A Better Tomorrow I and II

After having re-watched The Killer for the first time in about 5 years I decided to give these a spin. I owned part II on VHS back in the day so I have more nostalgia for it, and it's also much more entertaining because it's the first real "John Woo Film" and has some pretty great action. The first film I have only seen once or twice and it's really something: it's not much of an action film. It's more of a crime drama, with some pretty good acting and directing, with operatic flourishes of violence that give it a slightly comic-book edge. That's on full display in the much hackier--though in some ways more entertaining, in that over-the-top 80s way--sequel, but the original film is a pretty important landmark in Hong Kong action cinema and it's easy to see why. Much like it's American counterpart, Terminator, it's an action film that doesn't quite think of itself as an action film but an honest drama with lots of shooting and chases.