“A Better Tomorrow 2018” Drops in Theaters January 18
Ding Sheng’s (丁晟) hot-blooded adaptation of John Woo’s (吳宇森) hit movie A Better Tomorrow <英雄本色> will be hitting theaters on January 18, unraveling a new story of brotherhood and heroic bloodshed.
A Better Tomorrow 2018 stars Wang Kai (王凯) and Ma Tianyu (马天宇) as two estranged brothers who come into each other’s life again after the older brother, a drug smuggler, is released from prison. His younger brother, now a rising star in the police department, finds it hard to repair their relationship. Darren Wang (王大陸) also stars as a member of Wang Kai’s triad, and his close friend.
The original film, which starred Ti Lung (狄龍), Leslie Cheung (張國榮), and Chow Yun-fat (周潤發), was a cultural hit that defined the “heroic bloodshed” genre of Hong Kong action cinema. It broke multiple records when it was released in August 1986, and went on to become one of Hong Kong’s most successful films to break into international markets, including South Korea and the United States. In 2010, South Korea released a remake directed by Song Hae-sung.
Check out the trailer below!
Source: Sina.cn
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Um, sorry, but no…the 1986 Chow Yun Fat version will always be the best one in my book!
Honestly, I’m sick of all the remakes and re-re-makes of classics, whether in movies or television. Personally, I’m finding it harder and harder to find Chinese movies and/or TV series worth watching nowadays because there is so much of this remake stuff out there and too many people riding on the coattails of others’ past successes, with no one seeming to have an original voice / vision anymore….
@llwy12 totally agree with you. It is needed hard to find original movie and TV projects nowadays. The original BT or it’s sequences cannot be touched. They can duplicate all they want to, the original work will never be matched.
“I’m finding it harder and harder to find Chinese movies and/or TV series worth watching nowadays”
@llwy12 I am recently enjoying Mainland drama, Tribe and Empires – Storm of Prophecy <九州·海上牧云记>. The production values are very high. Cinematography, costumes, and sets look stunning. Acting for the most part is solid too. The story takes time to unfold, but it is worth it.
http://www.jaynestars.com/news/ip-drama-tribe-and-empires-storm-of-prophecy-doing-better-than-expected/
Food documentary A Bite of China 3 <舌尖上的中国 3> will air around Lunar New Year. If you haven’t seen the first two installments, I highly recommend them. Through food found in different regions in China, we get to see how people live.
There are also a lot of Mainland variety shows to choose from. Fighting Man <我们战斗吧> has some hilarious moments. In each episode, the male stars have to take on different missions. They’re very competitive and silly in their antics. Episode 8 of the show was very funny (especially the last 15 minutes when they are walking on the blue ballons).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCjs9u0FQoY
@jayne jayne im watching the same series, at midway point. It is a stunning looking series but the deeper it goes the more i hate the unnecessary flashback and i mourn the fact that whilst the director has an eye for colour scenic views atmosphere he lacks the skill of a storyteller. Some scenes makes no sense. Fileting a fish is gorgeous detail but it has nothing to do with setup of a scene. Im getting disappointed. And i read 75 episodes in and no ending.
@funnlim Some scenes in “Tribes and Empires” do feel that they dwell on the details for too long. For now, I am still okay as the details are usually filmed so gorgeously. I am still watching the early episodes so perhaps I haven’t experienced the full frustration of a viewer who continuously experiences this pacing as the story unfolds.
“Tribes and Empires” feels like a leisurely art film at times where the camera lingers on every day objects and wants to capture the expressions of every extra on the set. It has its style and even if the finale may not conclude the way we want, hopefully the journey would have been pleasant enough.
I know what you mean that Mainland Chinese productions lack “heart”. The acting may be good, but it can sometimes feel cold. Even how onscreen couples interact with each other seem very rehearsed…they are reading lines as written. Everything is executed to perfection, but it lacks the spontaneity that is often found in TVB dramas.
This fluidity in TVB dramas is due to the flaw in the script writing department though. Sometimes the script is not available until last minute, or the dialogue is written so poorly that the artistes have to wing it. Bowie Lam had admitted to changing the dialogue so it matches his character better. I believe that in a lot of dating scenes, artistes are just asked to act naturally and behave like lovers. Sometimes this works if the artistes have good chemistry, so they are feeding off each other instead of just memorizing their lines like in Mainland dramas.
Mainland dramas have a lot of investment money; there are big players involved. There’s a big team of staff to oversee every level of detail, from costumes to sets. For accountability to investors, I’m sure they have to film according to plan and script so there is less of that spontaneity that is found in TVB dramas, which when it works, can result in more authentic, hearty feel.
@llwy12 Seeing as ‘A Better Tomorrow’ itself is a remake of another HK classic, does this mean that John Woo is also unoriginal or doesn’t have his own vision?
Look, maybe you think they are really milking it right now, and I don’t disagree, but without remakes we’d never have gotten Chow Yun Fat as Mark Gor. And, as John Woo has proven, remakes don’t have to be uninspired or unoriginal. ‘A Better Tomorrow’ (1986) has John Woo’s vision all over it but it’s not The Original 英雄本色.
For the people who are curious: the original 1967 movie is great action drama, HK cinephiles should take a look at it. The 2010 Korean remake is okay mediocre forgettable and not very fun.
Why do they bother with a remake if they are doing it in a complete setting? May as well as write your own script and stop milking off the name ” A Better Tomorrow”. Knowing Chinese film limits, the ending will be predictable.
How did the Korean re-make compare?
@msxie0714 probably a lot of emo style and ott acting but in the end original the best?
@msxie0714 It was mediocre but not an insult to watch.
I will not watch this. Nobody will ever compare with the original. Please stop remaking classic movies and shows and do something original.
@canadian But ‘A better Tomorrow’ by John Woo was not the original… it’s a remake…
The trailer doesn’t look promising and honestly John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow with Chow Yun Fat as Mark Gor is too iconic at this point so good luck to the director even attempting this remake I guess.
People, don’t be so harsh on this. Sure, this movie really didn’t need to exist and is milking the franchise but honestly that applies to ‘A Better Tomorrow 3’ too, just saying.