Big Trouble in Little China

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Big Trouble in Little China

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Big Trouble in Little China

Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong

Somewhere in the 80s, trucker Jack Burton arrives in a small town to deliver his cargo and win a few bucks playing cards with the locals down at the Chinese market. Practically bankrupting nearly all ...( read more  read more... )of his opponents, his friend Wang bets him a game of "double or nothing" to try and regain his cash and loses. Jack wants his well earned money, but Wang explains he doesn't have the cash on him and that'll he pay later because he's due to pick up a long, lost girlfriend from the airport. Convinced Wang's pulling something sly, Jack insists he drive Wang to the airport so they can stick together. However, at the airport Wang's girlfriend is captured by the Lords of Death, a streetwise Chinatown gang. She is essential for an upcoming plan to revive a thousand year old Chinese sorcerer and bring him back to the world as a mortal again. So begins a daring adventure to rescue Wang's girl and stop the ruthless operation that's going on down in Little China. Teaming up with a cast of very different individuals, Jack and Wang delve deep into an uncovering conspiracy in which everything's not exactly as it seems. Here comes big trouble...

Id: 10906302

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Big Trouble in Little China Recent Reviews
  • mrpopcorn
    October 22, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "They told Jack Burton to go to hell...and that's exactly where he's going!"

    An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.

    REVIEW

    Okay. The title shoul...( read more)d identify that this is not a serious movie. And believe you me, it isn't (I mean that positively). Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton, a truck driver who sounds like he spends all day watching reruns of sitcoms and Sylvester Stallone movies. Then, when Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) is captured, Jack and several other people have to go underground in San Francisco's Chinatown to try and rescue her. Down there, they find evil sorcerer Lo Pan and his empire. From there, the movie is basically a litany of various forms of ass-kicking. My favorite scene was the fight scene where everyone is just flying at each other.

    "Big Trouble in Little China" is completely silly - and rather ridiculous - from beginning to end, but the good kind of silly and ridiculous. If nothing else, the whole thing is worth seeing just to hear Kurt Russell's hilariously sarcastic comments.
  • SirPant
    September 8, 2009
    SirPant
    A fun, if not a little silly, action comedy with lots of Chinese mythology.
  • PvtCaboose91
    August 4, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "Ol' Jack always says... what the hell?"


    An outlandish, uncategorisable blend of John Ford (and, by extension, John Wayne) and cornball Chinese mysticism, John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China is a hokey martial arts adventure flick with limitless appea

    ...( read more)l. The characters are both endearing and witty, with the actors hamming it up to extremes. Meanwhile Carpenter provides directorial genius, suspenseful set-ups, edge-of-your-seat action and a signature musical score. Big Trouble in Little China is simply a delightfully absurd action movie that never takes itself too seriously, although it isn't for all tastes.


    In his fourth collaboration with director Carpenter (after Elvis, Escape From New York and The Thing), Kurt Russell plays an imitable, good-natured truck driver named Jack Burton. During one of his trips to San Francisco, Jack's truck is hijacked and he's unwittingly swept up in a universe-bounding plot to kidnap the fiancée of his friend Wang (Dun). The whole situation concerns warring gangs that dwell in the Chinatown underground, and an ancient supernatural spirit named Lo Pan (Hong). But Jack couldn't care less about any of this...he just wants his truck back.


    This is not your ordinary kung fu flick, to say the least. The slender plot is virtually indecipherable; merely providing a reason to showcase lots of things happening in colorful settings for no reason other than to have lots of things happening in colorful settings.


    Alas, character development is slim and an audience isn't given much of a chance to become acquainted with the characters before they're sent into action. However the dialogue never fails to sparkle and the endearing characters will win you over anyway. Big Trouble in Little China mainly works so well due to Carpenter's stylised direction and the breathless pacing. We're taken from one chase to another; Carpenter continually removing his characters from the frying pan and throwing them into the fire. This ever-escalating chain of events always keeps things moving forward, and never allows the movie to bog down (even the few expository scenes necessary to fully outline Lo Pan's dastardly scheme are brilliantly terse). Carpenter's willingness to let ridiculous, unexplained things fly in out of left field is another masterstroke. The character of Margo (Burton) at one stage likens this peculiar adventure to Alice in Wonderland.


    The subterranean lairs which accommodate most of the action are great - hokey enough to emphasise the film's camp appeal, but not so hokey that they look like sets. Big Trouble in Little China features plenty of special effects too - and the somewhat dated effects add to the enchanting flavour. Carpenter always respects his influences. He maintains the B-Grade spirit of Hong Kong cinema while also fusing it with his own style and satirising it with a unique campness. From the score's synthesis of Eastern music and Carpenter's trademark synth to the arcade-style battle between two characters and the villain being defeated with a simple bowie knife to the head instead of a grand duel, Carpenter nails the tongue-in-cheek kung fu comedy genre. One definitely needs to be in the right mindset for this movie.


    Kurt Russell as Jack Burton is priceless - he's a witty, tough-talking everyman hero in the mould of John Wayne. Unlike John Wayne, however, Jack is not immune from screwing up. Jack has a knack for getting into extreme situations, he believes he has everything figured out, he constantly messes up, and he makes a lot of grand pronouncements and wisecracks (he even talks about himself in the third person a lot). Russell's Jack Burton will definitely win you over with his cheesy bravado. Interestingly, he ain't the real driver of the plot - he's Wan's sidekick and he's just there to find his truck. Jack is, however, the true star of the show


    Just like John Carpenter's The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China performed poorly at the box office upon its initial release but has grown vindicated in the years to follow; earning a legion of fans who understand what Carpenter was trying to do. Ancient Chinese mysticism and kung fu is expertly blended with good old-fashioned American gunplay to produce this high-energy mélange of action sequences. You know what ol' Jack Burton would say at a time like this? Jack Burton would say "see this movie!"
  • phubbs1
    May 22, 2009
    phubbs1
    Best Carpenter flick by miles haha so cool, love Russell in it and love the look..LOVE IT. This film has everything you could want, its totally awesome in everyway and hits all the targets, faultless, inspired.
    'have you payed your dues Jack?'....'yes sir the cheque is in the mai...( read more)l'
    'everybody relax..Im here'
  • powerofmylove
    April 2, 2009
    powerofmylove
    This for sure is an odd movie but does not miss from being in my collection at all.
  • missathebrat
    December 12, 2009
    missathebrat
    This movie has sentimental value to me. It's not the greatest, nor the well-acted, but when I was a kid, none of that matter to me. This movie was simply 'cool'.
  • sharkattack1978
    December 6, 2009
    sharkattack1978
    classic carpenter and russell colabration
  • ythelastman89
    November 16, 2009
    ythelastman89
    Another one of those unbeatable match ups between Kurt Russell and John Carpenter. It's just such a goofy story, you can't help but fall in love with it. Kurt Russell knows how to be witty and an action star all at once. The thing that's great about his character is that he's abl...( read more)e to screw up and still bounce back. The music and tone of the movie are so 80's, but so perfectly fitting for the movie. The action sequences are fun and really well done at the same time. This is easily the big inspiration for games like Mortal Combat, there's a character who is almost inseparable to Raiden. It's just a great movie that doesn't take itself to seriously and allows you to have fun with the amazing landscape and characters.
  • formerwowaddic
    November 12, 2009
    formerwowaddic
    love this movie Kurt at his cheesy best and Kim at her hotness peak
  • beccaberry6
    November 10, 2009
    beccaberry6
    Strangely enjoyable. Somewhat like watching a train wreck. You keep going no.....there not going to go there.....and then they do.
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