CriterionCast

South Korean Remake Of John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow Meets Cold Response From Hong Kong Moviegoers

While news behind the South Korean remake of the classic John Woo gangster film, A Better Tomorrow, has been relatively empty ever since the film ramped into production, that’s all apparently changed now that the film has been seen, and not in the best way imaginable.

According to an AP report (via Boston.com), the film has received a very ‘tepid’ response in Hong Kong, featuring poor reviews and even more upsetting box office receipts.

The original was, and still is, one of Woo’s most beloved films, and with a change of scenery to the South Korean port city of Busan, the film may have met the authorization of Woo himself, but the public does not seem to be falling quite as in love as they had the original film. However, it may just be that the Hong Kong crowd is a tough one to win over, as when the film debut in South Korea back in September, it was met with much more warm and welcoming reviews.

Personally, I do like the idea of giving Woo films a new rush of life, however, the man was, and still in many ways is (although it can be debated as to what extent) an auteur, in the truest sense of the word.   That all said, this is one that is apparently not quite as loved as Woo’s iconic original.

But then again, what really is?

Also, speaking of Hong Kong cinema, for those of you looking to learn all the more about it, film scholar David Bordwell has released, exclusively online, a new edition of his study, Planet Hong Kong.   A mammoth, 300-page pdf, the piece is available for purchase on his website.   Learn more about the history that birthed such classics as The Killer, In The Mood For Love and Chungking Express.

Source: Boston.com / Criterion / David Bordwell




Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.