A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 6, 2026

John Woo's A Better Tomorrow II (original title: Ying hung boon sik II, 1987) is being released as part of Shout! Studios' seven-disc box set, A Better Tomorrow Trilogy.

Cinema history has frequently seen plenty of producer/director collaborations fraught with conflict. (Zanuck and Ford's relationship at Fox is a classic case in point.) John Woo and Tsui Hark had enjoyed a friendship that extended to a successful working partnership when the two teemed up for A Better Tomorrow (1986), which essentially revitalized Woo's career. But when the filmmakers reunited a year later on A Better Tomorrow II, their partnership soured. What happened during the making of this sequel? Woo provides some fresh info in his interview on the second disc of Shout!'s ABTII set. I found additional answers in my research of Woo scholarship. Kenneth E. Hall interviewed the director in November 1995 for his book, John Woo: The Films (2012, 2nd edition, McFarland & Co.). Woo stated that one cut was two hours and 40 minutes. (I have determined that this was intended as the Director's Cut.) The initial concept was analogous to The Godfather Part II. Woo centered the story around Mark Lee’s twin brother Ken (like Mark, played by Chow Yun Fat) and Kit (Leslie Cheung). But Hark concentrated on Lung Si (Dean Shek), an old friend and business colleague of Ho (Lung Ti). When Woo was filming, though, he realized the Lung Si character wasn’t working.

Hark essentially wrote the treatment. Woo gave an interview to Robert K. Elder about this in 2004 that was printed in John Woo: Interviews (2005, University Press of Mississippi). The story idea was originally Hark's, which Woo wasn't excited about. Woo expressed that it wasn't his wish to focus on Dean Shek's character. After principal photography wrapped, Golden Princess notified Hark and Woo that they had one week till the theatrical release date. Woo recollected to Hall that they were compelled to remove about one hour of footage. Hark, Woo, and editor David Wu split into six or seven groups. Woo cut while Hark edited the first two reels. Woo cut three or four more reels. Wu cut an additional two or three reels. Woo said he never had the opportunity to assemble ABTII into a final cut. Christopher Heard also interviewed Woo for his book, Ten Thousand Bullets: The Cinematic Journey of John Woo (1999, Lone Eagle Publishing). The director recalled he didn't see ABII again till opening night.

In ABII, Lung Si departs Hong Kong for New York because he doesn't want any business dealings with Ko Ying Pui (Shan Kwan), one of the Triad's mafia dons. Ho has been given a conditional release from prison so he can infiltrate Ko's gang. Kit is working undercover on the case. Mark's brother Ken operates a little Asian restaurant in New York where he rather inexplicably becomes in contact with Lung Si. (The narrative never explains how Ken locates Lung or how the latter ends up where he's relegated to.) The plot also pivots around Lung's daughter, Peggy (Regina Kent), who's caught in a web of deceit and deception between Kit, Ko, and the Triad.

Dressed to kill.

The theatrical version of ABII contains some logical gaps and continuity errors when the story shifts between Hong Kong, New York, and back to Hong Kong. In addition, the ways both Kit and Peggy are written leaves a lot to be desired. Hark and Woo possibly disagreed on the trajectory and arc of Kit's character. Still, Woo demonstrates a masterful command of camera angles in ABII even as the picture didn't turn out the way he wanted. For example, there's a breathtaking sequence where Ken fires his gun while rolling down the chairs. The action scenes, especially the climax, are expertly choreographed. These aspects make ABII a worthy sequel.

A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout!'s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + standard Blu-ray combo of A Better Tomorrow II is sourced from a 4K restoration. The UHD is encoded with Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The picture appears in its original exhibition ratio of 1.85:1. The print used for the 2160p and 1080p transfers is mostly clean and in nearly pristine condition. There a few white tramlines. See the one going down Ko's goon (first to the right) in Screenshot #12. I caught a tiny video sparkle on Peggy's left cheek in frame grab #19. There's a little dirt on a POV shot through a binoculars, which is probably an optical (see #14). I also spotted a couple print flecks throughout the presentation. But overall, the transfers look marvelous. Colors on the costumes during the tango/dance really pop (see screen capture #5). In addition, check out the red paint in #25. ABTII generally sports a thick and coarse grain structure, which is almost equally visible on the 4K and regular Blu-ray transfers aside from differences in brightness. (See #s 35 and 36.) Woo loves filming close-ups and facial detail is excellent on those shots.

The triple-layered UHD disc carries a mean video bitrate of 89.2 Mbps for the feature and an overall bitrate of 98.6 Mbps for the full disc. The regular Blu-ray employs the MPEG-4 AVC codec and boasts an average video bitrate of 32000 kbps. My video score for the 2160p and 1080p transfers is 4.75/5.00 apiece.

Screenshot #s 1-30, 32, 34, 36, 38, & 40 = Shout! Studios 2025 4K Ultra HD (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 31, 33, 35, 37, & 39 = Shout! Studios 2025 Blu-ray BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

Shout! has given the 104-minute feature eight chapter breaks, which you can only skip to via remote since there's no menu shortcut.

A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The default sound track is a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1586 kbps, 24-bit), which is mainly in Cantonese with some English for the New York scenes. Additionally, there's an alternate English dub, also encoded in DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono (1618 kbps, 24-bit). I listened to the native track, which is mixed a little high. The upper registers show strong bass with all the bullets zinging around. Dialogue is clear, crisp, and audible. Composer Lowell Lo wrote a new theme for ABTII that's performed on synths, pan flute, and harpsichord. He also wrote for electric guitar on another cue in the score. Lo brought back Joseph Koo's primary and secondary themes from the first film. And like ABT, the filmmakers have excerpted Peter Gabriel's composition, "Birdy's Flight," from Alan Parker's Birdy (1984).

Shout!'s optional English SDH are clear, legible, and double spaced. (See subtitle examples in Screenshot #s 26-30.)

A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout! has recorded a recent commentary, two new interviews, and a featurette with a HK cinema expert. The one legacy feature left off this release is an English-friendly 22-minute interview with producer Tsui Hark that was on the UK R2 Hong Kong Legends "Special Collector's Edition" DVD.

DISC ONE: 4K Ultra HD

• NEW Audio Commentary with James Mudge - Mudge is a film producer, festival programmer, and the Hong Kong film critic at easternKicks. He defends A Better Tomorrow II by first explaining how it's too often compared to the original picture. Mudge points out that there are a lot of HK action films that ripped off ABT and the sequel should be compared to them instead. He breaks down ABTII's plot, story, and themes. Mudge also unpacks the difficult creative partnership between John Woo and Tsui Hark. In addition, he provides background on the key players. Mudge talks nonstop throughout this track. In English, not subtitled.

DISC TWO: Blu-ray

• NEW Audio Commentary with James Mudge - Mudge is a film producer, festival programmer, and the Hong Kong film critic at easternKicks. He defends A Better Tomorrow II by first explaining how it's too often compared to the original picture. Mudge points out that there are a lot of HK action films that ripped off ABT and the sequel should be compared to them instead. He breaks down ABTII's plot, story, and themes. Mudge also unpacks the difficult creative partnership between John Woo and Tsui Hark. In addition, he provides background on the key players. Mudge talks nonstop throughout this track. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW A Tumultuous TOMORROW: John Woo on A Better Tomorrow II (26:28, 1080p) - Woo explains his reluctance to make a sequel to ABT. He talks about his initial preference to make a prequel and how the studio reacted to his pitch. He also recalls the studio pushing him to cast Chow Yun Fat. More, Woo remembers casting Dean Shek, his idea for one of the characters, and his inclination to increase the action for the sequel. He states that the rough cut lasts three hours. Woo says he cut down a subplot in the New York scenes. He identifies his cinematic inspirations as Sam Peckinpah and mentor Chang Cheh. Woo critiques a few of the gun battle scenes and their thematic implications. He does not address his creative conflict with Tsui Hark while making ABTII. Entirely in English, not subtitled.

• NEW Better Than Ever: Frank Djeng on the Bloody Bombast of A Better Tomorrow II (18:58, 1080p) - Film historian Frank Djeng recalls when we first saw ABTII while enrolled at University of California, Davis. He provides a detailed recollection of seeing a midnight showing at the Pagoda Palace theater in San Francisco. Djeng discusses Woo's prior films and other Hong Kong productions and Chow Yun Fat's movies during this period. He briefly examines some of the scenes from ABTII. Djeng explains why he prefers the sequel over the original. Djeng reveals some spoilers about the first two films so don't watch his interview until you've seen them. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Hong Kong Confidential: Inside A Better Tomorrow II with Grady Hendrix (10:14, 1080p) - Hendrix specifies where Dean Shek was in his career right before ABTII. He reveals the film character the scriptwriters based Lung Si on. Hendrix describes Chow Yun Fat's performative style in the sequel. He also describes Woo's evolving personality as a director who can blend action and emotion. In English, not subtitled.

• Trailers (8:41 altogether, 1080p) - two cinema trailers for ABTII. Neither has been restored and boasts an assortment of age-related film artifacts. The first is an extended trailer featuring footage from the first two movies in the trilogy. The second contains clips only from the original film. In Cantonese, subtitled in English.

• Image Gallery (3:16, 1080p) - a slide show consisting of about 39 distinct images documenting A Better Tomorrow II's promotional campaign. These comprise posters, lobby cards, and on-set photos.

A Better Tomorrow II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Better Tomorrow II witnessed a creative conflict between Tsui Hark and John Woo that resulted in a compromised film that has continuity problems and flaws with the way a couple of the characters are written. Still, this is a tremendous Hong Kong action film. The camera loves Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat, who each deliver great performances. The transfers from Shout!'s 4K scan look outstanding. The remastered Cantonese audio mix is free of source flaws. The supplementary content isn't as bountiful as what Shout! provides for its A Better Tomorrow (1986) package but they're still pretty informative. A VERY SOLID RECOMMENDATION.