Rent Born to Fly (2023)

A giggle of propaganda - Born to Fly review by AM

This is an appalling film but worth a watch if you want a laugh. It's Top Gun meets the Red Army Propaganda Unit. The story is as thin as tissue, a unit of trainee test pilots attempt to gather data on a technically failing jet engine in a "stealth" fighter. It's relentless furrowed brow action, ridiculous aerobatics, all try to mimic Top Gun without the humour. Few female actors and subdued but present homoerotic machismo. The machines are dated, rough hewn and the dog fights straight out of British WW2 RAF movies. The music is relentlessly awful and the pace has no light and shade. BUT it's a laugh. There's a sort of background narrative about "the enemy without" but it speaks more to the desperation of a dictatorship regime in a constant state of low self esteem. You won't stop grinning like a Cheshire Cat every time the throttle is thrust forward in an attempt to light the after burners to escape "the enemy"!