La gran ruta hacia China

With tongue firmly in cheek Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong and the rest of the cast give us a spoof of all those old action/adventure flicks from the 30s and 40s. The film is set in Kuomintang China which has always been a good source for these films, a fluid political situation, a weak central government and a lot of warlords in business for themselves.

Industrialist Wilford Brimley has gone to Asia and vanished, but that hasn't stopped his daughter from spending his money like it had no end. But the end might be coming as his partner Robert Morley wants him declared legally dead and by terms of their partnership he gets control of the company and daughter Bess Armstrong is out in the cold. She might have to do like others do and actually go to work.

Heaven forfend so she hires former air ace Tom Selleck who comes with two World War I era biplanes and a mechanic played by Jack Weston. This partnership takes her to Afghanistan, Nepal, and finally the westernmost province of China Sinkiang in search of Brimley.

Along the way all the old clichés concerning these films is employed and of course chemistry cannot be denied. Selleck and Armstrong become an item and Selleck finds some use for his former aviation combat skills.

By the way I loved and I'm sure you'll love Brimley's explanation as to why Armstrong will be well taken care of despite efforts to the contrary.

Those efforts are being directed by Robert Morley who I can never resist seeing in any film. There's also a nice performance by Brian Blessed as an Afghan warlord.

Tom Selleck's fans should love High Road To China.

While true that this movie isn't Academy Award material, it is very enjoyable and touchingly romantic. The scenery is breathtaking at times and the film flows well. It starts in a party atmosphere and becomes a romantic adventure story. It is a good cross between a "Chick Flick" and an adventure story. I have flown open cockpit biplanes and perhaps that makes the film even more enduring for me.

There is plenty of flying and small war skirmishes are smattered in with the search for a rich brat's father. She (Bess Armstrong as Eve Tozer) must find the father and get him to a British court before the deadline or she will lose all of her money. If the partner, Bentik, can have Bradley Tozer (Wilford Brimley) declared as dead in a British court then he gets the whole company; thus relieving Eve Tozer of the heaps of her fathers money. And it is about money that this girl lives for, or so it seems. She enlists the help of a derelict and decrepit old WW1 ace, Tom Selleck, who has the only two available airplanes to get her to her father in time. Assassins are employed by Bradley Tozers partner to keep him from being found adding more tension to the already danger filled trail.

While the romance angle is as predictable as it is in just about any film, the story does flow well and the scenery also helps to keep ones interest. Rent this one and settle down for some fun. I would rate this film as three out of four stars.

Given Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong, Wilford Brimley, Robert Morley, Brian Blessed, and Jack Weston, and a bunch of excellent aerial action scenes, this is a terrific film. So what if there isn't a great message, or outstanding drama. For what this is... a comedy-adventure... it's great. Tom and Bess have always been extremely watchable to me, and they continue that tradition here. A solid 9.

It's actually so sad to think they don't make movies like this anymore. 'High Road to China' is an enjoyable action adventure comedy in the vein of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', blending these genres to perfection. The premise is simple, without complicated issues or shocking twists - which seem to be the norm nowadays.

I always find films before CGI to be better film making. Given the fact that actors were shot on location as opposed to a studio with almost everything being added in post-production, I also found the acting to be more natural and realistic.

Romance between the lead characters is predictable and inevitable, but in this instance the chemistry between Patrick O'Malley (Tom Selleck) and Eve (Bess Amtrong) was so endearing (and even funny) that I was hoping for it, and enjoyed it.

The film offers a good dose of humor, action and adventure in equal proportions, and the climatic finale is action-packed and simply put fantastic! I really enjoyed this!

Would I watch it again? Hell, yeah!

The best thing about "High Road to China" is that it does not try to change the world by making a social statement. It does not try to do anything but be an escape for moviegoers. Is it a perfect film? No. But this is one of my favorite films because it does just that - it allows me to escape. This much under-appreciated movie tells an excellent story: a rich brat living in the Roaring 20's hires a flying ace to find her father in a remote part of China. From a cinemagraphic point-of-view, it is a very good-looking film. Bess Armstrong never looked better on screen. And although her character of Eve Tozer is not always believable, I liked her as the rich brat who thinks everything has its price. I was never a Tom Selleck fan, but as Patrick O'Malley, he makes the perfect flying daredevil - a hard drinker who has trouble showing that he has a heart. The late Jack Weston, who was one of the better character actors of our modern times, is perfectly cast as the sidekick mechanic Struts. And the late Robert Morley provides good comic relief in the midst of being the heavy.

The movie simply looks good with its gorgeous locations and colors. The flying sequences - especially the dogfight between O'Malley and the German ace (complete with references to the famous Red Baron) is first-rate, and the battle scenes are shot very well. The pace of the film is not always even, but one sequence after another has our protagonists in some dire predicament. And it is fun watching them try and get out of each one. It should have done better at the box office, for the film is still a favorite of cable movie channels and people who discover it on video for the first time. I would recommend this film to anyone, because it is simply a little gem and a wonderful film for movie buffs who wish to escape.