Wílly Milan's loose adaptation of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow I and II is an enjoyable tribute to the classic action films of the pioneering Hong Kong based director. While it lacks the stylish aesthetic of the originals, Milan's movie is a great reimagining.
The Filipino remake from 1991 is a much vulgar film compared to Woo's handling of the story about siblings on opposing sides of the law. Though, to give credit to the scriptwriters of Milan's movie, they were able to cleverly repurpose and repackage the source material to avoid making a straight up imitation. Devoted fans of Woo's two classics will immediately recognize the resemblance of the characters in Milan's movie to the familiar and most recognized denizens of the "heroic bloodshed" genre. Rafael is obviously a composite of Ho and Lung, Robert is Kit, Mae Ann is Jackie, Sonny is Ken, Alex is a fusion of Shing and Ko while Ruben is Mark. Yet these characters in Milan's movie are not exact xerox copies of their counterparts from Woo's film but are "remixed"and retooled versions. Ruben for example is not a badass gunslinger like Mark but he does possess the fierce loyalty and noble courage of the latter. And it's not Ruben (Mark) who does the avenging in the movie but Rafael. Also, the legendary restaurant sequence from the original is a bit different in Milan's remake. Instead of hiding handguns in potted plants as backup weapons, Rafael loads up on ammo and in place of two Beretta pistols, he brandishes an Uzi and an unspecified .45 handgun. The shootouts are also less flashy than in Woo's two movies.
Though based on Woo's first two masterworks, the film feels more like it was influenced by Mark L. Lester for its exploitation film sensibilities. Nonetheless, Milan managed to stage fairly engaging and emotional melodrama in the first act or so of the movie which would've made the Chinese filmmaker proud. Such an accomplishment has eluded Milan in his past films of which Anak Ng Cabron and Barumbado are a few of these earlier attempts at achieving dramatic tension and weight. The Ace Vergel starrer for example, though indeed showcasing some good acting from the departed actor, suffers from an unsympathetic lead protagonist while the Robin Padilla actioner's single parent and delinquent son narrative is decent but not exceptional. It is notable that this is the lone Milan directed film with the distinction of being his most heartfelt and endearing work. Though he would not have achieved this feat without Woo's work as a launching point. And so as not to directly plagiarize Woo's films, the big brother and little brother dynamic from the first movie is replaced with an estranged father and son scenario, at least in the first act of the film.
In addition, Milan's remake makes extensive and effective use of the music written by Joseph Koo with "Mark's Theme" (a variation on the intro music from the first A Better Tomorrow) playing in the opening credits. Music scorer Willy Yusi altered it a little to give it a more driving beat but it's still basically the same tune. The music from Leslie Cheung's song on the other hand was lifted directly from Woo's film and had no added embellishments or modifications.
Perhaps the one thing that makes it a little more different from the two Woo movies is, Milan incorporates a quite lengthy and graphic love scene between Mark Gil and Rina Reyes. This prolonged sex sequence is sort of unrelated to the movie's actual story and to some, may be deemed gratuitous. It only shows that Milan could find work in the porno industry.
To conclude, Milan's movie is Ricketts' best film in the actor's collection of action flicks along with Uzi Brothers and Ganti Ng Api. It is also the most original and imaginative remake of Woo's iconic mid 80s gems.
