Welcome back to Movie Recap. Today I'm gonna show you a 2018 Chinese action war-drama film called,
Air Strike. Also known as The Bombing or Unbreakable Spirit.
Spoilers ahead. Sit back, relax and enjoy the video.
The movie begins with the Japanese invasion in Chongqing,
China, where fighter pilots battle in air-to-air combat using their army jet planes.
The military forces from both parties shower each other with bullets and drop aerial bombs
to demolish the land forces. The destruction from the massive explosion ruins the Chinese territory,
killing a lot of locals at once. The airstrike has bombed the schools;
Madam Ye instructs Du Mei to prioritize the student's safety, they try saving the kids from
the explosion. Despite the danger, Madam Ye goes back to pick up the crying kid hiding behind the
chairs. Upon retrieval, she brings the kids to the basement to save them from further hazards.
Uncle Cui, bringing his bird Lucky, arrives at the Mahjong place where he usually plays.
Sitting around his colleagues, the group chit-chats and savors the peaceful moment.
Suddenly, a siren interrupts their conversation, a warning sound of incoming danger.
The roaring sound from the arrival of incoming bombers from the Imperial Air
Force radiates death upon the announcement of their presence.
Unexpected aerial attacks from the Japanese troops demolished the commercial city in China.
A female journalist, Susan, holding her camera, captures the chaotic happenings as numerous bombs
are dropped to destroy the military bases in the land territories. The cry of excruciating
pain collides with the plumes of smoke that rose from the fires blazing around the city.
And the bomb explosions have ruined jet fighters and killed soldiers at one hit.
With the four members of his team, United States Military Advisor Col. Jack Johnson attempts to
build a concrete plan to handle the growing tension with the Japanese forces. He asks for a
total of pilots and several planes, as the Chinese troops are outnumbered in resources and workforce.
With the massive deaths and destruction Chongqing has received, Xue Gang Tou suggests taking abrupt
actions towards the enemy. Disadvantaged with warfare machines and outnumbered soldiers,
Col. Jack orders his men to be patient as no one will fly to their rival.
Zero Fighter Pilot Sato arrives with his battalion and is preparing to attack China at all means.
With a hand signal, the numerous pilots from the Imperial Japanese Force prepare to launch
an attack. On the other hand, the outnumbered Chinese Forces line up to defend their territory
despite the uncertain circumstance from the advance and massive count of Japanese enemies.
The aerial encounter with the Japanese forces has been bloody disastrous as it
costs them lives and resources. The unstoppable bullet attacks from the
Japanese Forces steal Lei Tao's life, Minxun's brother, during the clash.
The battle continues as army pilots expertly maneuver their fighter jets to eliminate their
enemy while showering them with bullets. To honor their sacrifice, the Chinese troops
pay tribute to the tombs of the soldiers who died in serving the country during the war.
The Japanese officer receives a report from his member that a Chinese soldier drops a leaflet
in Nagasaki. A decoder of his team then informs him about the smuggling of the British decoder
through Hong Kong. He then orders the soldier to monitor and track down the decoder. Meanwhile,
Gent Le, a suspicious male Chinese, hides from the bush while checking the hidden tools in his book.
Injured from the previous encounters, Vice-Captain Xue Gang Tou arrives in the Chinese Military
Intelligence Headquarters to receive a special mission from his superior to drive a
military truck from the port and travel across treacherous terrain carrying top-secret cargo.
Upon arrival, Xue Gang Tao surveys the area to hoard the truck and accomplish his task smoothly.
However, shootouts with Japanese soldiers occur as a gasoline container explodes, allowing him
and his comrades, Little Cui, to escape. Xue Gang Tao and his comrades are ambushed
by a jet plane, leaving the other soldier dead from the explosives. Escaping to
save themselves from the falling bombs, he asks the driver to reroute inside a tunnel.
At the military base in Chongqing, Col. Jack reminds the newly obtained soldiers to take
the training seriously when Minxun interrupts him with his rants. As Col. Jack finds Minxun's
reasoning irrational, he walks closer and holds him in his collar. Jack reminds everyone that
the primary purpose of their service is to overthrow the Japanese invaders to protect
their family and their country at large. When Col. Jack walks out after his
confrontation with Minxun, Cheng Ting arrives and expresses his anger towards Minxun. Minxun,
on the other hand, ignores Cheng Ting as he leaves after delivering his purpose.
After surviving the ambush, Xue Gang Tao and Little Cui stop to fix the military truck.
As Xue Gang Tao finds the cargo suspicious, he argues investigating the package.
Finding out that this guy has been sent to deliver the shipments in exchange for his wife,
Xue Gang Tao drops the conversation. Walking towards the driver's seat, a government scientist
Wu Gang appears and is on a mission to bring his bred piglets after researching England.
The local people are walking to migrate to a much safer place when Little Cui, Xue Gang Tao,
and Wu Gang pass by. Passing through many people traveling, Gent Le, a possible spy, orchestrates
a move to stop the moving truck by inserting a piece of wood into the mobile's exhaust.
Gent Le bargains to fix the unmoving truck, but the soldier pushes him away.
On the other hand, Wu Gang Tao notices the arrival of Japanese fighter jets near the area,
and moments later, another bombing session from the Japanese raiders occur. Gent Le paves his way
on the shotgun seat of the car to save himself from the firing bullets from the fighter jets.
Minxun slams the office door open to confront Col. Jack about the violation he receives from him.
Col. Jack interrogates Minxun about his recent activity where his brother, Lei Tao, got killed
in the encounter; the latter realizes his faults during the battle. The colonel dismisses his
soldier to motivate him to strive and exert an effort to recover from his shortcomings.
Xue Gang Tou and his passengers had seen a woman, Du Mei, carrying a child with three
other children in her care. Du Mei calls for the passenger's attention to bargain for a free lift
in their journey, telling Xue Gang Tou that he must protect women and children; those children
are sons and daughters of Chinese soldiers. Uncle Cui arrives at a gathering where Mahjong
players sign up for the competition. Despite the ongoing war, the people never back down
and continue their leisure activities. As his colleagues confront him in joining the tournament,
Uncle Cui reveals signing for his son, Little Cui. As Xue Gang Tou and the rest of his cult stop
fixing their truck, he asks Gent Le about his whereabouts. Gent Le expounds that he
is bringing some confidential bank statement documents with him when a sudden attack from
the Japanese forces steals Little Cui's life when he tries saving the little pig.
Heavily wounded from the explosion, he asks Xue Gang Tou to deliver his belongings to
his father, letting him win the Mahjong competition for once. At the same time,
the ordinary citizens from Chongqing are under attack by the Imperial Air Force.
While Xue Gang Tao and the rest travel to Chongqing, a bomb from the Japanese plane
didn't blow blocks the driveway, Gent Le decides to fix their problem by taking over
the steering wheel and maneuvering the car sideways to pass through the narrow
road without disarming the dangerous bomb. While Col. Jack plays Mahjong with the locals,
Minxun and his comrades arrive at bargain participating in the air force battle. As
the locals label the soldiers as cowards, Minxun would like to disprove this opinion by impulsively
driving his plane and attacking the Imperial Air Force. Unhappy with An Mang He's reasoning,
Col. Jack is adamant about his decision not to allow them to fly their jet planes.
Col. Jack and his soldier drive back to the military base when bullets from the jet of
pilot Sato of the Imperial Air Force launch an attack on his military truck. Several jet
planes drop numerous bombs in the land area; the vast blast kills the life of
their soldiers and ruins the war equipment. Determined to avenge and defend his comrades,
Minxun rides his jet to chase and track down the Japanese enemy. Seconds later,
Col. Jack orders him to come back as the Imperial backup arrives in no time and shoots his warplane.
Xue Gang Tao notices that the locals plan to kill a wounded soldier lying on the ground.
Upon knowing the soldier's identity, Xue Gang Tao identifies that Minxun is a local.
Thriving their way to the nearest church, Gang Tao travels to this path to attend to Minxun's needs.
More airstrikes continue, ruining the place and killing the priest instantly.
The Imperial Air Force leaves the area as they see the land damage from the bomb explosion.
Together with Wu Gang, Xue Gang Tao retrieves the unharmed children and brings them to
a safer place around the church's vicinity. Xue Gang Tao performs an emergency operation to
remove the bullet in Minxun's body to save his life. Agonizing pain from Min Xun's mouth came
out as the sharp blade of the knife cut through his flesh. Minutes later, Susan arrives to clean
Minxun's wound as he may be prone to infection from the unhygienic operation he has gone through.
Upon waking up from his surgery, Minxun decides to come back to their base,
as Susan accompanies him in the process. The hospital dean calls for Julia, a British
expert summoned by the Chinese government, to assist them during the war. However, she cannot
return to her country as she is supposed to ride been bombed. Meanwhile, the British ambassador
asks Steve, an Englishman, to leave as he cannot assure his safety. But Steve decides to stay as he
cannot abandon these people during the war. Susan looks for Uncle Cui to deliver Little
Cui's belongings, telling him he has been stuck somewhere. Upon rummaging through the delivery,
they later discover that his child is dead. Uncle Cui frees his bird Lucky to let him enjoy
and a person who can take it as he is devastated with Little Cui's death.
Susan returns to the military headquarters, where Minxun and his comrades stay. On Jack's order,
Minxun tours Susan around the vicinity to look for interesting information about the Air Force.
While fixing some documents, the sexual tension between them continuously grows. With no patience
running in their bloodstream, Ma Su and Minxun entertain their desire as they liplock and promise
each other to be safe no matter what happens. Col. Jack shows Cheng Ting the amazing American
P-40 Warhawk and explains that this fighter plane can only drive it. Upset with this news,
Cheng Ting looks for Minxun to warn him about moving the P40, claiming it is him who will be
chosen. Cheng Ting grabs a bundle of cash to bribe Minxun to let go of this opportunity,
but the latter does not back down. Picking up the money, Minxun puts it inside the
pocket of Cheng Ting's jacket and leaves. Cheng Ting harassed Minxun when he went
outside to blow off some steam. Despite the pouring rain, the two fight with each other
to determine who is dominant, who has the more extraordinary perseverance to avenge
the death of their loved ones. Minxun dominates the battle and chooses to let go of Cheng ting.
Du Mei and the children cross the wooden river before the truck that Gent Le drives take over.
Suddenly, an aerial raid from the Imperial Air force disturbs their peaceful crossover. Gent
Le strategically tries to save himself and Gang Tao from the ambush as they dramatically pass the
river from the massive explosion near their area. It is Jack's birthday, and the air force prepares
gifts and a little celebration. Instead of accepting his presents, Jack promises his
watch and the contributions he receives to the man who last stands and survives the war. At the same
time, the Japanese forces plan to retrieve the Hound, the decoder in their possession.
Gent Le and Gang Tao argue that crossing the river and talking about their shipments significantly in
the war. Gang Tao retrieves his knife and points it at Gent Le's neck to warn him,
but the latter fights back. The two struggle to feat the other until GentLe falls from the river.
The airstrike from the Imperial Japanese takes place, killing a lot of locals, creating a chaotic
and dangerous ground, and destroying facilities of the Chinese forces. On the other hand, the Chinese
Air Force is currently fighting to terminate them at once with the Japanese Forces. Fire after
fire. Clash after clash. Bombs after bombs. No one is backing down in the battle as the
helpless locals struggle to survive the damage of the explosion, burying them alive from the debris
of their hideout. Uncle Cui and the remaining survivor initiate to help the explosion victims.
Their camaraderie to help and kill the fires from the explosives has helped
them kill the increasing damage of the fire. The last encounter with the Imperial Force helps
Cheng Ting decide to let go of driving the P40. Cheng Ting informs Minxun that he is now giving
up as a candidate and tells him that he will be his wingman as a sign of support to his journey.
After tapping Minxun's arm, Cheng Ting leaves after declaring his defeat.
Gent Le sneaks out and sets an explosive under the truck when Gang Tao notices it.
Gent Le reveals that Gang Tao has been protecting the British decoder in his entire journey.
He wishes to destroy the device when he pulls the safety ring attached from his body,
but Gang Tao does not allow him to. While the two fight each other,
Mei smacks Gent Le's head with a rigid material, knocking him down instantly. Gang Tao and Mei
then drive the truck away from the gasoline drums as it is dangerous due to its explosive.
The final clash between the Imperial Japanese Force and the Chinese Air Force will now decide
who will be the victor in this war. The encounter between the two parties killed a lot of lives and
will continuously increase in number if this will not stop immediately. Minxun chases pilot
Sato to terminate him as he has done so much damage in China under his command.
With his expertise in driving the P40, he follows him wherever he goes. Unfortunately, Cheng Ting,
who promised to become Minxun's wingman, offers his help to defeat pilot Sato. With the raining
bullets directed on his plane, Cheng Ting received all the painful piercing of shots in his body,
bringing his valor to his deathbed. To avenge the death of his loved ones,
his comrades, and the locals who the Japanese invasion has victimized, Minxun gives all his best
to kill pilot Sato at that moment. Minxun gives his final blow with a one-on-one battle with the
Sato, showering each other with numerous counts of bullets. This move by Minxun sentenced Sato's life
to an end, claiming victory and peace at last. The war continues where the Air Force from both
parties tries to eliminate their opponents. The courage to sacrifice themselves to outsmart and
claim victory paid off when the Imperial Air force terminated. Gang Tao sees the falling fighter jet
of Minxun and assists him through the truck by supporting the plane below it reaches the ground.
After the war, the people celebrated and continued the Mahjong competition.
Unfortunately, a bomb drops and disturbs the celebration. Uncle Cui sacrifices himself
and brings the bomb away from their shelter after retrieving it. Throwing the bomb away, it explodes
but does not kill Uncle Cui. It then reveals that he is now hailed as the Mahjong champion.
The movie ends with Susan's farewell letter to Minxun as she chooses to travel a different path.
The photographs from her camera will remind him and everyone what process
China has experienced in the hands of the Imperial Japanese.
Finally, the peace that costs blood, sweat, and tears is now achieved.