Born to Fly

Unrated

4/28/20232h 7m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

~ Forge the sword to protect the vast sky. ~

Overview:

A talented trainee pilot is given the opportunity to virtually test the latest fighter jet, which pushes him to his limits.

Director:

Liu Xiaoshi

Status:

Released

Language:

Mandarin

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$80,504,376.00

Key words:

fighter pilot
fighter jet
military life

Cast

Wang Yibo

~ as ~

Lei Yu

Hu Jun

~ as ~

Zhang Ting

Zhou Dongyu

~ as ~

Shen Tianran

Xu Kaicheng

~ as ~

Bu Yu

~ as ~

Gao Yingjun

Zhai Yujia

~ as ~

Xia Pengfei

Tian Zhuangzhuang

~ as ~

Pan Binlong

~ as ~

Sun Qiheng

~ as ~

Zichen Wang

~ as ~

Tong Gan

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
6
"Lei Yu" (the competent Yibo Wang) is an aspiring test pilot who is selected to take part in a prestigious programme to improve the efficiency of the Chinese Air Force's jet fighters. A bit of rivalry with "Deng Fang" (Yosh Yu) and inspiration from their commander "Zhang" (Jun Hu) makes sure the young man and his equipment are tested to the extreme - but can he rise to the challenge? It certainly has a bit of the look of "Maverick" (2022) to it, with some impressive aerial photography and dog-fighting and it also tries to imbue something of the engineering and science to the plot - crediting the young airmen with skills well beyond just being able to fly a plane. Sadly, though, the producers just couldn't (or wouldn't) steer clear of the political jingoism that rather nauseatingly lauds the virtues of their Air Force against an unknown (English-speaking) foe that is constantly harassing and threatening them. By mid-way through I felt rather sorry for "Lei Yu" - to say he seemed a bit accident-prone would be like saying Jonah liked whales - so the fact that he survives at all is quite a remarkable feat! There's the merest hint of a romance with his doctor "Shen Tianran" (Dongyu Zhou) but for the most part this is all about a young man's determination to succeed. It's perfectly watchable with some decent production standards and had it kept off the flag-waving grass, it could have made for another example of well-enough made high-octane cinema. At times it just smacks too much of a party rallying cry though, and that lets it down.