Eighty Eighties Movies #2: Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

Director: John Carpenter

Starring: Kurt Russell, Dennis Dun, Kim Cattrall, James Hong

Our second watch for the Eighty Eighties Movies blog is the 1986 cult classic "Big Trouble In Little China." Surprisingly, despite this being a movie in my radar, and its very concepts well within my wheelhouse for what would be the perfect movie for me to watch, only recently did I finally catch this movie. That's going to be a running theme for this blog by the way. And much like the Burbs last time, this may have easily leaped into my all time favorites. The movie was directed by John Carpenter, and hit around the time of a sudden surge in movies involving Chinese mysticism. This would prove true with the Eddie Murphy vehicle "The Golden Child" premiering months later.

Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, who after winning a bet with his friend Wang (Dun), goes to the airport to help him pick up is fiance Miao Yin. But a group known as the Lords of Death kidnap Miao Yin, Jack loses his truck, and worst of all, gets caught up in a lot of craziness that he has no idea how to even comprehend. They get the aid of a reporter named Gracie Law (Cattrall), who is trying to get the scoop on the mysterious David Lo-Pan (Hong). It turns out that Lo-Pan is an ancient sorcerer who has to marry a Chinese woman with green eyes and sacrifice her to his god Ching Dai, which will allow him to be mortal again. Flanked by his three deadly mini-bosses Thunder, Rain and Lightning, it's up to Wong, Jack and the rest to save Miao Yin, defeat the Lords of Death, and put an end to Lo-Pan. Crazy plot, huh?

This movie is brilliant. Action packed, genuinely funny, and has some excellent special effects. What I like about the movie the most is the characterization of Jack Burton. How he's played up to be akin to the stock action hero who comes in, kicks ass, is unstoppable, and saves the day almost on his own. In the case of Jack, he's not that at all. He talks a big game, even speaks in a very John Wayne style dialect, but when it comes to the whole situation, he almost always gets his ass kicked, gets easily captured and knocked out, and throughout the story seems to have a hard time trying to get a grasp of what's going on. He's almost like the audience for the most part. Ultimately it's Wang who is the real protagonist, and the one who kicks the most ass while barely being defeated.

The rest of the cast also shine with James Hong's Lo-Pan being a great villain in both his decrepit old man form and his intimidating sorcerer form. Kim Cattrall's Gracie Law is also a great character who plays a good romantic interest, while also being generally entertaining. The fight scenes are awesome and never feel boring or slow. The big alley fight early on exemplifies that in droves. As for the visual effects, they hold up for the most part. I like the little things like the electricity that flows around Lightning, or the puppetry on that beholder-like monster, the light battle between Lo-Pan and Egg Shen (Victor Wong), and the scene where Thunder balloons in rage and explodes. That's great practical stuff.

Overall, I had a blast with this one. I liked a lot about it, thought it never felt disrespectful to Chinese folklore, or ever felt racist or cringeworthy. It's action packed but not gory, and it's not too crude. Honestly, you could show this to older kids and I think they would be able to enjoy it. I've heard there are plans to remake it with The Rock, but I hope that doesn't pan out. Because I think what helps this movie stand out and hold up is that it feels like a perfect staple of 1980s films and the culture at the time. You can't replicate that cheese, and I fear a remake would either try too hard to be silly without the charm, or more over-the-top and crude. Just leave this one as is, and spread it out to more people so that, like me, they can finally check it out, and love it. Final rating for Big Trouble In Little China is an A+.