There was a time that I would have watched director John Carpenter direct the phone book and although he has had a less than stellar second half to his career I still enjoy his work.
“Big Trouble in Little China” was a box office bomb but it has built an amazing cult following over the years and so it should have, this film has it all. Humour, monsters, Kung Fu action and Chinese black magic all play a part in the film and it is all the better for it. Just when you think you have a handle on what kind of film you are watching they throw something more bizarre at you. It is a really fun adventure film that deserves to be re-watched by those that haven’t seen it in years and for those that have never seen it, you have a real treat in front of you.
Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is a truck driver that while on a routine delivery to San Francisco Chinatown gets involved in an adventure that seems to revolve around the slave trade (but it is really about much more) that will change his life. Although Jack thinks of himself as amazing, he really is a bumbling fool. Russell plays the character like a bad John Wayne impersonation and it is hysterical.
Originally conceived as a sequel to “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” (1984), thankfully the sequel was dropped and it was later adapted by W. D. Richter into it’s own entity and we have this excellent 80s action film to show for it. The film defies classification, is it a comedy, fantasy, martial arts film, special effects extravaganza, monster movie or action film? The answer is simple, it is all of the above.
“Big Trouble in Little China” is proof that poor box office doesn’t mean a bad film, it just means that audiences may not have been ready for it at the time.
– David McVay
Originally published on My Year With Movies
1 comment
The film is not too dark and gritty but it’s campy and cheesy fun action movie Kurt Russell is the Clint Eastwood in the film as the truck driver Jack Burton it features The Three Storms with that Lighting character which that Mortal Kombat character Rayden is based on, B movie actor James Hong plays an evil ghost David Lo Pan. Big Trouble In Little China is a good B action movie for all fans.
Bruce Acosta