What is Escape From The 21st Century all about? Everything to know about the action sci-fi film
Chinese science fiction Escape From the 21st Century is finally coming to the US on Monday, June 9, 2025, thanks to Cineverse. The film was first released in China almost a year ago, on August 2, 2024, before making its international premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in September last year.
The film reportedly made around $15 million at the box office when it was released in China, and besides Toronto, it made an extensive festival run, including Fantastic Fest, Sitges, Leeds, Paris, and more. At Sitges in 2024, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture.
A story of adventure and time travel, Escape From the 21st Century is a story about three friends sneezing their way 20 years into the future, only to find that what lies ahead is not as good as they thought. Written and directed by Yang Li, the sci-fi movie stars Ruoyun Zhang, Elaine Zhong, Yang Song, Chenhao Li, and more.
Escape From the 21st Century plot explored
Set in 1999, Escape From the 21st Century follows three teenage boys and their time-traveling journey some 20 years into the future. Wang Zha (Ruoyun Zhang), Chengyong (Yang Song), and Pao Pao (Chenhao Li) discovers that they can travel to the future whenever they sneeze, a mysterious ability they finds after diving into a river full of chemical waste.
After one sneeze, they can shuttle from 1999 to 2019 and back on Planet K, which looks and feels similar to Earth. As much as their ability gives them a rare look at what the world is like after 20 years, they realize that the future sucks. Moreover, their futures selves suck as well.
Wang Zha works for a corrupt media company as a journalist, Chenyong works for a criminal empire, and Pao Pao is dating the girl of one of his best friend's dreams. With the snippet of what the future looks like, for the world and for themselves, and their ability to travel back and forth in time, the responsibility to ensure that the world becomes a better place falls on their shoulders.
Here's what the synopsis teases about the movie:
"The story follows three friends who discover they have the power to travel back and forth 20 years with a sneeze. However, the future is not as good as they hoped, and they need to take on the responsibility of saving the world."
Besides the adventure and thrill of time travel, Escape From the 21st Century also promises to give viewers a dose of a friendship story and the dream of building a better world. Audiences can expect a cinematic trip of special effects, martial arts sequences, and comedy from the movie if the trailer is anything to go by.
The cast and crew behind Escape From the 21st Century
Yang Li, whose directing credits include Lee's Adventure and Nuts, directed and wrote the screenplay for the sci-fi drama. Produced by Deven International, it was released in China by Enlight Pictures and by Fortissimo, who handled rights for several other Chinese features like Deep Sea and Mountain Cry, in the rest of the world.
The main cast playing the three childhood friends in the movie are Ruoyun Zhang (Joy of Life), Yang Song (Wrath of Silence), and Chenhao Li (The Lost Tomb). Yanmanzi Zhu (The Wandering Earth II) also stars in the film as Yi Yang, Pao Pao's girlfriend and Chengyong's crush when they were younger.
Escape From the 21st Century will be shown in movie theaters in the US starting on Monday, June 9, 2025.
