''Operation Hadal'' or ''Operation Leviathan'' () is a 2025 Chinese

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

. It is a follow up to the 2018 film ''

Operation Red Sea ''Operation Red Sea'' () is a 2018 action war film directed by Dante Lam and starring Zhang Yi, Huang Jingyu, Hai Qing, Du Jiang and Jiang Luxia. A Chinese-Hong Kong co-production, the film is loosely based on the evacuation of Chinese commu ...

''. Differ from the previous film's above water action set-pieces, this film is about a

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...

, and feature mainly underwater action. The film was produced by

Bona Film Group Bona Film Group Company Limited (, formerly known as Beijing Polybona Film Distribution Co. Ltd. (保利博纳电影发行有限公司) ), also known as Polybona Films or the Bona Film Group, is a Chinese production company and distributor of fi ...

and directed by

Dante Lam Dante Lam Chiu-yin (, born 1 July 1964) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, actor and action choreographer. Background He was trained in the tradition of John Woo as an assistant director and worked as an actor and producer. He often writes and supervises ...

, and it stars Huang Xuan,

Yu Shi Yu Shi () is a Chinese spirit or god of rain, also known as or conflated with Red Pine (Chisong, , or Chisongzi – Master Red Pine), among other names. Translations of ''Yu Shi'' into English include "Lord of Rain" and "Leader of Rain". As Yu Sh ...

, Zhang Hanyu, and Du Jiang. It was released in China on 29 January 2025 (

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

). However, unlike Dante's previous two films, Operation Hadal was not a commerical success as criticisms over its weak character development, plot, narrative and logical flaws.

Premise

In the near future, the Chinese Navy intercepts critical intelligence—an advanced super-submarine is secretly plotting a top-secret military operation against cities along China's southeastern coast. In response, China deploys its latest submarine, ''Longjing'', to coordinate with the elite Jiaolong Squad in a high-stakes mission. The battlefield beneath the ocean is fraught with danger as the squad faces relentless traps, and the submarine engages in a series of intense confrontations with the enemy. As they maneuver through ambushes, they venture deep into the vast abyss filled with undersea volcanoes.

Cast

* Huang Xuan as Meng Chuang, Jiaolong platoon leader *

as Han Xiao, Jiaolong platoon member * Zhang Hanyu as Zhao Qihang, Captain of the submarine ''Longjing'' * Wang Junkai as Cao Honglang, Sonarman on the submarine ''Longjing'' * Duan Yihong as Fang Yi, Chief of staff of a naval theater * Du Jiang as Xu Hong, Jiaolong platoon second in command and dynamiter * Li Chen as Zhou Peilin, Second in command of the submarine ''Longjing'' * Wang Yanlin as Luo Xing, Sniper in Jiaolong platoon * Jiang Luxia as Tong Li, Machine-gunner in Jiaolong platoon * Elvis Han as Qin Dawei, Commando * as Ding Xikai, Commando * Gao Ge as Ling Feng, Commando * Sun Yi as Xing Lei, Commando * Yu Zhen as Gao Jun, Commando * Yuan Wenkang as Chen Chang'an, Commando * Ye He as Zhai Huan, Commando

Production

''Operation Hadal'' was filmed in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

. Production used multiple models of naval vessels. It was filmed entirely with

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

cameras.

Soundtrack

Release

It was released on 29 January 2025 (

Reception

References

External links

* * {{Dante Lam Films directed by Dante Lam Chinese action films 2025 action thriller films 2020s Chinese films 2020s war films Polybona Films films IMAX films 4DX films D-Box motion-enhanced films Films about marines Films about navies Films about special forces War drama films Chinese New Year films Films set in Africa Films set in fictional countries Chinese sequel films