Born to Fly (2023)
A talented trainee pilot is given the opportunity to virtually test the latest fighter jet, which pushes him to his limits.
- Liu Xiaoshi
- Guan Gui
- Liu Xiaoshi
Rating: 6.445/10 by 55 users
Alternative Title:
하늘의 왕 - KR
長空之王 - HK
ปฏิบัติการเจ้าเวหา - TH
Born To Fly - TH
長空之王 - TW
Born to Fly - US
ဝေဟင်ဆန်မယ့် သူရဲကောင်းများ - MM
장공지왕 - KR
Рождены летать - RU
Country:
China
Language:
普通话
Runtime: 02 hour 07 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $80,504,376
Plot Keyword: fighter pilot, fighter jet, military life
"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.