The title of this John Woo 1986 action classic is taken from the 1985 Taiwanese charity single Tomorrow Will Be Better, released in the spirit of the west’s Live Aid and a huge pan-Asian hit. It is poignantly performed in one scene by a choir of sweet schoolchildren; their innocence is, of course, in counterpoint to the blood-drizzled bad guys, but it also speaks to the yearning of some of these criminals to redeem themselves: “Let our smiles show off our pride of youth / Let us look forward to a better tomorrow.”
Perhaps, with the perspective of 40 years, we can now see more clearly why John Woo’s movies are so addictive. Not merely for the much discussed, much imitated “balletic” gunplay sequences, but for the fierce, unapologetic streak of melodrama and sentimentality. Family is everything, but that doesn’t mean endorsing crime families.
