is not guilty. He has been framed by his right-hand man, Ko Ying-pui (Kwan Shan). Lung escapes to New York. He finds refuge with a former associate, but his daughter is killed. He suffers a mental breakdown.
In New York, Lung is found by Ken (Chow Yun-fat) — the twin brother of the late Mark Lee. Ken runs a small restaurant. He's a good man. He's also a fighter. He takes Lung in, nurses him back to health, and helps him return to Hong Kong for revenge.
The final act is a bloodbath. The four protagonists — Ho, Kit, Ken, and Lung — storm Ko's mansion. They kill almost everyone. Kit is fatally wounded. He dies in a phone booth, speaking to his wife and newborn daughter.
It's a devastating scene. And it's the moment that defines the film.
The Scene That Broke Everyone
There is a scene in A Better Tomorrow II that has haunted audiences for decades.
Kit is dying. He's been shot. He knows he doesn't have much time. Ken carries him to a phone booth. He calls his wife, Jackie, who has just given birth. He asks about the baby. He names her "Ho-yin" — "the Spirit of Righteousness".
He dies on the phone.
Leslie Cheung's performance in that scene is heartbreaking. His voice is weak. His eyes are fading. But he still holds on, just long enough to say goodbye.
In Reply 1988, the iconic Korean drama, the characters are shown watching this very scene in a video rental shop. They cry. We cry. Everyone cries.
The film's theme song, 奔向未来日子 (Running to the Days Ahead), performed by Leslie Cheung himself, plays over the credits. It's a song about farewells, about lost memories, about moving forward without looking back.
It's the perfect send-off.
The Cast That Made It Unforgettable
-
周润发 as Ken — Mark Lee's twin brother. He's the perfect substitute — loyal, deadly, and deeply human. The film gave Chow a chance to reprise the character that made him a legend.
-
张国荣 as Kit — the angry young cop who finally gets his moment of heroism. His death scene is the film's emotional core. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards for this performance.
-
狄龙 as Ho — the weary patriarch who can't escape his past. He's the anchor of the film.
-
石天 as Lung Sei — the fallen mentor who rises again. His performance earned critical praise for its emotional depth.
-
关山 as Ko Ying-pui — the ultimate villain. He's cold, calculating, and utterly without conscience.
-
朱宝意 as Jackie — Kit's wife. She's the silent witness to his sacrifice.
-
曾江 as Ken — the taxi company owner who helps the heroes.
-
成奎安 as one of Ko's henchmen — a brief but memorable villainous role.
The Violence That Defined a Genre
Let's be honest: A Better Tomorrow II is ridiculous.
The final shootout is a 20-minute orgy of bullets, blood, and explosions. Dozens of enemies are mowed down. Our heroes are shot repeatedly but keep fighting. It's like a video game — and it's brilliant.
Critics at the time called it "over-the-top" and "unrealistic". One reviewer called it "Rambo-style". Another wrote: "The ending is too exaggerated; it feels like a machine-gun massacre rather than a dramatic conclusion."
But that's exactly what made it iconic. The violence in A Better Tomorrow II is not meant to be realistic. It's meant to be cathartic. It's a release of all the pent-up frustration, anger, and grief that the characters have been carrying throughout the film.
And it's a signature of John Woo's style: gunplay as ballet, violence as poetry, bullets as punctuation.
The Conflict Behind the Camera
The film's most interesting story is what happened behind the scenes.
John Woo and Tsui Hark had a falling out during production. Tsui wanted more focus on Dean Shek's character, Lung Sei. Woo wanted to follow the tone of the first film. They clashed so much that after the film's release, Woo left Tsui's production company to work on The Killer with a different producer.
The Killer would be Woo's masterpiece. It would establish his international reputation. It would influence Hollywood directors like Quentin Tarantino.
But A Better Tomorrow II is where the seeds of that masterpiece were planted.
The Legacy That Never Dies
A Better Tomorrow II is not as good as the first film. Most fans agree on that. But it's still a classic.
The film holds an 8.4 on Douban. It was nominated for Best Actor and Best Action Choreography at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards. It's considered one of the best Hong Kong action films of the 1980s.
It also gave us one of the most heartbreaking scenes in Hong Kong cinema — the phone booth death of Song Tse-kit.
Leslie Cheung's performance is unforgettable. He's not just a pop star. He's a real actor. And in this film, he proved it.
Final Thought
A Better Tomorrow II is a film about brotherhood, loyalty, and the price of revenge. It's a film about men who refuse to give up, even when the odds are impossible.
It's also a film about a phone booth, a dying man, and a newborn daughter.
And it's a film that proves, once again, that the greatest tragedies are the ones that make us believe in hope.
Have you seen A Better Tomorrow II? What's your favorite scene — the phone booth death, the final shootout, or the moment Kit names his daughter? Let me know in the comments.
Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬
Comments
Post a Comment