Big Trouble in Little China: Review By Raoul Duke

Somewhere between The Thing and Escape from L.A, Kurt Russell and John Carpenter decided to get back together and give us a little film called Big Trouble in Little China. Though it received widespread commercial and semi-critical failure at the time of its release, it has since become the definition of a cult classic. And for better or for worse, the initial response to BTLC is what would push John Carpenter towards filmmaking independently.

After Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China is definitely my favorite Carpenter film. It's a B-movie given a bigger budget and better talent, and with a script as action packed as it is cheesy and out-there, it's hard not to instantly fall in love with this movie.

Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a loud mouthed and gambling truck driver that is thrust into a world of Chinese sorcery when his friend Wang's (Dennis Dun) girlfriend is kidnapped from the airport by a street gang, the Wing Kong. At the head of the Wing Kong is a corrupt man named David Lo Pan, who just so happens to be a 2,000 year old sorcerer. Lo Pan must marry and sacrifice Wang's girlfriend, a girl with green eyes, so he can break his curse and be whole and powerful again, ruling the universe from beyond the realm of death. With Lo Pan, are the Wing Kong and his three Generals; Rain, Thunder, and Lightning.

Siding with Jack and Wang against Lo Pan and his goons are the Wing Kong's rivals, the Chang Sing, as well as a tenaciously out-of-place attorney by the name of Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and Egg Shen (Victor Wong) a very short and sorcerous bus driver.

The script was originally written as a Western, with Jack being a lone cowboy that rolls into town. The movie makes a nod at this during a gunfight early in the film. One of the Wing Kong initiates a standoff with two six guns at his side, and when he finally draws and shoots, the bullets make that same ricocheting noise familiar in so many past Westerns. The story is mainly steeped in Chinese lore though. Supposedly, the First Emperor of China employed a man named Lo Pan as a double, since the Emperor feared assassination. However, Lo Pan tried to take over the throne, but the Emperor cursed him to a thousand years of fleshless torment, until Lo Pan could find and marry a girl with green eyes.

Which is basically the entire movie, with some minor alterations; all it needed was that good ole' American bravado in Jack Burton, and some pretty awesome special effects and puppetry from the guys behind Ghostbusters and Poltergeist. And everybody manages some great acting. All except for Kim Cattrall I'd say. I really don't even understand the point of her character. The movie would work just as well without her. But I guess old Jack needed someone to flirt with, so there ya go.

Somehow, Kurt Russell manages to pay homage to every single movie tough guy, from Rooster Cogburn, on up to Dirty Harry. And while Jack Burton is one badass and bold dude, he's just as inept as he is tough. He can't manage to find the safety on his gun. He somehow flings his knife halfway across the room when he goes to unsheathe it. Even towards the end of the film near one of the main battles, he manages to pull a Bilbo Baggins and knocks himself out before the fighting even begins. Nevertheless, for all his ineptness and buffoonery, Jack is still the man for the job, and Kurt Russell was definitely the right man to transition words on a page into the living breathing badass that is Jack Burton.

This is a largely Asian and Asian-American cast though, headed by Victor Wong and James Hong. They do wonders together as warring sides of an ancient magic, James Hong especially, simultaneously scaring the crap out of me and cracking me up. It's hard not to get a little freaked out when he floats pale-white through a wall with a manic grin on his face, or not to laugh when his voice reaches a comically high pitch. And of course, Victor Wong has always stood out for me, despite his bad luck with roles. Even in parts like the 3 Ninjas movies, he managed some great work. And Big Trouble in Little China is no different. You just can't take your eyes off that little ball of excellence when he's on the screen. It's too bad he wasn't used to his full potential. He was an amazing talent.

But for me, the ones I really couldn't take my eyes off of were Rain, Thunder, and Lightning, Lo Pan's three best henchmen. I'm convinced that this is where Metallica got the inspiration for their song 'Ride the Lightning.' The character of Lightning does just that, being able to appear anywhere his lightning strikes. Thunders appearance is appropriately heralded by an enormous thunderclap. And Rain's swordplay is just as torrential and powerful as the heaviest of downpours. I'm really not sure who plays these guys, and I don't really want to ruin the mystique by finding out. I like to think that these three are real people, out there getting into gnarly kung fu fights, instilling fear into their enemies with intense expressions and squeals as if they're severely constipated. This is kung fu fighting at its best. They have their tiger claw swords and their Raiden hats. These three are ready to f*ck sh*t up, so steer clear.

But while Big Trouble in Little China has all this awesomeness to it, it's not without fault. The storyline is a bit underdeveloped and convoluted. Plot twists are shoved into your face every 10 minutes, and new characters are brought in without any real development, Kim Cattrall's Gracie Law case in point. It's just like all of a sudden she's there, and we're supposed to give a sh*t because she's a Civil Rights lawyer. No thanks. It's just too bad she didn't get killed off.

Whoops...spoiler alert.

Honestly though, for all of its cheesiness, confusion, and "what the f*ck?" moments, Big Trouble in Little China is a definitive cult classic that I'd put up there with greats like The Goonies and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, any day. Its action sequences have become the stuff of legend. Jack Burton is easily one of the Top Ten Movie Badasses of All Time. I'd put him on par with Kurt Russell's other alter-ego, Snake Plissken. I mean this is the definition of a fun movie.

So if you want to laugh your ass off, be confused, and just generally have a good time watching a film, then go pick up a copy of Big Trouble in Little China at your local Flea Market for two bucks like I did.

And just remember what ole' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of heaven shake. Yeah...Jack Burton just looks that big ole' storm right-square in the eye and he says, "Give me you best shot, pal."

I can take it.