Born to Fly

'Born to Fly' had a release date: 30 September 2022, on the eve of China's National Day. It was pulled without any official explanation and only reached cinemas on 28 April 2023, in time for the May Day holiday. It's Liu Xiaoshi's first film as director, a big production about the test pilots of the Chinese air force that plenty of critics described as China's answer to 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

It opens with two foreign fighter jets slipping into Chinese airspace and causing havoc along the coast. Lei Yu, a pilot with more talent than discipline, chases them while pushing his plane past its limits, and that recklessness catches the eye of veteran Zhang Ting, who recruits him for the test programme of China's new stealth fighter.

At the base Lei competes for one of a handful of places against his old rival, Deng Fang, and has to learn that what counts there isn't the best pilot but the team. Dr Shen Tianran, who keeps an eye on the candidates' health, is the closest thing to a love story in a film that's more interested in the danger of every test flight than in dogfights.

Wang Yibo, a pop star turned actor, plays Lei Yu; Hu Jun, the lead of 'Lan Yu', is Zhang Ting, and Yu Shi plays Deng Fang. Zhou Dongyu, from 'Better Days', makes a special appearance as the doctor. It's produced by Han Han, the novelist and rally driver who directed 'Pegasus', and the script is by Liu Xiaoshi and Gui Guan.

It took more than 100 million dollars in China, and Well Go USA opened it the same day in 74 American cinemas. UK audiences got it in early May 2023, and it came out for home viewing there in February 2024. Western critics were fairly cool: they credited the aerial spectacle and Wang Yibo's performance, but many saw it as propaganda with a very predictable script.

• Action
• Drama