SONS OF THE NEON NIGHT (风林火山) (2025)

Genre: Action/Crime
Director: Juno Mak
Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sean Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Louis Koo, Gao Yuan Yuan, Alex To, Nina Paw, Wilson Lam, Lowell Lo, Jiang Pei Yao, Michelle Wai, Kam Kwok Leung, Lo Hoi Pang, Lau Wing, Carl Ng, Lloyd Hutchinson
Runtime: 2 hr 12 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence and Nudity)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 9 October 2025

Synopsis: In a snow-blanketed Hong Kong that echoes the dystopian qualities of Gotham City, a turbulent chain of events begins. Among the dead is a powerful businessman. Although his family's empire spans various industries, he remains the hidden leader of a notorious drug cartel, secretly detained in the hospital where the chaos unfolds. With law enforcement in disarray and rival factions vying for dominance, the youngest son becomes embroiled in a conflict where he is determined to dismantle his family's criminal legacy. However, his mission is jeopardized by his fugitive older brother and the ruthless lieutenants loyal to their deceased father, each manoeuvring to seize control...

Movie Review:

After years in gestation, Juno Mak’s second film after the much-lauded Rigor Mortis (2013) finally arrives—an ambitious, moody, and visually intoxicating crime epic that feels both familiar and foreign in today’s Hong Kong cinema landscape. In the closing credits, Mak thanks two titans of the industry, Wong Kar Wai and Peter Chan, and it’s easy to sense their influence in the film’s brooding atmosphere and painterly precision. Whether Mak is consciously borrowing from these veterans or merely echoing their legacy is open to debate. What’s clear, though, is that he’s working in a different era—one where Hong Kong’s cinematic language has evolved into something colder, slicker, and more fractured. Whether that’s a good thing is another question entirely, as viewers’ tastes and attention spans continue to shift with the times.

The first thing that strikes you is how stunning the film looks. Every frame feels deliberate, every reflection and snowflake placed with painterly precision. It’s as though Mak has turned the city into a living art installation—a neon graveyard of fading ideals and lost souls. The cinematography is extraordinary; the visuals alone could justify the ticket price for viewers whose main focus are on how the film looks. Even when the narrative wanders, the camera never does. It captures Hong Kong as a place where beauty is inseparable from decay.

Of course, the biggest draw for most audiences will be the cast, and Mak knows it. The film boasts a line-up that reads like a wish list for Hong Kong cinema devotees: Takeshi Kaneshiro (oh, how audiences have missed him), Sean Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Louis Koo. It doesn’t stop there, as familiar faces like Richie Jen, Nina Paw, Alex To, Wilson Lam, and Lo Hoi Pang show up in supporting roles. Their very presence signals the kind of industry support and star power most directors can only dream of. Kaneshiro, in particular, is magnetic—he could be staring into blank space and still command the frame. Mak seems fully aware of his appeal, keeping the camera trained on him in loving close-ups that make even cigarette smoke look glamorous.

Yet, for all its beauty and star wattage, Sons of the Neon Night struggles to connect on an emotional level. The characters move like shadows through the snow, cool and composed but somewhat hollow. The film often feels like a music video stretched into a noir epic—impeccably styled, meticulously lit, but emotionally distant. Everyone looks incredible, but few feel alive.

In the end, Sons of the Neon Night is a triumph of form over feeling—a dazzling, meticulous vision of a city frozen in time. Juno Mak has crafted a haunting visual symphony that pays homage to Wong Kar Wai and Peter Chan while carving out its own aesthetic identity. It’s hypnotic, ambitious, and undeniably beautiful. But as the snow keeps falling, you can’t help wishing it would melt—just enough to let a little warmth in. Still, this isn’t a bad film by any measure. It will likely appeal to those who go to the movies to be visually transported rather than emotionally moved—and for that audience, it’s pure cinema.

Movie Rating:

(Visually, Juno Mak's second feature film is a stunning work of art—but its icy perfection may leave those seeking emotional connection out in the cold)

Review by John Li