FlashCallahan 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.

smccar77 "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.

sddavis63 I'll say flat out that "High Road To China" is a lot of fun to watch. It features pretty decent performances from the two leads: Tom Selleck as ace pilot Patrick O'Malley and Bess Armstrong as rich girl Eve Tozer, and it has some good photography and camera work, and some decent action scenes. Unfortunately, the story itself leaves much to be desired. Predictable almost from the start, it doesn't provide enough "meat" to really captivate a viewer.Eve is a rich girl in the 1920's who stands to lose everything unless she can find her father (played by Wilford Brimley once he's discovered,) who was last seen three years before in Afghanistan. She hires O'Malley to take her to the region, and the pair begin their search, complete with a bit of a love/hate relationship with each other (it starts with more hate than love, then evolves.) To make their search more complicated, Eve's father's former business partner (played by Michael Morley) - who stands to take over the business (and thus Eve's money) unless her dad is found quickly - has people out trying to stop them. There were problems with the story. The efforts to stop them never really seemed threatening - actually, none of the predicaments they found themselves in seemed threatening; there was never any real sense that Eve and O'Malley were in any real danger. It was far too easy to find Eve's dad. True, they had to make a lot of stops, but every time they stopped they found someone who knew just who to go to for information. Interestingly enough even though I thought Selleck and Armstrong gave pretty good performances, I also didn't feel that they sparkled with chemistry together - the "romance" elements of the story seemed forced and insincere to me. (I confess that I did like the last line of the movie, given to Selleck, who closes by admitting to Eve that he had made a mistake. When she asks what it was, you expect him to say "falling in love with you." Instead he admits essentially the same thing, but by way of a joke - "I should have sold you as a slave when I had the chance!" The line has to be seen in its context to really be appreciated.) It's a bit of an escapist movie, I suppose - and nothing wrong with it in that sense, but it's not very meaty, it's far too predictable in every way and it won't leave you breathless. 5/10

kwg-4 This is absolutely one of the best action/adventure movies that I have ever seen. The fabulous scenery, the exciting action scenes, and the chemistry between Selleck and Armstrong combine to make it an all-time great. Bess Armstrong is in her prime, and is gorgeous, magnificent, and believable in her role as a rich, spoiled brat. And Jack Weston's character adds an interesting dimension to the movie. But most of all, the musical score by John Barry is hauntingly beautiful. It's amazing that the movie didn't do very well when it was released. As far as I'm concerned, this is a must-see. Hopefully, it will be available on DVD soon.