Escape From 21st Century he is a charming, energetic, and completely unpredictable love child Scott Pilgrim, The Terminatorand a John Hughes film. On a planet-like space from a galaxy, three teenagers gain the ability to travel 20 years into the future. But this is not your traditional type of time travel. When they jump, their teenage bodies falter in 1999 and that understanding creeps into adults in 2019. Hence the title.
In the beginning, Escape jokes are played. It’s amazing how these 40 year old men don’t know what’s going on and behave like ignorant teenagers. However, things soon take a turn for the worse. The three, best friends at one time, can no longer communicate in the future. However, their lives are connected in very important ways, so the teenage versions of the adults explore that, eventually uncovering a plot that puts both timelines in jeopardy.
Because it is set in a not-really-ours reality, everything is about Escape From 21st Century is raised. Everyone is a great martial artist. People jumped and walked slowly. Drugs have different effects. It creates a world that we’re eager to learn more about, but it’s also cool about almost anything that happens.
Friends are also incredibly flexible. Chengyong (played by Yang Song and Zhuozhao Li), is the leader while Zha (Ruoyun Zhang and Yichen Chen), and Paopao (Leon Lee and Quixuan Kang) are just happy to be around. At least in 1999, that is. That’s a big change in 2019 and, again, it’s creating tension and questions for everyone to answer. And, as is often the case with young boys, there is a girl in the middle of it all, Yang Yi (Yanmanzi Zhu and Fanding Ma).
Visually, writer-director Yang Li uses a lot of high contrast combined with bright colors to keep the film alive. He even throws in some live-action animations to show off the characters’ strengths. A video game Street Fighter II plays an important role in the story and the game’s classic tone, style, and look are packed into the movie.
The most interesting thing about it Escape from the 21st Century although what is kind of bad about it and what is wonderful about it. In many ways, it’s a tonal mess. Things go from goofy and playful at one point, to intense and dark at another. But Li gradually finds the right balance between the two, almost like a balancer who loses his footing but rights before hitting the ground. The result is a film that you don’t think will be particularly emotional or powerful beyond its fun concept, but in the end, it really delivers.
Escape from the 21st Century it’s a blast. It’s messy and weird, but it’s so sincere and well-done that it comes together in a really endearing way. The film recently premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024. It has US distribution, but no release date.
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