City Wolf - A Better Tomorrow

A stylistic warm-up in which the bullets don't yet flow through the barrel so gracefully. However, I simply don’t enjoy watching the tense family drama with my personal aversion to Asian emotions. 3 ½. (18.02.2010)

This is John Woo's first film that truly brought him into fame and for which he became mainly known as a director who can shoot proper action sequences. The star of his film is Yun-Fat Chow, who was never really appreciated in American movies, but here he shows off really impressive moves. No kicks and punches, but properly bloody action. That's the recipe Woo bet on, along with interesting characters and a captivating story. And it worked. This is great to watch if you enjoy rougher action. The strength of this film also lies in how it skillfully combines rough action, humor, and the relational aspect. (19.01.2014)

John Woo's first big film, where he tried to combine depth of characters with strong values and traditionally exaggerated and theatrical emotions, hand in hand with bloody ballet. It's not a total dud, but sometimes it unintentionally oscillates between a parody of family relationships and theatre, combined with almost splatter-like action full of whizzing bullets and litres of blood. With time, he managed to smooth and balance both. So far, the only film of this master that I don’t need to watch again. (02.10.2022)

A great story about two brothers on opposite sides of the law, where Woo includes a little less action (but where the action occurs, it’s that much more brutal), with a powerful dramatic feel to it. A surprising (rather sad) supporting role for Chow Yun-Fat. "Do you believe there's a God?" "Yes. I am God." (15.07.2019)