Big Trouble in Little China is set in San Francisco where truck driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) meets up with an old friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), together they go to the airport to pick up Wang's bride to be Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) but she is kidnapped by local Chinese thugs. Chasing them into Chinatown Jack & Wang discover strange supernatural forces are at work as the 4000 year old evil sorcerer Lo Pan (James Hong) needs to marry & sacrifice a green eyed girl in order to appease the Gods & become flesh & blood again. With the whole world at stake Jack & Wang team up with good sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong) & his men to save Miao Yin & put an end to Lo Pan's evil once & for all...
Directed by John Carpenter who also helped compose the music score this fantasy adventure film wasn't well received at the time of it's initial release but I think it's a terrifically entertaining mix of ideas, themes & genres. The script by Gary Goldman & David Z. Weinstein is notable for how many different genres it takes inspiration from & have fun with, from western to horror to sci-fi to fantasy to action adventure to martial arts to comedy to monster film & Big Trouble in Little China ends up being a rather unique flick although I hasten to add that it's a hugely entertaining one if you just sit back & enjoy the ride for what it is. I must admit I love it's mix of crazy ideas & themes, there are outrageous martial arts fights, monsters, secret worlds full of magic, ancient sorcerers, exploding people, eye creatures, daring escapes & a bizarre ritual in which Lo Pan has his brides to be hold onto a sword which then levitates to the ceiling where they have to touch a light shade for no apparent reason! The film moves along at a good pace & at only 90 odd minutes in length the time flies by, it doesn't take itself seriously for a second, there are some very funny one-liners & the Jack Burton character is just great & makes for a very likable hero. He gets thrown into this situation & just sort of stumbles his way through it not really knowing what is going on, he never really does anything heroic & generally ends up looking a bit daft as his oriental mate comes to his rescue on more than one occasion.
Big Trouble in Little China was the fourth time director Carpenter had teamed up with star Kurt Russell after Elvis (1979), Escape from New York (1981) & The Thing (1982) & he turns in a very imaginative film, some of the fights are a little silly but the film is as a whole so that doesn't really matter that much. Overall the film isn't that violent, there are quite a few death's but nothing graphic is shown. The film is certainly very colourful although I must admit I though some of the bright neon lighting (especially around the six armed statue in the background) at the end looked a little too much like bright garish lighting from a cheap pop video for my liking. The special effects are generally good although do look a little dated these days, I have the 2 Disc special edition DVD of Big Trouble in Little China & the box states that it contains 46 minutes of deleted scenes which I never bothered to watch but since the finished film only lasts 90 odd minutes that's a lot of material that was cut as well as the ending which was also cut.
With a supposed budget of about $25,000,000 Big Trouble in Little China absolutely bombed at the box-office big time, it made considerably less than $3,000,000 during it's opening weekend. Ouch. Having said that it's still a great film, just an obviously misunderstood one. The performances are fun with the charismatic Kurt Russell shining while Kim Cattrall is nice enough as the love interest.
Big Trouble in Little China is a great film that I have always liked, it's strange mixture of fantasy, western, horror, martial arts & action adventure make it one of a kind & surprisingly it works a treat. Highly recommended for anyone looking for some light hearted fantasy entertainment.
Directed by John Carpenter who also helped compose the music score this fantasy adventure film wasn't well received at the time of it's initial release but I think it's a terrifically entertaining mix of ideas, themes & genres. The script by Gary Goldman & David Z. Weinstein is notable for how many different genres it takes inspiration from & have fun with, from western to horror to sci-fi to fantasy to action adventure to martial arts to comedy to monster film & Big Trouble in Little China ends up being a rather unique flick although I hasten to add that it's a hugely entertaining one if you just sit back & enjoy the ride for what it is. I must admit I love it's mix of crazy ideas & themes, there are outrageous martial arts fights, monsters, secret worlds full of magic, ancient sorcerers, exploding people, eye creatures, daring escapes & a bizarre ritual in which Lo Pan has his brides to be hold onto a sword which then levitates to the ceiling where they have to touch a light shade for no apparent reason! The film moves along at a good pace & at only 90 odd minutes in length the time flies by, it doesn't take itself seriously for a second, there are some very funny one-liners & the Jack Burton character is just great & makes for a very likable hero. He gets thrown into this situation & just sort of stumbles his way through it not really knowing what is going on, he never really does anything heroic & generally ends up looking a bit daft as his oriental mate comes to his rescue on more than one occasion.
Big Trouble in Little China was the fourth time director Carpenter had teamed up with star Kurt Russell after Elvis (1979), Escape from New York (1981) & The Thing (1982) & he turns in a very imaginative film, some of the fights are a little silly but the film is as a whole so that doesn't really matter that much. Overall the film isn't that violent, there are quite a few death's but nothing graphic is shown. The film is certainly very colourful although I must admit I though some of the bright neon lighting (especially around the six armed statue in the background) at the end looked a little too much like bright garish lighting from a cheap pop video for my liking. The special effects are generally good although do look a little dated these days, I have the 2 Disc special edition DVD of Big Trouble in Little China & the box states that it contains 46 minutes of deleted scenes which I never bothered to watch but since the finished film only lasts 90 odd minutes that's a lot of material that was cut as well as the ending which was also cut.
With a supposed budget of about $25,000,000 Big Trouble in Little China absolutely bombed at the box-office big time, it made considerably less than $3,000,000 during it's opening weekend. Ouch. Having said that it's still a great film, just an obviously misunderstood one. The performances are fun with the charismatic Kurt Russell shining while Kim Cattrall is nice enough as the love interest.
Big Trouble in Little China is a great film that I have always liked, it's strange mixture of fantasy, western, horror, martial arts & action adventure make it one of a kind & surprisingly it works a treat. Highly recommended for anyone looking for some light hearted fantasy entertainment.