Escape from the 21st Century

Often, when you’re out with friends and conversations about life run dry, you might turn to fun hypotheticals like if you could choose only one superpower to have or say you could time travel. Of course, there are only two “correct” answers to those questions: invisibility and killing baby Hitler. But whatever your answer, it’s always a fun conversation to have.

But what if baby Hitler wasn’t the problem—what if you were the problem 20 years from now? Would you try to stop yourself? I’m sure I would. Either way, we tend to picture the future as better than the present. In Yang Li’s new film, Escape from the 21st Century, three friends travel into the future—only to find out it’s far from ideal, and they may actually be the ones who need saving.

It’s 1999, and on a planet that looks very much like Earth, three 18-year-old friends gain the power to time travel after a run-in with some mysterious liquid. Once in the future, two of the three are disappointed by who they’ve become. There’s Chengyong (Yang Song), the heartthrob of the group, who is now a thug working in an organ trafficking ring. Zha (Ruoyun Zhang) has become an investigative journalist madly in love with his badass colleague—she even wears earplugs in fights to block out the screams of the men she beats up.

The only one happy with his future is Pao Pao (Leon Lee), the once-bullied kid who’s now buff and dating the most popular girl from high school—though things aren’t as perfect as they seem. Unhappy with how their lives turned out, the trio decides to go back and change the past. But, as with all time travel stories, the results are anything but expected.

Written and directed by Yang Li, Escape from the 21st Century explores the crushing realization that we can never truly escape the present. It dives into themes of lost youth and becomes a powerful metaphor for our desire to rewrite our past mistakes. In this story, time travel isn’t about wonder—it’s about the futile dream of undoing regret. But it’s not just a tale of personal disappointment. The film also explores corporate power and corruption, all told with a frenetic energy that makes it a wildly fun ride.

Escape from the 21st Century doesn’t follow the usual path of time travel movies. Instead, it takes the wild, less-traveled road—filled with over-the-top sci-fi, martial arts, and a vibrant coming-of-age story. The film’s style and energy reminded me why I love genre cinema so much. It’s visually stunning, full of wild creativity, and moves at a fast pace that many viewers will love. With its inventive storytelling, colorful visuals, and heartfelt moments, Escape from the 21st Century is not only memorable—it’s an absolute blast.