“Twenty-twenty-four” sounds like a stutter and looks like a typo, but more so than most segments of the sprawling expanse condensed into what we understand as the future, the year has a particularly futuristic ring to it that’s long captured cinematic imaginations.
The consensus seems to be that homo sapiens won’t be doing so hot by that point, falling victim either to our own rapacious destruction of the planet or each other, but with a savior never too far off to change the course of history. Surveying the major bullet points of the past year – capitalism run amok, mounting cruelty toward immigrants and refugees, more war than usual – we could certainly use one. In examining the varied canon of movies set in 2024, a viewer samples a slideshow of worst-case scenarios, each leaving some back door or way out. In more than one case, the film-makers intended their work as a challenge to heed their words of caution before all hope for the continuation of civilization was lost. And if humanity does stand a chance, then maybe we can chart a path forward by following in the footsteps of the Highlander.
