Two Asian Blokes
A podcast where we chat about Asian pop culture: films, tv shows, cartoons, video games, comics, books, food… whatever we’re feeling on the day, really. A little bit of news, a little bit of analysis, but a whole lot of fun. New episodes every Monday!
Two Asian Blokes
Heroes Shed No Tears (extended audio)
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We're continuing John Woo-LY 2026 with perhaps the strangest film in John Woo's entire filmography.
Heroes Shed No Tears (1984) wasn't a passion project. It was a movie made out of contractual obligation, shelved for two years by its production company, and only released after the enormous success of A Better Tomorrow turned John Woo into one of Hong Kong cinema's hottest directors. It's safe to say this is the John Woo film he would probably rather you forgot.
The film follows a group of mercenaries on a mission deep into hostile territory to rescue a powerful crime lord. What begins as a straightforward military operation quickly descends into a chaotic survival story filled with relentless action, jungle warfare, and some of the most unexpectedly unhinged tonal shifts you'll ever see in an action movie.
In this review, we discuss the film's bizarre production history, its blend of action, comedy, and shocking violence, whether traces of the classic "John Woo touch" are already beginning to emerge, and if there's a genuinely good movie buried beneath the rushed production.
It's messy. It's weird. It occasionally feels like three different films stitched together. But is there still something worth discovering in one of John Woo's most overlooked movies?
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⏱️ **Chapters**
00:00 Why John Woo Wants to Forget This Movie
01:06 Heroes Shed No Tears – First Impressions
03:22 Big Guns, Tiny Handcuffs & Pure Chaos
09:10 Comedy, Horror & Extreme Violence
12:40 The Infamous Love Shack Scene
15:49 Eye for an Eye – The Film's Brutality
18:59 Weak Characters or Missed Potential?
20:36 Is Heroes Shed No Tears Worth Watching?
💬 What do you think of Heroes Shed No Tears? Is it an underrated John Woo film, or one best left forgotten?
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