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Born to Fly

Original title: Chang kong zhi wang
  • 2023
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
4K
YOUR RATING
Born to Fly (2023)
The story of a special operations team headed by elite pilots , being ordered to test new fighter jets. Test flight after test flight, they continue to challenge the sky and the limits of themselves.
Play trailer1:51
2 Videos
23 Photos
ActionDrama

A special operations team headed by elite pilots are ordered to test new fighter jets. Test flight after test flight, they challenge the limits of the sky and themselves.A special operations team headed by elite pilots are ordered to test new fighter jets. Test flight after test flight, they challenge the limits of the sky and themselves.A special operations team headed by elite pilots are ordered to test new fighter jets. Test flight after test flight, they challenge the limits of the sky and themselves.

  • Director
    • Xiaoshi Liu
  • Writers
    • Guan Gui
    • Xiaoshi Liu
  • Stars
    • Yibo Wang
    • Jun Hu
    • Yosh Yu
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Xiaoshi Liu
    • Writers
      • Guan Gui
      • Xiaoshi Liu
    • Stars
      • Yibo Wang
      • Jun Hu
      • Yosh Yu
    • 69User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 14 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:51
    Trailer
    Born to Fly
    Trailer 1:54
    Born to Fly
    Born to Fly
    Trailer 1:54
    Born to Fly

    Photos23

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    + 17
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    Top cast24

    Edit
    Yibo Wang
    Yibo Wang
    • Lei Yu
    Jun Hu
    Jun Hu
    • Zhang Ting
    Yosh Yu
    Yosh Yu
    • Deng Fang
    Dongyu Zhou
    Dongyu Zhou
    • Shen Tianran
    Yu Bu
    • Gao Yingjun
    Yujia Zhai
    • Xia Pengfei
    Zichen Wang
    • Tong Gan
    Xin Lu
    • Li Xiaohang
    Taishen Cheng
    Binlong Pan
    Binlong Pan
    Zheming Qu
    • Jia Shengli
    Qiheng Sun
    Zhuangzhuang Tian
    Zhuangzhuang Tian
    • Mr. Wei
    Qingxiang Wang
    • Deputy Commander Wang
    Ziqi Zhao
    • Jiang Yuzhen
    Xiaoning Zheng
    • Director Han
    Zeze Bai
    Yunchen Gan
    • Director
      • Xiaoshi Liu
    • Writers
      • Guan Gui
      • Xiaoshi Liu
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews69

    5.83.9K
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    Featured reviews

    9agnespchow

    Definitely worth watching it at the theatre

    Big budgeted film with the help of Chinese military. There are shots of test pilot cemetery and big field of solar panels that I don't think it has been revealed to outside world before. Most of the content is based on true stories. The movie contains a lot of interesting and technical stuff about a little known career - test pilots. Surprisingly, I enjoy learning all those technical terms. The test flight scenes are super intense thanks to the very well done CGI. The romance line is almost non-existent and actually I think, unnecessary. There are also some humors here and there. Expect some degree of patriotism propaganda though.
    7I_said_critiCON

    I love to hate the Red Chinese, and I hate to love them...

    ....but this is a great action movie! It's entertaining, and shows a lot of heart.

    The flying sequences are superbly exciting, and the army discipline is enviable.

    The camera work and acting are very good.

    By American standards, it's a bit too starchy and dignified: there needs to be more in the way of bloody violence and romance to satisfy our palate. (On the other hand, it does show grown men cry, a no-no in American films.)

    I hope the Republicans can get our military back in shape; or else, as intimated by this well-made, entertaining film, as it currently stands, if push came to shove, the communist Chinese military would eat our lunch.
    6smsteffy-82376

    Top Gun Knock Off

    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.
    10referris

    Great movie

    First of al the sound design and special effects are great. Really helps to get drawn into the story. The CGI looks real not like CGI The acting by the entire cast is very good but the 2 lead actors are especially good. The story very closely follows the template of the hero's journey with a few twists that would not be part of a Western movie. In order to remain spoiler free I will not go into further details. There is enough humour sprinkled throughout the movie to make it feel real. There is also sad scenes to bring home the serious nature of there work and how dangerous it is. In short a very enjoyable movie. The movie has almost nothing in common with the 2 Top Guns other then planes are a part of the movie and pilots compete with each other.
    10sarahsharjeel

    A thrilling exciting movie full of emotions

    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 👍👍

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Connections
      Referenced in YellowFlash 2: Chinese Top Gun Maverick RIP OFF gets trashed! Fully completed movie gets PULLED because it's AWFUL! (2022)

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    FAQ

    • How long is Born to Fly?
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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 2023 (China)
    • Country of origin
      • China
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Король неба
    • Production companies
      • Alibaba Pictures Group
      • Aviation Industry Corporation of China
      • Bona Film Group
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $277,011
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $193,927
      • Apr 30, 2023
    • Gross worldwide
      • $117,141,585
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

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