The landscape for time-travel narratives in Chinese cinema has shifted dramatically since the early 2010s, when such stories faced scrutiny from censors over historical subversion. Fast forward to today, and the genre is evidently back in favour, paving the way for Back to the Past, a glossy big-screen sequel to the hit 2001 Hong Kong television series A Step Into the Past.
A Return to the Warring States
Picking up the story two decades later, the film sees Louis Koo reprise his role as Hong Siu Lung, the modern-day police officer forever stranded in the third-century BC Qin dynasty. Having successfully installed his disciple, Chiu Poon (played by Raymond Lam), as emperor, Hong now lives a quiet life in hiding with his family. Meanwhile, back in the present day, the time machine's inventor, Ken (Michael Miu Kiu-wai), is released from prison after serving time for the botched technology that marooned Hong. Rather than seek grievance, Ken embarks on a vengeful mission to travel back himself and seize the imperial throne.
Action Over Anachronism
Directed by Jack Lai and Yuen Fai Ng, the film moves at a brisk pace but largely sidesteps the comedic potential of its fish-out-of-water premise. Instead of mining humour from historical incongruity in the style of Back to the Future, the plot devolves into an extended chase sequence. Ken's strategy involves astonishing the Qin dynasty's footsoldiers with 21st-century firepower, a spectacle that offers blunt force rather than subtlety. While there are some competent action set pieces—a cart escape down a hillside tea plantation stands out—the fight choreography overseen by veteran Sammo Hung feels disappointingly routine, relying on rote gun-fu often presented in restrictive close-ups.
Nostalgia and Narrative Shortcomings
As the story progresses, its soap-operatic twists adopt an increasingly moralising tone. Ken's betrayed daughter, played by Baihe Bai, becomes a vehicle for lectures on megalomania and the weight of history. Furthermore, Raymond Lam's cold-eyed tyrant is frequently required to revert unconvincingly to his former role as Hong's devoted ward, a shift that feels particularly forced during nostalgic callbacks to the original series. Ultimately, Back to the Past may satisfy die-hard fans of A Step Into the Past with its warp-hole journey, but for a general audience, its reliance on basic nostalgia proves an insufficient engine. The film is now showing in cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
