Another film met with great criticism for being too patriotic, nationalistic and blatant propagandistic. Very likely this is all true. But how is this different from those Hollywood blockbusters where only Americans are capable of saving the world. Come on! If Hollywood is allowed to make such films then who are we to deny that China does the same! Besides as long as it is as entertaining as this film I have no problems with the Chinese boasting about their military capabilities whether it's true or not.
Although this doesn't mean I condone any wrongdoing on the part of the Chinese regime. It's downright disgusting especially considering in their treatment towards the people including their celebrities like Fan BingBing who is the female lead. She apparently received no wage. I am not sure if this was because she was doing this as a favour to her then fiancee, actor and director Jerry Lee (Li Chen) who plays the lead. Or if this was part of punishment enforced on her for supposed tax evasion. (I have seen how many Chinese bought into her crime and very few actually questioned or criticized how she was publicly shamed and used as an example. I think that is even worse.)
Sky Hunter is very much like a Jerry Bruckheimer film. Hell, they even have used Hans Zimmer's music to make it feel very similar. And like in a Bruckheimer film you get introduced to the characters and are briefly shown what they are about. There should be no surprise that these characters have only minor flaws and are heroes through and through. Naturally it's a bit much if you allow it to be. If you have to believe this film the Chinese Air force is perfect. One character even states this in a speech which (if you think about it) is quite sick. However you do get invested in these characters which made me root for them all the way. And this is what matters since it made the action more exciting. You don't want these characters to get hurt. You want them to succeed! Of course I would have like deeper characters who aren't too good or perfect. But the villains of the story also are quite flat and predictable. They are ruthless and evil. In that regard it makes sense for the good guys to be super good and the bad guys to be extremely evil.
First and foremost it's the action I tuned in for. And it's great. Pretty nifty aerial combat and also enough military combat on the ground. Not as stylish or superbly choreographed as in Operation Red Sea for example but just enough. Definitely worth a watch!
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