This is part of our coverage from Fantastic Fest 2024 in Austin, TX where genre films are debuting before they get wider release. Check out all of our coverage here.
Escape From The 21st Century. The Chinese film is a crowd-pleasing action-adventure-comedy-time travel coming-of-age story that both traffics in 90s nostalgia and comments on escapism and the necessity of a childlike sense of wonder to save the day in the face of adversity. It’s energetic, fun, and highly aware that the love for the past that colors it is all too often commodified into colorless, unoriginal sludge.
In the summer of 1999, teenagers Chenyong (Zhuozhao Li), Wang Zha (Yichen Chen), and Paopao (Qixuan Kang) are best friends. One day, while fighting a local gang, they fall into a barrel of chemicals (like you do). Luckily, the trio aren’t killed or mutated Toxic Avenger-style. However, they still gain an unexpected power: whenever they sneeze, their consciousness is sent into their bodies in 2019, 20 years in their future. Whenever they sneeze in the future, they’re sent back to their time.
This is a movie, so of course when the characters see themselves as adults, the results are…complicated. Adult Wang Zha (Ruoyun Zhang) is a low-ranking photojournalist, paired with fiercely badass reporter Liu Lianzhi (Elane Zhong). Chenyong (Yang Song) is an enforcer for a seedy futuristic black-market company, partnered with the sadistic Han Guang (Xiaoliang Wi). Then there’s Paopao (Leon Lee), who not only has a huge physical transformation but has a live-in girlfriend whose identity threatens the unbreakable bond of the friends in the past.
Oh, and adult Chenyong’s boss (Wen Zhengrong) is plotting to take over the world, and it’s up to the boys to stop him — if they can figure out how to stop being childish and finally grow up.
Escape From The 21st Century pelts so much at the screen that at first it might seem like chaotic nonsense. As the film continues, some of that noise and energy distracts a couple of glaring plot holes, and some low-budget CGI. However, the chaos isn’t just there for the sake of itself. All those effects and nostalgic references have a purpose either as worldbuilding, character enhancement or furthering the narrative. Yang also makes the smart choice of switching out aspect ratios to distinguish between the two time periods — 4:3 for 1999 and ultra-widescreen for 2019.
The inclusion of these elements is most felt in the action sequences. The future is filled with strong fighters, some augmented by pharmaceutical drugs or natural abilities, but the effects team adds in animation trails and flourishes to reinforce how strong these individuals are. It’s both a bit of cartoonish fun, and a smart addition that makes individual characters stand out.
The plethora of gags and references holds strong throughout the movie, but because it has stakes, something like a race against the clock sequence set to “Holding Out for a Hero” never feels chintzy. Nor, for that matter, do numerous mentions of Street Fighter II. There’s a balance of weight and fun that goes deeper than gratuitous inclusion.
Once you’ve gotten past its initial sensory overload, Escape From The 21st Century is a good movie made by people who love film. There are so many dizzying and exciting techniques on display that convey what a labor of love this is. Better yet, it’s got an infectious sense of joy that, when it culminates in a sense of stand-up-and-cheer hope, you can’t help but smile.
