Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

A muscular man holding a gun stands confidently in an action-packed scene from "Big Trouble in Little China," with a cityscape and a concerned woman nearby.
The poster art for the 1986 John Carpenter movie Big Trouble in Little China.
About the movie
  • Director: John Carpenter
  • Starring: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun
  • Yes or no?: Yes
  • Links: on Letterboxd, IMDb page
Other reviews:

It seems like every friend of mine has told me this is a must-see over the years. I had never seen it, but I was on a collision course with this for a long time. I have been really coming to love John Carpenter movies and this one seems to be the most well-known, or at least at the top. So I was going to run into this no matter what. The Letterboxd Roulette suggestion from jcarp was perfect and forced my avoidance-plagued hand.

I’m glad this happened. It was a really good time, with a few out loud laughs from me. Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton exactly as you think he’ll play him. The movie is filled with camp, insane fight scenes, and good stunts from the team. The story (or at least the general idea) was reminiscent of The Golden Child, which it turns out was a weirdly direct competitor of this movie. This one, however, is much higher energy and filled with a bit less self-seriousness, which sounds weird to say about an 80s Eddie Murphy comedy.

But about this one. It was pretty great. The secondary cast was outstanding. Denis Dun as Wang Chi was outstanding. He played a role that looked fun and had some great lines. Kim Cattrall was a perfect fit. Just serious enough to look the part, but she did funny really well here. I loved her presence on screen, too. The appearances for the ridiculous monsters added to the laughs. Carpenter’s monsters are great because they just cross that line from serious and scary to obvious camp. They looked awesome here and I loved when they popped out at different times. Russell’s reaction to them got better as the movie went on.

I had a ton of fun watching this. I’ll probably give it a few more over time. Now I can actually talk to one certain friend who loves this, and has been a great guide on Carpenter in particular. Huge thanks to jcarp (damn, I just got the name connection, hmmm) for the push.

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November 30, 2024
Tags: kurt russell | john carpenter | dennis dun | camp | kim cattrall | supernatural