Hero of Tomorrow (1988) Review

“Hero of Tomorrow” Chinese DVD Cover

Director: Poon Man Kit
Writer: Clarence Yip Wai Chung
Cast: Michael Miu, Max Mok, William Ho, Cheung Wing Jing, Gam Siu Mooi, Joan Tong, Lung Ming Yan, Fong Ming Git, Ku Feng, Chan Chung Yung, Mak Wai Cheung, Jackson Ng, Sham Chin Bo, Sin Ho Ying, Wang Yao, Philip Chan, Chen Jing, Ho Pak Kwong, Blacky Ko, Philip Kwok, Lam Chung, James Tien, Tommy Wong
Running Time: 86 min.

By HKFanatic

When a genre proved to be successful during the Hong Kong New Wave, producers moved fast to turn into a cottage industry. Hence the surplus of ‘heroic bloodshed’ films that arrived around the 1986 success of John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” – nicknamed ‘heroic bloodshed’ since most of these films ended with the protagonist riddled with bullets and barely standing, clothes soaked through with blood.

“Hero of Tomorrow” is one such movie and it’s not a title that any casual HK cinema fan is likely to stumble upon unless, like me, you’re slowly making your way through the ‘heroic bloodshed’ genre itself. Director Poon Man Kit would later score a hit with 1991’s “To Be Number One” but has since faded into obscurity, his last film arriving in 2004. Although the few reviews I managed to find online were incredibly lukewarm on this film, I can say that “Hero of Tomorrow” is definitely worth a watch for action fans if only for its bravado ending sequence, which features a lengthy and beautifully choreographed shoot-out on the streets of Hong Kong.

“Hero of Tomorrow” is the story of two men. Michael Miu plays a hardened Triad assassin who’s fresh out of prison. Upon his release, he wastes no time in tracking down the men responsible for his imprisonment and planting a hatchet in their neck. Soon afterwards, he flees to Taiwan to lay low with the blessing of his Triad boss. It’s there that he hooks up with a local gangster, played by the always slimy William Ho (“The Dragon Family“). Only trouble is, after a lifetime of killing, Michael Miu wants out of the game. Miu longs for the peaceful life of a fisherman but fate continues to conspire against him in the form of Max Mok.

Mok plays the same wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky kid that he always played in these late 80’s revenge movies. He’s a young pup who works a street vendor outside William Ho’s place, ever eager to find a way to get in Ho’s good graces and become a player in the Triads. His chance comes when leaps to the rescue during an attack on Ho’s life, even going so far as to take the police rap for the guy. As a result, Mok quickly works his way up the ranks in Ho’s gang with Michael Miu serving as his big bro. However, the duo learn too late that William Ho is not worthy of their trust. Even as Miu falls in love with Mok’s sister, it’s clear there won’t be a happy ending for anyone involved. This is, after all, a heroic bloodshed flick!

My only real previous exposure to Michael Miu was in the “Lucky Stars” films, where he always played a youthful womanizer, so “Hero of Tomorrow” came as something of a shock. In this film Miu wears close-cropped hair and is given the Chow Yun Fat role: the world-weary bad-ass in a long coat who’s good with dual pistols. Although the part doesn’t require much acting of him beyond looking cool, Miu dives into the role with gusto and comes across as an able action star. Too bad the script borders on the schizophrenic and is seemingly unable to decide who the main character is. Expect the film to divvy up screentime to Miu and Max Mok in uneven doses.

Mok’s character is equally as rote for the Triad genre; he’s the innocent kid who you just know is going to get tramped on as he makes his descent into the criminal underworld. Mok is best in supporting roles like in “Dragon Family”; he’s not necessarily an actor you can revolve an entire movie around. Every scene he has with Michael Miu just reminds you of how much more bad-ass Miu is.

The lack of a clear protagonist definitely hurts the script, as does the amount of time devoted to Mok and his girlfriend pining for a better life. And it doesn’t help that the female characters in this movie exist solely as pretty-faced cannon fodder to motivate the heroes for revenge. Although the actress who plays Mok’s sister, Gam Siu, has striking features, she is given precious little to do. The subtitles actually translate Mok’s girlfriend’s name as “Naive,” which should tell you everything right there. There were plenty of Hong Kong movies during the 80’s and 90’s that featured women characters who were just as empowered and ass-kicking as the men; this is not one of them. The threat of rape is constantly hovered the head of Joan Tong’s character during the last thirty minutes of the movie. I could have done without that, as well as the scene featuring a realistic-looking dog fight. Animal lovers will cringe during this sequence in which it is very difficult to tell if the pitbulls were hurt or not. Hong Kong cinema didn’t exactly have the best track record for animal safety during the 80’s.

During the final act, Max Mok commits a face-palm inducing mistake that sets things up for one hell of a finale. The ending of “Hero of Tomorrow” features a classic Hong Kong-style shootout, expertly choreographed by by action directors Wong Shu Tong and Mak Wai Cheung (the latter an action director on Donnie Yen’s “Ballistic Kiss” and “Legend of the Wolf“). The shootout unfolds on the crowded streets of Hong Kong with some fantastic action beats, great camera angles, fluid editing, and incredibly loud gunshot effects. No joke, I had to rewind and rewatch this sequence at least three times. I agree that there are far too many mediocre Triad movies saved by a clincher of an ending but “Hero of Tomorrow” really cements itself as a must-see for ‘heroic bloodshed’ fans during the last ten minutes. If you’ve explored the depths of John Woo’s or Ringo Lam’s filmographies and you’re looking for where to arrive next, “Dragon Family” and this film are two great options.

HKFanatic’s Rating: 7/10