"A remake of Patrick Lung Kong's Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967), John Woo's masterpiece is widely recognized as a pioneer in the heroic bloodshed genre and a true essential in Hong Kong cinema. Retaining Lung's concept of the tragic hero, the script (co-written by Woo) defies the cliche of the fallen hero rising up once more by telling the tragic story of Mark (Chow Yun-fat) and Ho (Ti Lung), two fallen gangsters who are beaten down and live the rest of their lives merely trying to survive another day. Though a glorified depiction of loyalty and brotherhood in the underworld, the film also doesn't shy away from showing the violent betrayals within it. An influential work that created a whole generation of young men dressed in trench coats and sunglasses, A Better Tomorrow is the perfect hybrid of romanticism and tragedy in action cinema." HKFA