This movie gives me a much different impression of John Woo than many of his other films. Although A Better Tomorrow is an action film, don't expect as much off the wall slo-mo action as his later works. That may sound like a disappointing sentence, but overall the more realistic gunfights serve the story in a much better way. This is because when there is a gun or fist fight, no matter how short it is, the viewer is way more emotionally attached to the characters than in movies with less story development. Not to say that the action scenes don't still have the same beautiful flow that we have grown accustomed to with Woo. That couldn't be further from the truth. They are filmed in such a way that every death counts, unlike scenes in other films that seem like random bodies are flying all over the place.

All of the characters are fully developed and I felt that I knew at least something about them after their first few minutes on screen. No relationships are vague and the story is very easy to follow. A lot of times with these movies, I get bogged down by intertwined relationships and betrayals, but it is all laid out perfectly in this case. And this is where the movie becomes far above average. Through the combination of this well-written story and characters that the actors portrayed really well, I was sucked into the film for the entire hour and a half, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies.

I know Chow Yun-Fat is all over the cover of the DVD case and disc, and he probably should be, but I didn't feel like there was a completely centralized character in this movie. This is a good thing, though, because it really helped to pull off the theme of brotherhood that was so prevalent. Mark (Chow Yun-Fat) was a huge part of the film, but even more focused on was the relationship between his friend Ho and his younger police-man brother, Kit. This was the heart of the movie, and the scenes where they clashed were definitely the highlight. The dialogue between them was always heated and emotional, and Kit's girlfriend served as a great mediator to all of the arguments. So the result of all this is that you don't have to focus on one persons's life, but more on an overview of the relationships of a group of friends / brothers.

The music is definitely worth mention. Not really that it is incredible or anything, but it really brought me back to the feeling of a great 80's action flick. It adds to the atmosphere in a way that a lot of new movies can't seem to do.

If you have read all this, and are skeptical because of the movie's realistic action, then you won't be disappointed by the last scene. When this baby kicks in, its like John Woo got kicked in the head and decided to bust out some real do or die action. After spending the last hour and 10 minutes learning about the characters, you are treated to a nice and long, no holds barred shootout. Most everything that you have come to expect is here, and Chow Yun-Fat really starts to bust some heads.

This is just the icing on the cake, though, because the movie as a whole is more satisfying than any of the single action sequences within. It's a really solid package of action and story that anyone should enjoy watching.