A Better Tomorrow
When asked why he chose to move away from his familiar turf of romance films, Chan said that "The Warlords" is actually not a martial arts film at its heart, though it contains elements of the martial arts. He added that he had made a wish to make a film depicting men's affections after watching John Woo's 1986 film "A Better Tomorrow" over twenty years ago, and has now finally gotten the chance. His goal is thus to "lead [his] audience to reclaim [the same kind of passion]" as in "A Better Tomorrow", which he said is lacking in recent films.