Review of Big Trouble in Little China (1986) by Rodney E — 11 Jan 2013

Big Trouble in Little China is one of the best adventure thrillers from the 80's and is one of my favorites as a kid. It still amazingly holds up and often there will be debates about how awesome Big Trouble in Little China is and if it is Carpenter's best.

A hodge podge of genres, the movie is a roller coaster ride through the magical realm of San Francisco's Chinatown. Kurt Russell stars in one of his best roles as Jack Burton, a wise cracking truck driver who goes to the airport to meet his friend's fiancee and is forced on an adventure once she is kidnapped.

The actual scene at the airport is one of my faves and sets the tone. The gang that steals the fiancee come off as tough by the way that they are photographed and the way that Carpenter's score works with the action.

Dig the scene where the knife gets pulled on Burton and he responds with "where'd you get that?". Burton and his friend travel to the underworld to take on a ghost incarnate named David Lopan, who plans to marry the green eyed bride and make him mortal.

There is so much to be said about this. The characters, costumes, action, lines, scenes...so much of it is memorable. Everything that comes out of Jack Burton's mout is gold. I pity the fool who doesn't like this movie.