Log in / Sign up
 
    Share this page

    Big Trouble in Little China

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    Like so many John Carpenter films (who is a director I greatly admire) I feel like “Big Trouble in Little China” is probably a good film that gets better with subsequent views. I’d never seen this one before and had no idea what it was about, which made it a lot of fun. I was constantly surprised by the flow of wild developments.

     Spoiler alert - click to reveal textJack Burton (Kurt Russell) is accompanying his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) to the airport. There, Wang will meet his fiancé after years of being apart. Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) steps off and is immediately kidnapped by a Chinese street gang. When our heroes learn that she is to be wed to an ancient Chinese sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong), they are determined to save her.

    “Big trouble in Little China” is a potpourri of a movie. There are characters that feel like they’ve been plucked out a western. Right next to those, you have special effects-heavy monsters, sorcerers, ancient spirits… and then just regular people. It’s a weird mix of different genres, but they fit together because they’re all thrust in this tale where anything goes. Jack Burton is a lot of fun to follow for this reason. This guy is a wild character too, sort of a John Wayne doesn’t care about anyone or at least pretends not to type, but he’s not this kind of outlandish. When he encounters all of this madness it’s almost like he’s more annoyed than surprised because he doesn’t want to put in the effort required to wrap his mind around ogres and ancient Chinese wizardry. He’s basically saying “alright I don’t really get it but let’s just keep going and save Miao Yin from Lo Pan so I can get out here”. That’s exactly what this kind of movie needed to work. It could have gotten bogged down with flashbacks and prophecies and all sorts of Chinese argot, but instead it just keeps going and brings you along for the ride.

    I like this weird mix of different genres and know that now that I’ve become indoctrinated; it’ll be even better the second time around. I didn’t know what this film was initially (turns out it’s an action comedy) so I didn’t get the full experience out of it. There are also some bits where I thought the story got very complicated (or maybe once again, it’s because I didn’t know what I was getting into) It’s easy to see why “Big Trouble in Little China” has become a cult hit. It’s just not there for me… yet. I foresee it becoming one though. There are a lot of cool sets, monsters, special effects, action scenes, snippets of dialogue and characters. I really liked Kim Cattrall’s character, a reporter who comes in to help Jack and Wang. She and Jack have an exchange of dialogue towards the end of the film that’s actually perfect. Very quote worthy throughout actually. I’m certain that this is one of those films where the comedy (and this may sound peculiar) actually works better when you know it’s coming. You’ll be waiting for that line, so anxiously counting down the seconds that when it does, it’ll big a big laugh of relief. I intend to see it again and I encourage you to watch it more than once. If you viewed it once and thought it was neat but ultimately just ok.

    I didn’t instantly fall in love with “Big Trouble in Little China” the way I expected to, but that’s ok. I can see why people have so much enthusiasm for this picture and I think that given another viewing and a bit of time, I’ll be there as well. It’s the kind of movie I wouldn’t mind seeing again either because there’s so much going on that I feel like I could view it a second time and catch several jokes or interesting bits that I missed. I say check it out. It’s got a great ending too. (Theatrical version on the big screen, February 6, 2016)

    7
    HelpfulNot helpful  Reply
    adamwatchesmovies@  8.2.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

    Show all reviews for this movie
    Note: The movie review posted on this page reflects a personal opinion of one user. We are not responsible for its content.

    Did you see ''Big Trouble in Little China''?

    There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Please go to My Account to update your email.

    How do you rate this movie?

    Select stars from 1 to 10.
    10 - A masterpiece, go, see it now
    9 - Excellent movie, a must see
    8 - Great movie, don't miss it
    7 - Good movie, worth seeing
    6 - Not bad, could be much better
    5 - So so, okay if you don't pay
    4 - Not good, even if you don't pay
    3 - Poor movie, not recommended
    2 - Very bad, forget about it
    1 - Worst ever, avoid at all costs

    Please explain. Write your comment here:

    Please choose a username to sign your comments. Only letters, digits, dash - or period. Minimum 4 characters.

    Your age and sex:

    We publish all comments, except abusive, at our discretion.