After a fairly underwhelming box office for local films in 2025, along comes a cinematic sequel to a popular television series that is now over two decades old and had been made in 2019 but not released until now (the fact that the late Liu Kai-Chi has a small role in this says a lot). ‘Back to the Past’ has, at the time of writing, conquered the film business in Hong Kong and set the record for opening first days.
For those of us unfamiliar with the series this is a sequel to, ‘A Step Into the Past’, the big screen follow-up starts with a quick summary which gets us up to date. Hong Siu-Long (Koo), who two decades ago had travelled back in time to the era of the Warring States in 250 BC, is living a peaceful life on the edge of the country with his family. His peaceful exile is disrupted by the arrival of Ken, a mercenary who was wrongly imprisoned and, with his team, travels back in time to pick up imperial treasure. Ken’s gang quickly subdue the Emperor’s forces and Hong finds himself drawn back into helping his country before history can be rewritten.
It’s difficult to assess ‘Back to the Past’ properly if you aren’t familiar with the original. The opening helps fill in the gaps, but it took a bit of research on my part to ready myself. The nearest equivalent from a British standpoint was if a big screen version of ‘Red Dwarf’ was released twenty years after the series ended and was shown worldwide. This of course means that your emotional investment in the proceedings will depend greatly on your affection for ‘A Step Into the Past’. As ‘Back to the Past’ features beloved characters and the conclusion of their arcs, the pay-off was lost on me, as was the subsequent pathos.
While I wouldn’t suggest my view will be the most detailed, I can confirm that ‘Back to the Past’ is an enjoyable though never quite a thrilling action adventure. The set-pieces feel a little less involving than the fact that Sammo Hung was action director might suggest, though a few battles between ancient armies and futuristic invaders are diverting. Louis Koo is as charismatic as ever and his scenes with Raymond Lam are the strongest in the film; if you followed the series, their relationship and confrontation at the end would have even more resonance. The grand finale will probably appeal to fans more than to the casual viewer while the main antagonist (who I just found out is played by Michael Miu who is still in my mental database as Kirk Miu) feels like an insertion meant to keep the plot going until the real drama can happen at the end.
‘Back to the Past’ is entertaining though quickly forgettable unless you have a connection with its predecessor or a willingness to rush through all 40 episodes of it beforehand. It’s also a reminder that nostalgia is always in demand and that if you can give the fans what they want – even two decades later – the rewards are rich.
‘Back To The Past’ is currently screening in the UK through Trinity CineAsia and in the US through Well Go USA.
