
Movies that feel like A Better Tomorrow (1986)
If you loved A Better Tomorrow, the closest films we have are Lady Snowblood (1973), The Killer (1989) and Iron Monkey (1993). All three share A Better Tomorrow's kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel and HBO Max and others, checked against today's data.
If A Better Tomorrow hit the spot, these will too
Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) · Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) · The Day After Tomorrow (2004) · Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Revenge sits at the heart of each

John Woo directing both, with the same fingerprints on each
The difference: Missing the relentlessness of A Better Tomorrow

Kinetic and gritty in the same breath
The difference: None of the relentlessness that defines A Better Tomorrow

Both trade on stillness more than on being action

The same preoccupation in both: revenge
The difference: Plays it as thriller more than A Better Tomorrow does

The same hand behind both of them: John Woo

Relentless crime in both cases

Drama with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Both built around brothers and sisters

Action built on grit, twice over
The difference: A 1950s film, from a different era of filmmaking

Contemplative crime, and it commits to that

Hong Kong shapes both of them
In the mood for more kinetic?
all kinetic movies →The best-reviewed films that share A Better Tomorrow's defining feeling.









