You might be wondering why the makers of “Back to the Past,” an unusual Hong Kong sci-fi/action hybrid, bothered to revive “A Step Into the Past,” a popular 2001 Hong Kong TV series. Maybe some answers can be found in the movie’s fight choreography, provided by legendary star/action director Sammo Hung. Or maybe you, like me, think Hong Kong star Louis Koo has only gotten better with age, or you just enjoy the 2022 crowd-pleaser, “Warriors of Future,” a polished and mostly entertaining box-office flop starring Koo and helmed by “Back to the Past” co-director Ng Yuen-fai. Lunar New Year is also right around the corner, so maybe you’re in a forgiving mood. Alas, “Back to the Past” will likely only satisfy fans of the original series, which you can thankfully skim on Tubi.
The dramatically inert “Back to the Past” revives Koo’s fan favorite role as Hong Siu Lung, the fish-out-of-water security guard who tests out a new time machine by traveling back to the Qing dynasty. Hong’s original motives—to fix a painful and inexplicable romantic breakup—are so negligible that they aren’t even mentioned in the movie’s introductory flashback montage, which summarizes most of what viewers need to know before watching “Back to the Past.” Basically, Hong was supposed to meet the Emperor and then return to the 21st century, but one thing led to another, and eventually Emperor Ying Ching was replaced by a former disciple of Hong’s, the power-mad Chiu Poon (Raymond Lam), who also happens to look just like Ying.
19 years after that, Hong retired to the countryside, living peacefully with his grown son, Bowie (Kevin Chu), and his two stubborn, fiercely protective wives, Wu Ting-fong (Jessica Hsuan) and Kam Ching (Sonija Kwok). Now, Hong must reluctantly team up with Chiu after Ken (Michael Miu), the time machine’s wrongfully imprisoned inventor, comes back to the Qing dynasty with the boilerplate goal of replacing the emperor. Ken arrives with a team of armed mercenaries, some of whom look like they could be extras from “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Only the combined forces of Hong and Chiu can stop Ken, though it’s hard to understand why, based on the evidence provided in “Back to the Past.”
To be fair, you’ll never have to wonder what motivates Hong and Chiu, since they never stop telling us through functional, forgettable dialogue. That kind of bland exposition, unfortunately, is also the basis for most of the callbacks to “A Step Into the Past.” And to make matters worse, there’s not much character development beyond some general references to the characters’ previous relationships.
Ken’s also a fairly generic villain, a would-be despot with more technology and ambition than common sense. He gives the filmmakers an excuse to break out the same techno-thriller and military-gear fetishes as “Warriors of Future,” only here Ken’s humorless tyranny seems to serve more as a sharp contrast to Hong and the gang’s unsentimental, yet still pseudo-traditional values. He and his family have a rapport, but Ken’s just Ken. His daughter Galie (Bai Baihe) questions his motives, but that’s about it.
Chiu’s a little more complex, but not much. He and Hong both have regrets, but they spend more time alluding to their shared history than they develop a new story here. You’ll likely only care about Hong and Chiu’s master/pupil dynamic if you’re already invested in “A Step Into the Past” and its characters.
None of that show’s lightly likable humor translates as well in “Back to the Past” either, though Koo seems excited to be back in his fan favorite role (He’s also one of the movie’s producers). Everything but his and his cast-mates’ performances seems forced, which is a shame since you didn’t really have to care about the characters to enjoy Koo and Ng’s “Warriors of Future.” That earlier movie was about as bad at establishing its characters’ motives and personalities. Not much interest in rising action either, just a lot of labored setup for splashy action set pieces.
“Back to the Past” is not a worse or less sudsy melodrama, but it is more disappointing for how little costume drama and scifi action it offers. I mean, there are futuristic-looking motorbikes and a hoverboard, too. There’s even some cool-looking acrobatics and hand-to-hand fight choreography. And somehow, none of that is this overproduced series finale’s main draw.
It feels wrong to dump on a movie that clearly meant a lot to Koo and Ng, and especially after they failed to make “Warriors of Future” a well-publicized return to Hong Kong cinema’s glory days. Unfortunately, “Back to the Past” doesn’t really stand on its own, and its creators don’t know how to offer viewers anything new. No disrespect to Koo or his fans, but I’d much rather see that hoverboard fly than hear anybody talk around it.
