A Better Tomorrow
Rim | Release Date: September 24, 1991 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyGlenn Kenny
Chow-Yun Fat’s sleek underworld charisma and intense emotion still come through. As for the action scenes, the dubbing affects them not a whit: They’re as dizzying as any Woo has concocted, and the climactic gun battle has to be one of the most ridiculously exhilarating — or exhilaratingly ridiculous — sequences of its kind. Read full review
90
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Floridly romantic and serenely excessive (men shot a dozen times don't die, guns never need reloading), it has the bravado of a minor classic. Read full review
90
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Woo's direction is clean and direct, with a clarity of purpose behind every scene that makes each wrenching development seem inevitable. It's strong stuff. Read full review
80
EmpireAlan Morrison
A reminder of the astonishingly kinetic talent that John Woo maybe still possesses, this at times is on the verge of melodrama, but rescues itself from the brink with some fine gunplay. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Superlative action scenes, particularly a bloody guns-grenades-and-swords finale with a body count to rival the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, help wash away many of the flaws. Action for its own sake may not have been the film's intended point, but it'll do. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A Better Tomorrow isn't his best film ever -- that title remains securely attached to The Killer -- but it is required viewing for anyone remotely interested in Hong Kong cinema. After all, there might not be any filmmaking in Hong Kong come 1997. Read full review
63
Portland OregonianTed Mahar
The action is fast, tough, energetic and extravagant. It is smoothly and stylishly made but more inscrutable than intended. [28 June 1989, p.D05
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