270. Born To Fly (Chang kong zhi wang); movie review

 

BORN TO FLY (CHANG KONG ZHI WANG)

Cert 12A

128 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate bloody images, threat

Here it is - a Chinese version of Top Gun in which the bad guys are Americans!

Born To Fly has very familiar ingredients - high-speed action sequences, fierce rivalry between young pilots, a tragedy and even a sprinkling of romance.

And hang on for the credits for some gut-wrenching recordings of real heroes.

However, it doesn't quite match Maverick because it lacks the Tom Cruise factor.

Some critics have slighted Liu Xiaoshi's movie, condemning it as 'propaganda' because of its concentration on national pride. 

But, having been fed a diet of yeehaw American movies for decades, I found this very different angle interesting, if a little uncomfortable. 

The potential enemy of the test pilots speak in English but are only present in two scenes. 

Otherwise, the film focuses on the Chinese race to catch up on military technology.

Born To Fly stars Wang Yibo as Lei Yu, a young and talented pilot who is selected to join an elite unit to test new stealth planes. 

Thus, he is thrust into rivalry with the highly qualified Deng Fang (Yu Yosh) in more ways than one. Meanwhile, their veteran mentor (Hu Jun) tries to manage their egos and push the planes to their high-altitude limits. 

The film becomes too immersed in tech-speak for much of its first half but revs up during the second hour.

That is when the action really kicks and, inevitably, a dab of scmaltz is mixed in.

Sure, it is a bit odd to see patrotism from a Chinese perspective but that shouldn't detract from a movie which has a fair bit of zip.

Reasons to watch: Aerial action

Reasons to avoid: Thin plot

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? The People's Liberation Army Air Force operates 4,000 aircraft, of which around 2,566 are combat aircraft (fighter, attack, and bombers). According to FlightGlobal, China has the second-largest active combat aircraft fleet and the third-largest total aircraft fleet in the world.

The final word. Liu Xiaoshi: "I've worked for a long time in the aviation industry and got the chance to observe test pilots thoroughly. I thought if there is a chance to make a movie about them, it would be very cool."

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