‘A Better Tomorrrow: 2018’ opens in a picturesque aerial sweep of the historic city of Qingdao, China, its German heritage showcased in a breathtaking crawling shot of Old Town’s sun-kissed neighboorhood.
Ding Sheng’s choice of earthy tones right away establishes a somber mood for this reiteration of John Woo’s 1986 classic, only to be occasionally get lost in the shuffle, as action sequences drive the adrenaline forward, and practically drown the narrative’s gloomy undertone, in the process.
The film tells about smugglers Zhou Kai (Wang Kai) and Ma Ke (Darren Wang). The two have been back and forth from China to Japan to run drugs for a certain drug lord, named Ha. At home, Kai’s younger brother, Zhou Chao (Ma Tianyu), is quickly realizing his dream of becoming a cop, unaware his brother has been engaged in running illegal narcotics.
But that’s only until an undercover operation ends up with Chao apprehending Kai. For the next three years, Kai spends his life behind bars, bearing the guilt of betraying his own brother and being the reason of his father’s death. Ma Ke, meanwhile is reduced to doing utility work at the harbor. Upon release, Kai gets instructed by Chao to leave the city and to never return to his old ways.
Central to the narrative, is its lingering element about family. Sheng navigates the material he borrowed from Woo’s original work, with respect, that he practically keeps everything in tact. Except this time, he makes sure the film would dwell in a distinctly gloomier atmosphere. That is not to say it is destined to be aphotic, but Sheng has definitely done something to somehow give it a peculiar appeal.
Kai delivers the strongest performance in the film, his portrayal powerful and compelling. Ma manages to pull off some charm, but he barely articulates Chao’s emotional requirements.Wang lights up the moments by his amiable comic efforts, but its his presence in his three-way brotherhood with Kai and Chao, that further enforces the narrative’s absorbing power.
Action set-pieces are carefully choreographed that proceedings are made to create the right amount of tension between silence and chaos. Sheng is also smart to utilize both music and milieu as unmistakably audible characters that tell their own story.
Amid the chaos, ‘A Better Tomorrow’ manages to pull off a moving tale of brotherhood and friendship. That does not seem an easy undertaking for an ambitious film that aspires to replicate the success if its predecessor, and while Ding Sheng’s ambition never gets fully realized, he makes something extra-ordinary out of Kai, Wang, and Tianyu.
RATING: 3/5
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
