It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

An alcoholic bi-plane pilot is hired by a spoiled industrialist's daughter to search for her missing father through Asia. But searching for her father eventually involves them in a struggle against a Chinese warlord....This obviously was Selleck trying to show Spielberg what he missed out on when Selleck couldn't take the part because of his obligation to Magnum.So this is his Indiana Jones, and I bet Spielberg drew a big sigh of relief. Selleck is fine in the first act, when he is filled with booze and falling all over the place, but then we get into the second and third acts, and it turns into one of the most clock watching films I've seen in a very long time.The first act is full of so much promise, some good humour, genuine banter between him and his token sidekick, fantastic aerial camera- work, and quite an intriguing plot.But then it goes as dry as the desert when we bump into Brian Blessed as the very loud, sexist, whatever nationality he's supposed to be leader.He hates the three of them at first, but as soon as Selleck slaps the female lead, he's his best friend!!And then it plods along until we bump into Wilfred Brimmley who has the rest of the budget so the film can have some explosions in the final set piece.Selleck is a good actor, but some of his output was just inexplicably bad in the eighties, because the scripts he received must have been Magnum in prison, Magnum and baby on the door step, and Magnum in WWII.This is Magnum on autopilot.

"High Road to China," is a film that is challenging to a 21st century movie reviewer. The troubling issues arise when deciding how to contextualize the film and story devices. Essentially this is an adventure comedy done with very dated sensibilities. As an example of technical skill and cinematography, HRtC meets and occasionally exceeds all of the conventions of early 80's film making. However, the character types and cultural representations are somewhat crude and naïve by current standards.Essentially, this is a film version of a 1950's style boys adventure novel. HRtC contains the requisite action, foreign locales, dashing characters, and subdued romance. The story is straightforward and focuses more on thrills than on breaking new ground or developing characters. With such a story, the film does require the use of stock characterization and a higher degree of stereotyping. The stereotyping is the single aspect of the film that leads to the most problems. To begin, the main protagonists are quite likable but noticeably hollow. Selleck would have made for a dashing pilot had the script given him more personal exposition and less snide quips. Armstrong plays the plucky dilettante to a tee. Again, her character is never given any dialogue to develop the character beyond a caricature. The second issue regarding stereotyping is the depiction of various Asian cultures. In maintaining a faster pace, any attempt at humanizing the tribal cultures is neglected. The Arabs are misogynistic tyrants. The Nepalese are doe-eyed mystics. The rural Chinese are barely functional in-fighters. While these caricatures do hearken back to pulp adventure novels, current audiences may cringe at such simplistic and imperialistic representations. The effect of these less than stellar characterizations is a film populated by hollow facades rather than relatable human beings.Even with its faults, HRtC is a very enjoyable film. As mentioned above, the story is simplistic yet engrossing. The action sequences are well done and have a wonderful early 20th century flavor. The cinematography is, at times, breathtakingly beautiful. The score is poignant and expertly coupled with the mood of the scenes. Essentially, this is a highly accomplished film on a technical level that falters in the gross stereotyping and mawkish dialogue. To be sure, HRtC is great entertainment; it is just great mindless entertainment.On a personal note, I really like this film. The fact that HRtC is a clear Indiana Jones copy in no way detracts from this movie. Steeping myself in high flying adventure from by-gone days is pure nostalgic bliss. I see this film as having great potential as a family film. The movie provides great entertainment and an opportunity to open up discussion on film and cultural representation. I will probably recommend this film to my father, so that we may relive past days and mull over just how correct Said was in "Orientalism." 6.5 of 10 stars.

A drunk previous WWI pilot (Tom Selleck) and his underling (Jack Weston) are contracted by a young heiress (Bess Armstrong) who must encounter her dad before her contender (Robert Morley) takes over the inheritance . They will face dangerous bandits (Brian Blessed) , numerous adventures and risks .This exciting story gets an agreeable look and feeling to vintage adventures , exotic places , dastardly nasties and daring getaways than ever before . Packs enough action with explosion galore , especial aerial effects with impressive images of flight and dogfighting , comedy , tongue usefully in in its check , all that make it a cinematic roller coater ride . It's made like a classic's 30s-style adventure reminiscent of early serials and in the wake of ¨Raiders of the last ark¨ . Tom Selleck is a hard-drinking former air ace , he's a dashing and intrepid pilot , Bess Armstrong is perfectly cast as feisty heiress looking for his father , she's continuously irritated with the smooth talker and alcoholic adventurer . Both of whom play a special love story in a screwball-romance style . Besides , displaying spectacular images of Selleck and Armstrong gliding over extraordinary landscapes with musical background by John Barry , perhaps copied by Sidney Pollack in ¨Out of Africa¨ with the couple Redford and Meryl Streep , flying in similar plane and soundtrack . Regular cinematography by Ronnie Taylor filmed in Yugoslavia and England, the colors are worn-out, it's necessary an urgent remastering . The film was lavishly produced by Fred Weintraub and Raymond Chow , producers of ¨Operation Dragon¨ starred by Bruce Lee . This was 27th highest grossing film of 1983 at the American box-office . The picture was frequently perceived by the film-going public as being a knock-off to Raiders of the lost ark (1981) when in fact the film had been in development since the late 1970s . The film was well handled and professionally directed by Brian G Hutton, however was a flop and failed to give cash . Hutton started his career with little and prestigious films , such as ¨Wild seed¨ and ¨The Pad¨. There after , he veered off into big budgeted and all-star movies, proving which he could handle big scale production , as ¨Where the eagles dare¨, one of the best from Alistair McLean , furthermore with ¨Kelly's heroes¨ added humor to the warlike action . His next picture was ¨High road to China¨ marked a partial return with panache to his previous form but faltered at the Box-office , in spite of being quite amusing and with occasional touch of directorial skill, for that reason is a must for adventure buffs .

Rare is it that a movie combines great stars with great acting and a great plot. This is not one of those movies. however, what I liked about it was its appeal for adventure but not stuck on it. Its cast while not great somehow to me, had a Human side to it that I really liked. Almost as if it were "regular" people acting as they would do in the circumstances. There was no "super" hero although there was bravery and no adult scenes, although we got the point to how adults sometimes act when drinking and "other". The Film was enjoyable, humanistic in a way that films seldom do. Selleck and Armstrong were terrific together giving you that "I have been through this" feeling when you deal with opposite personalities.The Plot is uncomplicated with Armstrong needing to get to her father in China but the only way there is to hire Selleck and his jalopy planes. A guy who's "regular" and a Rich brat who's anything but regular blend well together to make this a funny, interesting and enjoyable film with some very cool aerial shots. Finally, just a plain film with an interesting cast and a plot that takes you on a Ariel adventure.