Los Banditos DVD Synopsis: 'A Better Tomorrow' is now remade under the patronage of the master himself. 'A Better Tomorrow 2012' consistently follows the story of its predecessor and takes the action and fighting scenes into the new millennium. Again it is the fight between brothers, again they are separated as children and again destiny puts them in the position of the hunter and the hunted. 'A Better Tomorrow 2012' leads the audience through 118 minutes of action-packed cinema to the most powerful shoot-out ever. (124 Mins)

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Views: For any die-hard fan of Hong Kong cinema (or of the original film itself), it came as a bit of a surprise when news came out about the remake of the classic, A Better Tomorrow. Even with John Woo's name behind it, there was definitely a bad taste in the air among fans, and only a few were excited for what was to come. Although sold as a Korean and Hong Kong co-production (and I think Japan got involved also), this is really a product of South Korean cinema. While based on John Woo's original screenplay, A Better Tomorrow 2012 was reworked by no less than 4 Korean writers, extending the film's run-time by almost an extra 25 minutes than the original. And while slickly produced, well-acted, and neatly directed, I have to admit, it is hard watching this version without judging everything on-screen in comparison to the original. There's no denying that it does hark back to the 1986 classic with some re-imagined, poignant scenes – but ultimately, this modern-day remake of A Better Tomorrow fails to capture the magic of its predecessor, yet at the same time, proves to entertain on its own merits...

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If it was John Woo's plan to recreate the whole trilogy with this South Korean team (or at the very least, parts 1 & 2), then perhaps the lukewarm reception of this adaptation put an end to that. Not to mention that another remake was launched in 2018 (of which I have yet to see) by revered Chinese director Ding Sheng, the very same man who brought us Little Big Soldier, Police Story: Lockdown, and Saving Mr. Wu. And while it probably offers the same in terms of re-imagined scenes, I'd say it probably fared a little better given Sheng's track record and could be the one that gains a sequel quicker than this. A Better Tomorrow 2012 was directed by Song Hae-Sung, a South Korean director known for a handful of films (by this stage anyway), and certainly hadn't delivered any titles that had left an impression with me – especially in the action genre. So it was a weird choice in that respect that John Woo and Terence Chang would feel that Song, was the right man for the job. Personally, I would have fought to get Kim Jee-Woon on board as the director. What he delivered in 2005 with A Bittersweet Life was just incredible, and more along the lines of A Better Tomorrow than anything in Song's filmography up to this point. But that's not to say that Song Hae-Sung did a bad job!

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While I've mentioned A Bittersweet Life, I have to say that I've often looked at the film's lead (Lee Byung-Hun) as Korea's answer to Chow Yun Fat, and while I feel he would have been perfect for the role of Mark in this adaptation, I must admit that Song Seung-Heon does a great job in this position. It wasn't too long ago that I had watched the Korean Netflix series, Black, of which Song Seung-Heon is the star and most definitely left an impression. So I was excited to see him appear in this, and he does not disappoint. Although he is no Chow Yun Fat, Song holds his own and manages to bring a different type of energy to the role of (the now-named) Yeong-Choon. Joining him is Ju Jin-Mo, whom I had only seen previously in the fantastic Musa: The Warrior. He plays the Ti Lung role, offering an emotional performance as well as looking good when the action comes about. His little brother, and the character of Leslie Cheung, is played by Kim Kang-Woo, star of The Chase, Doomsday Book, and popular K-drama series, Item. Along with Ju, Kang-Woo offers a strong and emotional performance as one-half of the brothers, who escaped North Korea only to lead a life of dire consequences and pain. Of course, the story of A Better Tomorrow would not be complete without the one man who screwed everyone over, originally seen played by Waise Lee. Here, the now-named character of Tae Min is played by Jo Han-Sun – star of Attack At The Gas Station 2, Cruel Winter Blues, and Deja Vu. As the double-crossing friend, Jo offers a hint of humour to his role, going from dopey sidekick to the gangsters, to becoming the leader of the underworld himself. All-in-all, each star provides a great performance and I'm sure while filming, they all felt somewhat nervous in portraying such characters that had been cemented in Hong Kong film fans' hearts, by such legendary actors from the original.

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Simply put, A Better Tomorrow 2012 has nothing on the original A Better Tomorrow. When I first saw the 1986 film, it brought tears to my eyes and left a lasting impression via its amazing score, emotional performances, and blistering action (most of which this remake failed to do). But if you watch this as a stand-alone movie, you can't help but enjoy it as a slickly made, Korean action-thriller, that offers some great performances and damn-good action scenes. A remake of any classic is going to annoy any fans of the original material, and understandably so, but when the makers of the original are behind it you have to give it a chance I guess. A Better Tomorrow 2012 is far from terrible (like most people say), and is certainly worth a watch, but as I stated before – it just fails to carry the magic of the original, which is unfortunate.

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Overall: Well made and well-acted, with some nice action scenes, A Better Tomorrow 2012 proves to be a decent homage to the original, but just not as incredible!

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Los Banditos DVD Extras: Making of Documentary, Interview with John Woo, Trailer

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Buy your copy HERE