Review | Back to the Past movie review: Louis Koo, Raymond Lam lead nostalgic sequel to TVB series

This big-budget sci-fi fantasy may be an emotional watch for fans of the 2001 Hong Kong show A Step into the Past, even if it falls short

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Louis Koo (centre) in a still from Back to the Past. The historical sci-fi will inspire waves of nostalgia in fans of the 2001 TVB series A Step into the Past, even if this movie sequel unfolds like a goofy and gratuitous piece of sci-fi pulp.

Published: 12:00am, 31 Dec 2025Updated: 12:29am, 31 Dec 2025

3/5 stars

A film does not need to be a masterpiece to become a megahit, provided it strikes the perfect chord. Few contemporary Hong Kong releases prove this better than Back to the Past, a subpar historical sci-fi fantasy that is saved – and arguably even transcended – by the potent wave of nostalgia it inspires in its target audience.

An effects-driven action adventure that picks up where the 2001 TVB drama series A Step into the Past left off, this long-gestating sequel co-directed by Ng Yuen-fai (Warriors of Future) and Jack Lai Chun-lung (Possession Street) is a must-see for those who regard the early 2000s as the last great era for Hong Kong entertainment.

To put its improbability in perspective, the big-budget production was only possible because Louis Koo Tin-lok – the actor and pop singer who played his last TVB role in that beloved original series – has since become not just Hong Kong cinema’s most prolific leading man, but also one of its most influential studio bosses.

Still, no amount of star power is enough to salvage Lily He Xin’s slack screenplay, which revolves around an inexplicable premise: that Ken (Michael Miu Kiu-wai in a newly created role), the inventor of the time machine used in the series – itself adapted from Huang Yi’s novel – is seeking revenge after being “wrongly imprisoned” for two decades.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}This big-budget sci-fi fantasy may be an emotional watch for fans of the 2001 Hong Kong show A Step into the Past, even if it falls short

This big-budget sci-fi fantasy may be an emotional watch for fans of the 2001 Hong Kong show A Step into the Past, even if it falls short