# A Better Tomorrow II
**A Better Tomorrow II** (英雄本色II; also known as 英雄本色续集, *Ying hung boon sik II*) is a 1987 Hong Kong action film directed by [John Woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-woo) and produced by [Tsui Hark](https://www.edgepedia.org/tsui-hark), the sequel to Woo's 1986 breakthrough *A Better Tomorrow*. It reunites Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, and [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat), with Chow playing Ken, the twin brother of his character Mark from the first film, and adds Dean Shek as the shipping magnate Lung.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-12.html) • [2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 英雄本色II (*Ying hung boon sik II*)[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii) |
| Release | December 17, 1987, Hong Kong[4](https://asianwiki.com/A_Better_Tomorrow_II) |
| Director / producer | John Woo (director and co-writer); Tsui Hark (producer and co-writer)[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-12.html) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_tomorrow_ii) |
| Cast | Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, Dean Shek, Kenneth Tsang, Emily Chu, Guan Shan[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) |
| Hong Kong box office | HK$22,727,369; all midnight screenings sold out within an hour of release[6](https://twwiki.net/wiki/kvnoo9kxxxvvyll.html) |
| Awards | Nominated for Best Actor (Leslie Cheung) and Best Action Design (Ching Siu-Tung) at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) |
| Runtime | 104 minutes per the Hong Kong Film Archive; listings vary from 1h 38m to 1h 45min[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-12.html) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_tomorrow_ii) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story continues the saga of the Sung brothers. Ho (Ti Lung), the reformed gangster, is released from prison on condition that he spy on his old mentor Lung (Dean Shek), a shipping magnate suspected of using his shipyard as cover for a counterfeiting operation. Ho's policeman brother Kit ([Leslie Cheung](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-cheung)) goes undercover by romancing Lung's daughter Peggy to get close to the family.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84%E6%9C%AC%E8%89%B22/umc.cmc.27nx6pxxushfdira7oa3owc57)
Lung is in fact innocent of his assistant Ko Ying-pui's (Guan Shan) crimes; framed by Ko, he flees to New York, where Peggy is killed and he suffers a mental breakdown. He is sheltered and nursed back to health by Ken (Chow Yun-fat), a Chinese restaurateur who is the twin brother of Mark, the gangster Chow played in the first film. Ken gives up his restaurant and returns to Hong Kong with Lung, reuniting with Ho and Kit. The four gather evidence against Ko's counterfeiting ring, and after tragedy strikes again, the survivors take on the crime boss in a large-scale gun battle.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84%E6%9C%AC%E8%89%B22/umc.cmc.27nx6pxxushfdira7oa3owc57)
## Production and the Woo–Tsui Hark conflict
The first film's success made a sequel inevitable. In a later interview, John Woo said he was not interested in a sequel and had proposed a prequel instead; when the studio insisted it could not sell the film without Chow Yun-fat, Woo invented the twin brother Ken and kept the prequel idea for himself, later developing it into *Bullet in the Head* (1990).[8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/john-woo-better-tomorrow-killer-hard-boiled)
The production became known for the conflict between Woo and Tsui Hark. The film historian David Bordwell, author of *Planet Hong Kong*, records that Woo made the sequel reluctantly and that Tsui is said to have drastically recut it; Woo virtually disowned the film, though it performed well commercially.[9](https://www.davidbordwell.net/books/planethongkong-davidbordwell-110111.pdf) The Hong Kong Film Archive's filmmaker profile lists the film as co-directed by Woo with Tsui Hark.[10](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/John-Woo_e.pdf)
## Reception and awards
At the Hong Kong box office the film earned HK$22,727,369, with midnight screenings selling out within an hour of release.[6](https://twwiki.net/wiki/kvnoo9kxxxvvyll.html) A TMDb-sourced database records a reported worldwide gross of $2,904,714.[11](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii-1987-box-office)
At the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards, Leslie Cheung was nominated for Best Actor and Ching Siu-Tung for Best Action Design.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) The Hong Kong Film Archive notes an irony in Cheung's nomination: he had been the only member of the first film's main cast without an acting accolade, yet in the sequel, despite a slightly reduced role in a sprawling narrative, he was the only cast member nominated for Best Actor.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-12.html)
Critical response has been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 63% Tomatometer from 8 reviews and an 82% audience Popcornmeter from more than 10,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_tomorrow_ii) Reviewers have repeatedly singled out the finale: the Radio Times critic called the set pieces, particularly the finale, "truly stunning, even though they are now much copied," while Slant Magazine found the film "distended and unfocused" despite running only a few minutes longer than the first.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_tomorrow_ii) The lovehkfilm review judges the film stale next to Woo's other signature works but concludes that neither *Hard Boiled* nor *The Killer* matches the finale's "exhilarating guns-a-blazin'" style.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) Ric Meyers, author of *Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book*, described it as "a fun-house reflection on the original that manages to be both a satire and an homage."[12](https://www.austinfilm.org/films/a-better-tomorrow-2/)
## Style and influence
The film helped set the standard for the "gun-fu" crime genre of the 1980s, with Woo piling on bullet squibs and refining his technique with the budget and standing gained from the first film's success.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm) • [12](https://www.austinfilm.org/films/a-better-tomorrow-2/) The BFI notes that the sequel's choreographed shoot-outs and showdowns, spilling across multiple sets, foreshadow the ambition and scale of Woo's later films *The Killer* and *Hard Boiled*.[13](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=better-tomorrow-ii) Bordwell observes that Woo acknowledges the wuxia tradition in the climactic assault on a gangster's mansion, where Ti Lung grabs a sword and slashes through his enemies.[9](https://www.davidbordwell.net/books/planethongkong-davidbordwell-110111.pdf) Unlike the first film, it contains no white doves, a signature Woo image fans noted by its absence.[2](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm)
## Restoration and availability
A new 4K restoration from the original camera negative has been released in a trilogy box set, and the restored film has screened at venues including the Austin Film Society, IFC Center, and BFI Southbank.[12](https://www.austinfilm.org/films/a-better-tomorrow-2/) • [14](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/better-tomorrow-trilogy-a-imp-4k-uhd-review) • [13](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=better-tomorrow-ii) In the United States the film streams on Amazon Prime Video, the Criterion Channel, fuboTV, and several free ad-supported services, and can be rented or bought on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, with 4K [Dolby Vision](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-vision) editions available for purchase.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii)
## References
1. [A Better Tomorrow II, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2018-13-1-12.html)
2. [A Better Tomorrow 2 (英雄本色II) (1987), LoveHKFilm.com](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/better_tomorrow_2.htm)
3. [A Better Tomorrow II streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii)
4. [A Better Tomorrow II, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/A_Better_Tomorrow_II)
5. [A Better Tomorrow II, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/better_tomorrow_ii)
6. [英雄本色2 (1987年吳宇森執導的動作電影), 天天百科](https://twwiki.net/wiki/kvnoo9kxxxvvyll.html)
7. [《英雄本色2》, Apple TV (HK)](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84%E6%9C%AC%E8%89%B22/umc.cmc.27nx6pxxushfdira7oa3owc57)
8. ["I use musical theory to shoot an action sequence": an exclusive online interview with John Woo, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/john-woo-better-tomorrow-killer-hard-boiled)
9. [David Bordwell, Planet Hong Kong (chapter PDF)](https://www.davidbordwell.net/books/planethongkong-davidbordwell-110111.pdf)
10. [Hong Kong Filmmakers Search: John Woo, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/John-Woo_e.pdf)
11. [A Better Tomorrow II (1987) Worldwide Box Office, FilmDB](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/a-better-tomorrow-ii-1987-box-office)
12. [A BETTER TOMORROW 2, Austin Film Society](https://www.austinfilm.org/films/a-better-tomorrow-2/)
13. [Buy cinema tickets for A Better Tomorrow II, BFI Southbank](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=better-tomorrow-ii)
14. [A Better Tomorrow Trilogy (4K UHD Review), The Digital Bits](https://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/better-tomorrow-trilogy-a-imp-4k-uhd-review)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 1980s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license