Pegasus Review

Pegasus Review

This likable, unchallenging Chinese sports film, about a has-been rally driver out to prove he's still got what it takes following a lengthy ban, is the third film directed by Han Han, the superstar blogger/novelist/rally driver/film-maker once hailed as the voice of a generation of Chinese millennials. In real life, Han Han famously reversed his middle finger on the racetrack. However he has to be mellowing -- as with this comeback narrative he retains his attention firmly on the mainstream, steering steady-as-you-go down the middle of the road.

Comedy actor Shen Teng plays with Zhang Chi, an arrogant five-times champ slapped with a five-year ban after a place of after-hours racing at a multi-storey vehicle park. The movie opens with Zhang Chi nearing the conclusion of his prohibit, flat broke, abandoned by fans and patrons, cooking fried rice on a street food stall. He's a couple of pounds heavier but just as cocky. How he puts his career back in gear unfolds at a more or less predictable way -- making amends with teammates, even getting his previous car race-worthy and humiliating himself reality TV in a desperate effort to raise financing.

Not a stereotypical villain -- Lin actually wants to assist Zhang Chi get back to the track to put a stop to gossip that his own winning series is money, no ability.

It may not function as social commentary that Han Han built his reputation , but perhaps he's making the point that, with blandly slick professionalism such as Lin's, something is being lost in the pursuit of Chinese wealth -- the perspective of the city from Zhang Chi's flat is about to be loathed by building of a giant skyscraper.