''Sky Hunter'' is a Chinese

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by Li Chen. It is Li's directorial debut. The film is produced in collaboration with the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

and is

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

's first

aerial warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control o ...

film. It was released on September 29, 2017.

Synopsis

The plot centers on an elite group of Chinese soldiers whose mission is to thwart a terrorist plot and to resolve a hostage crisis.

Cast

* Li Chen *

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time'' ...

Wang Qianyuan Wang Qianyuan is a Chinese actor who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. He won Best Actor at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival for his role in the movie, ''The Piano in a Factory ''The Piano in a Factory'' () is 2010 Chine ...

Li Jiahang Li Jiahang (; born March 8, 1987) is a Chinese actor. Life and career Li Jiahang was born in Anshan, Liaoning. He graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2010. In ''New My Fair Princess'', he played the role of Fu Erkang. He then starred in ...

Leon Lee Leon Lee (born December 4, 1952, in Sacramento, California) is a former professional baseball player and manager, primarily known for his career in Japan. He played first base, third base, and catcher during his career, batting and throwing right- ...

*Guo Mingyu *Ye Liu *

Wu Xiubo Wu Xiubo ( , born 5 September 1968), is a Chinese actor, musician and producer. He is most widely known as Xinjie Liu, the protagonist in the television series ''Before the Dawn'', for which he received several awards. Wu ranked 43rd on ''Forbes ...

Wang Xueqi Wang Xueqi (; born 19 March 1946) is a Chinese film actor whose career has spanned over 25 years. He was often cast in early Fifth Generation films, such as Chen Kaige's ''Yellow Earth'' (1984) and ''The Big Parade'' (1986), Huang Jianxin's '' S ...

*AJ Donnelly

Production

The film had the full support of the

(PLAAF), with it being the first time that a film crew was allowed access to the military bases by the

for shooting. Military experts and trainers serve as advisers for the movie's script, which is primarily written by air force Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Li.

Filming

The film features various front line combat aircraft, including the

Y-20 The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng () is a large military transport aircraft developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation for the People's Republic of China (PRC). The aircraft is nicknamed "Chubby Girl" () in the Chinese aviation industry becaus ...

airlifter, the J-20 stealth fighter, the J-11, the H-6, and the J-10 multirole combat aircraft. Scenes were shot in various parts of China and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Casting

Director Li’s then-girlfriend and top Chinese actress

was cast as the female lead, playing a PLA pilot. Fan reportedly received no wage for her appearance.

Music

The movie features music from Hans Zimmer, known for his scores in Hollywood productions; and Pixomondo, the visual effects company behind ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''. Chinese singer and actor

Lu Han Lu Han (Chinese: 鹿晗, born April 20, 1990), also known mononymously as Luhan, is a Chinese singer and actor. He was a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo and its sub-group Exo-M, before leaving the group in October 2014. That ...

lent his vocals for the film's ending theme song "Chasing Dream With Childlike Heart".

Awards and nominations

References

2017 films 2010s action films Aviation films Chinese war films Chinese action thriller films Films about terrorism in Asia 2010s Mandarin-language films {{China-film-stub