Review VI
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
As you know from my introduction, I watch The Spoony Experiment videos. In one of his vlogs, he mentioned that John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China was his favourite movie. Perhaps things have changed since then, but I decided to check out the film which stars Kurt Russell, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Kim Cattrall, and Victor Wong.
Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) is friends with Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), and when Wang Chi tells him he first has to pick up his fiancée from the airport before giving Jack his one thousand dollars for losing a bet, Jack doesn't realise he'll be in for a crazy day when Wang's fiancée is kidnapped by the Lords of Death, a Chinese street gang, as an intention to be sold as a sex slave. Suddenly the two are dealing with powerful magicians and an immortal sorcerer out to rule the world.
The film is cheesy, but it's the good kind of cheese because I loved it. It's a b-movie, but a really good b-movie. The film doesn't try to be anything it isn't - simply entertaining with some cool martial arts scenes and funny plot lines. While Kurt Russell's character is seen as the "hero", Dennis Dun's character is the real hero considering he actually does all the work to get his fiancée back. It's a strange movie at certain parts, and you're expected to just take things as they are, but it works. Jack is an ass, but he's not a complete ass, and it's not like he's shown as a god either. He's just a regular man who's gotten caught up in a 2000 year old Chinese legend, and, all things considered, he takes it pretty well!
I'd give it an eight on ten. By b-movie standards, it's definitely one of the best I've ever seen. It's a b-movie cult classic, and it has earned its status. If you've never seen it and you like b-movies, it's definitely worth a watch, especially with its typical eighties' music.
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