Upon its release, 1983's "High road to China" was considered a cheap imitation of "Raiders of the Lost Ark ". While some elements are there, the cast's commendable effort and the engaging plot make for a film with its own special character.
During the First World War, a wealthy socialite (Bess Armstrong) finds herself in an utterly threatening position. Her father, the head of a powerful business, has disappeared, and if she doesn't find him in the space of twelve days, the enterprise will be passed onto his partner. She finds the solution to this problem in the face of the flying ace O'Malley (Tom Selleck), a drunkard, irritable man, and his naive sidekick. This incredible trio of adventurers set off for a trip to deep Asia, that will bring them, in the end, to the war-torn China.
While the plot brings at a relatively slow pace, as soon as the trip starts, it accelerates, like the speed of Selleck's biplane. From British Afghanistan they will travel to the Asian steppe and , of course to China. Through a mix of crazy situations - in one scene, the heroes are chased by some henchmen of the evil businessman while they try to get the plane off the ground - and convincing performances.
Speaking of which, the actors were the ones that transformed the film from a failed adventure story to an engaging feature. Selleck, in his first major role, was extremely enjoyable to see as the distant, selfish hero, and his pairing with Armstrong rendered the film both romantic and comedic, due to their contradictory personalities.
Adventure is not the primary quality of this film. This is a movie balancing comedy and romance, with a healthy dose of toned-down action. The reason why it succeeds as a film is the director's skill at combining these different genres into a story that not only makes sense, but is appealing too. Without bordering on the absurd, the comedy mostly stems from the neurotic nature of the two protagonists.
"High road to China" does have faults; in spite of its enjoyable plot, the film feels a bit long-winded in some scenes, while the sequences involving a Mongol leader could be considered off the mark at best, offensive at worst. The way that this culture is represented feels out of place in an otherwise innocent movie, perfect for family entertainment.
The reason I used that last characterisation was because the film doesn't come off as a serious aventure feature à la "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but rather as a comedy with adventure elements. Its seriousness exists only on the surface, quickly replaced by humour and a little absurdity.
For all that, the total result is one of a film that wanted to be a critically acclaimed feature, inspired by "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but missed the mark. Still, it successfully transformed itself to a commercial romantic comedy, where adventure is only the pretense. The heroes found their (cinematic) purpose, even if they needed to go all the way to China in order to do so.
During the First World War, a wealthy socialite (Bess Armstrong) finds herself in an utterly threatening position. Her father, the head of a powerful business, has disappeared, and if she doesn't find him in the space of twelve days, the enterprise will be passed onto his partner. She finds the solution to this problem in the face of the flying ace O'Malley (Tom Selleck), a drunkard, irritable man, and his naive sidekick. This incredible trio of adventurers set off for a trip to deep Asia, that will bring them, in the end, to the war-torn China.
While the plot brings at a relatively slow pace, as soon as the trip starts, it accelerates, like the speed of Selleck's biplane. From British Afghanistan they will travel to the Asian steppe and , of course to China. Through a mix of crazy situations - in one scene, the heroes are chased by some henchmen of the evil businessman while they try to get the plane off the ground - and convincing performances.
Speaking of which, the actors were the ones that transformed the film from a failed adventure story to an engaging feature. Selleck, in his first major role, was extremely enjoyable to see as the distant, selfish hero, and his pairing with Armstrong rendered the film both romantic and comedic, due to their contradictory personalities.
Adventure is not the primary quality of this film. This is a movie balancing comedy and romance, with a healthy dose of toned-down action. The reason why it succeeds as a film is the director's skill at combining these different genres into a story that not only makes sense, but is appealing too. Without bordering on the absurd, the comedy mostly stems from the neurotic nature of the two protagonists.
"High road to China" does have faults; in spite of its enjoyable plot, the film feels a bit long-winded in some scenes, while the sequences involving a Mongol leader could be considered off the mark at best, offensive at worst. The way that this culture is represented feels out of place in an otherwise innocent movie, perfect for family entertainment.
The reason I used that last characterisation was because the film doesn't come off as a serious aventure feature à la "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but rather as a comedy with adventure elements. Its seriousness exists only on the surface, quickly replaced by humour and a little absurdity.
For all that, the total result is one of a film that wanted to be a critically acclaimed feature, inspired by "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but missed the mark. Still, it successfully transformed itself to a commercial romantic comedy, where adventure is only the pretense. The heroes found their (cinematic) purpose, even if they needed to go all the way to China in order to do so.