Review of Big Trouble in Little China (1986) by Joseph C — 01 Jul 2014

Big Trouble in Little China. What is there to say about a movie like this? If you haven't seen it you won't understand it until you do. It's one of a kind, bringing together all the best things about bad movies in a fun and energetic adventure.

So, does that make this a good movie? No, I don't really think it is. But is it a FUN movie? You bet. Kurt Russell leads the way in a cast perfectly suited for their roles. Part time charismatic action hero, part time comedian he does well in a memorable performance. Dennis Dun and Donald Li tag along as our Chinese counterparts, bringing some martial arts and professionalism to round out Russell's rough edges. We even get an excellent strange and wise old Chinese man in Victor Wong and I can't imagine the role being handled better.

I can't think of anyone that I actually disliked, but these four are probably my favorites. I do also have to give points to all of our villains, for general badassery in varied forms despite their limited screen time. Many of the females have unfortunately weak roles, as is usual.

Something I think was handled particularly well was the "generic" characters, a critical element in an action and martial arts movie. I might not know your names, hairy bad guy with a cleaver or good guy with the bandana but you stood out as the spice needed to keep the movie interesting. I appreciate the realism and identity given to the nameless masses on both sides, rather than just blank faceless throwaways seen in many action movies.

I found the storyline of the movie quite entertaining. It knows it's a fun action movie and doesn't try to teach any deep life lessons. It blends just the right amounts of reality, history, and complete over the top fiction which gives us an atmospheric clash between modern day San Francisco and ancient Chinese mysticism.

It shows us a new and interesting fantasy world that (unlike most distant worlds) lurks hidden just below the surface of our familiar reality. I enjoyed the hints of dark Chinese underworld and the shock of contrast between the two settings.

This movie does an excellent job of NOT taking you to a faraway land. In a true fantasy world we expect strange things to happen because fiction worlds have no rules. This movie operates in our everyday normal reality and it feels supernatural, bigger than life as our rules are bent and our perceptions tested. It feels real, the characters are flawed and the experience draws you into a strange situation artfully.

What about special effects? This movie was released in1986. Set your expectations accordingly. Not only that, it suffered from a fairly low budget and rushed production times. With that said, I still think it turned out quite good. Many of the effects are nice, looking realistic and much better than so much of the computer imagery you see today.

Much of the scenery and costuming shows legitimate good design that took hard work and clever solutions, mixing realism and fantasy. It has an appearance that FEELS real, which I much prefer to computer effects added in editing. With that said, in the interest of blunt honesty, there are a few effects which look questionable and a few that are really just memorably bad.

The music is enjoyable and fitting. Despite the background of Chinese mysticism it never takes the easy way out and resorts to "generic" Chinese music. It gets the energy level just right, never going too high or too low while drawing you into the scenes.

In the end, despite its age and a few flaws, this movie manages a fairly impressive accomplishment in that it is an exciting action film set in a world which mixes fantasy and reality beautifully. Still just as fun to watch today, it is carried by memorable characters and just the right style of comedy. If you haven't seen it yet and are looking for something new, interesting and exciting you can't go wrong with this cult classic.