The Rescue

It's just you might reasonably want your films a little more stirring and challenging, and not quite so obviously rubber-stamped.

This mega-budget production is certainly worth the price of a ticket if nail-biting rescue missions, realistically presented, are your thing.

That bit of burlesque and the touch of gore, seen in shots of victims of explosions and crashes, are a couple of weirdly human and therefore interesting touches in an otherwise overlong and predictable production.

Call it official propaganda, but at least it is executed with finesse.

Between action-packed rescues, acrobatic stunts, and scenes where civilians laud the bravery and heroism of China's Coast Guard, The Rescue at least makes for good propaganda, even if it's lacking in dramatic complexity.

Lam's command of movement, narrative, and pacing is superb, building tremendous suspense and momentum while tightening the screws on his characters.

It's Thunderbirds rebooted as Dante Lam delivers the thrills once again...

This Michael Bay-esque love letter to China Rescue & Salvage may be propaganda, but its enjoyably bonkers melodrama and grippingly engaging action are a lot less obnoxious than any film Bay has made.

....for the rest of 2020, this is where the 'fun' benchmark will sit.

It's a predestined blockbuster in Asian markets and offers enough incredible action/mayhem to pique the interest of connoisseurs of big-screen spectacle elsewhere.