New England Premiere

If Back to the Future had a love child with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and raised it on martial arts flicks, glitchcore aesthetics, breakneck nihilism, and an unbridled passion for Street Fighter, you’d get Escape from the 21st Century—a gonzo time-travel adventure that sneezes its way through absurdity, action, and existential dread at warp speed.

In the year 1999—on a planet that’s suspiciously Earth-like but spins twice as fast—three high-school friends take an accidental dive into toxic sludge and emerge with a bizarre superpower: every sneeze flings their consciousness(es) 20 years forward (or back) in time. It’s all fun and games until they land in a future that’s way worse than expected.

Heartthrob Chengyong (Yang Song) is horrified to find his adult self involved in an organ-trafficking empire; Zha (Ruoyun Zhang) is a jaded journalist working for a corrupt media company; and Pao Pao (Chenhao Li)—once bullied for his size—is now ripped, successful, and shacking up with the girl Chengyong never stopped loving. Awkward.

Directed with unhinged maximalist energy by Yang Li (Lee’s Adventure), Escape from the 21st Century moves at a breakneck pace, ping-ponging between martial arts mayhem, comic-book-style animation, and video game physics. Imagine Everything Everywhere All at Once cranked up to 11, with fight sequences that mix wuxia elegance with slapstick chaos, and a baddie so evil he literally threatens to microwave a cat.

Underneath all the madness, Escape from the 21st Century is an earnest exploration of the tragedy of growing up, the elasticity of fate, and the possibility—however slim—of rewriting the worst parts of ourselves. Whether you’re here for the mind-melting fight choreography, the hyperactive visuals, or the sheer joy of watching teenagers outwit their own depressing futures, Yang Li delivers a film that feels like a jolt of cinematic adrenaline straight to the brainstem.

Content advisory: strobing/strobing effects

– Nicole McControversy

Brattle Passes not accepted.