Chang kong zhi wang

"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.

Before reviewing this movie, It's really important to dig into the diegesis of it creation. I invited you to search around if you want to find more about it, but for those who won't, it's basically more a tool than a movie to prove the chinese people how awesome there air force are. To a reach a ridiculous point where it was MANDATORY for them to go watch Born to Fly at the nearest cinema during there 'Golden Week' vacations. It's a pretty dismal practice for sure but this has nothing to do with the potential quality of the movie, which is globally awful.

Get past the pathetic caricature of americans pilots at the very beginning of the movie which can have been conceptualised by North Korean artists in 1960, you got an avalanche of CGI dog fights. First thing that pop through your head is: was this really made in 2023? Second thing (if you have seen real jet fighters manoeuvres at high speed or just understand the foundation of flying): was it any jet fighter pilot on/off the set to notify the director that all these dog fights scenes are beyond ridiculous and totally unrealistic? Even if, they weren't heard.

But even if you can pass all this, there is something terribly wrong with the script. The main focus during the entire 2 hours is on the fact that they must develop a stealth fighter jet. Ok. So why do you spend all your time talking about improving the engine to reach that goal and not the jet frame?

There is many more things that doesn't work but I won't lose more of your time. To conclude, it try's to mimic some of Top Gun movies but fail miserably and looks like another cheap chinese knock-off of an american formula.

An amazing watch full of emotions and pride it's a story about test pilots and there efforts for there motherland the presentation of the movie is excellent the CGI on point all the shots are great to watch The story is about the main character Lei Yu his growth how passion and endless effort to make the best stealth fighter WangYibo is natural and effortless as Lei Yu bringing this character to.life making him all passionate and believable Hu Jun Zhang ting is very good very authoritative very brave Zhou dong yu has a short but good supportive role giving Lei Yu some good emotions all other characters played there part well The narrative is simple and straightforward with enough fun emotions and some heartbreaking scenes all natural and relatable Recommended to all 👍👍

This was an obvious attempt at replicating Top Gun, but without the chops. I dropped off three times, but finally made it through on the fourth attempt. I rented it for $2.99, that was a mistake.

The storyline is OK, at least now I know there are test pilots out there. Acting was also OK; not great, not horrible.

The part that was hard frustrating was the obvious Chinese propaganda and "us vs the world" antics. I watch movies to entertain myself, not to be brainwashed. It was rated 9.9 on Viki, the highest score I've ever seen on the app thus far. I am guessing the hero / martyr propaganda resonated with the Chinese audience.

I saw #BorntoFly in the evening show today. The whole audience was immersed in the movie, and the whole audience laughed and cried.

It was not deliberately sensational, but the true portrayal that one could see touched people's hearts.

Am not Chinese but I could see Lei Yu's (played by Actor Wang Yibo) performance really ignited the indomitable spirit in the heart of audiences.. many had tissues and many whistled!! Great CGI and good storytelling!! I only wish for more time in this movie for romance :) hey the main couple look good!

Overall a good action packed movie which projects the life and struggles of test pilots!