Rating: Summary: Fun Movie Period!!! Review: After multiple viewings, this movie never fails to make me laugh, Kurt Russell & John Carpenter reunited for the 3rd time here & it is clear they had fun, In this Russell is Jack Burton, a idiot truck driver who rolls into San Francisco's Chinatown to visit his pal Wang, & in the process gets more than he bargained for as Wang's girlfriend is soon kidnapped by chinese thugs who are in cahoots with Lo-Pan, a 2,000 year old sorceror who needs a woman with green eyes to retain his youth, as Jack & Wang try to find her they are sooned joined by a news reporter(Kim Cattral) who it seems is after a story that proves Lo-Pan exist, they cross paths with all kinds of villians, especially three mystical villans that use all kinds of black magic tricks, this is a fun movie not to be taken seriously & is a thrill ride in martail arts & special effects, with Lo-Pan squaring off against Egg-Chan(Russell & Wang's pal) Russell & Wang against anyone & everyone, & Cattral caught in the middle, with chinese magic & martail arts fights, makes you wonder what lies beneath Chinatown, never bores me, & is a a fun movie in every sense!
Rating: Summary: I feel good...kinda...invincible! Review: This is one of the most fun movies you will ever see. Martial arts, ancient Chinese demons, secret kung fu hand signals, a curse that can only be broken by the blood of a virgin...plus a wisecracking American dufus who saves the day. What's not to like? My friends and I are still cracking lines from it. "Black blood of the Earth, what do you mean, oil?" "No! Black blood of the Earth!" Get this movie. Get it now.
Rating: Summary: Relentless action, hilarious comedy, & awesome martial arts! Review: I love Big Trouble in Little China! This movie is fast-paced and holds your attention all the way through. The action is non-stop, the martial arts fights scenes are great (especially the funeral scene in the alleyway), the comedy is hilarious, and the acting is good. As soon as I got the DVD I watched the movie with Carpenter & Russell's commentary on. The commentary is pretty good, although it rambles a bit and gets off-topic frequently. But there are some good nuggets of information in there. I definitely recommend Big Trouble as one of the best action/comedy/martial arts films of all time.
Rating: Summary: Who??? Review: "Jack Burton!ME!" Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton a long haulage truck driver who gets more then he bargined for when he helps out his friend Wang(Dennis Dun) rescue his fiance from the dastardly clutches of evil chinese warlord/magician David Lo-Pan("Which one,the little basket-case on wheels or the ten-foot tall road block!")He is aided by Egg-Shen,local magician/(tour base driver!?!)Along the way he falls for Gracie Law(Kim Catral) a local meddler who not as smart as she says and not as stupid as she looks. OK this is Carpenters best 'homage' to adventure/mystery/monster stories.Russell is excellent as the thick-as-a-plank truck driver who only seems to survive through an amazing set of coincedences.He thinks its him saving the world when he only seems help but thanks to MR.C's direction you can't help for him. Great movie,terrible plot,superb effects(for 1986)and the only thing is a chorus line.Shame it didn't light up the box-office that year.Fair play though to Fox for believing in Carpenter. They wanted it to make money and thats it and was forgotten at the movies and became a cult hit.Still there always pay-per-view. Carpe Diem!
Rating: Summary: What's not to love? Review: Strange and colorful bad guys, beefy Kurt Russell and spunky Kim Catrall, what's not to love? This movie is very "tongue in cheek" with Kurt delivering his lines with his best hero swagger. You get the sense that this movie was a blast for the actors. Fabulous costumes, goofy humor and improbable martial arts are what keep me watching this movie every time I need a "pick me up." It's fantasy and make-believe of the very best kind.
Rating: Summary: 16 years later still under rated Review: Jack Burton is the coolest antiheroe of my antiheroes top ten listHe's stupid Useless and funny How can't we love a Guy like this one This movie is not a serious one, it's a comedy, it's an adventure full of special effects and awsome music and outstanding kung fu fights, also it's a modern western and what surprised me is the fact that must people can't understand this as a starting point. I mean this movie was not made to won an oscar or something It's only porpouse is to make us have a good time. It's sad that the movie didn't make it well at the box office I've been sending a lots of emails to John carpenter's web site asking If it's there any possibility of making a sequel but it's not in there hands they told me that if the studio wants to make a sequel, JC has not problem at all, it's his favorite movie He'll love to make another BTILC. Will keep our fingers crossed
Rating: Summary: Worth the Purchase Review: Probably my favorite Kurt Russell movie, the cast obiviously enjoyed making this film and it shows in their performances. No deep questions about life are answered here, just 99 minutes of fun, which is why I watch movies.
Rating: Summary: Cheesy, campy, guilty pleasure Review: Okay, this is not a classic movie, or even a particularly good movie. But it is fun to watch and is quite reminiscent of the B-movie cliffhangers of the 30s and 40s (with better special effects.) Kurt Russell is a hoot as a loud-mouth John-Wayne-esque truck driver sucked into adventure and intrigue. So, *slightly* disengage your brain get the popcorn and enjoy. There's far worse stuff out there to waste your time on.
Rating: Summary: Years ahead of its time Review: Contemporary reviews hated it and cited it as the first misstep in the career of Carpenter. Rubbish. It was misunderstood as it was ahead of its time. Big Trouble is a post-modern ironic action comedy, a sort of Scream for the action genre. It shamelessly pastiches blockbuster actions films, adds a bit of Chinese mysticism and ghost story antics (decades before Ang Lee brought it to public attention with Sleeping Tiger..) and a healthy dose of comedy to create a great picture. What amazed me most was how fresh the film still feels, unlike most 80s films it doesn't feel dated at all, in fact it could be a more recent release - the effects, look and feel have lasted well. If you haven't seen it yet, check Big Trouble out, it is unmistakeably Carpenter at his best and is a must see.
Rating: Summary: Amusing, But Not One of John Carpenter's Better Films Review: John Carpenter's 1986 big budget failure "Big Trouble in Little China" can only rank as "mildly amusing" among the comedies of film history. Most of the humor comes from Kurt Russel as Jack Burton, a wise-cracking, tough-talking, arrogant truck driver who suddenly becomes tangled in a web of supernatural Chinese forces. Most of Russel's dialogue is a series of one-liners that really aren't that funny, making his character seem pompous and annoying. There are a few funny one-liners, though, and they are a relief. Also, some of the comedic capers Russel goes through are enough to get a laugh out of you. The plot is incredibly complicated and at times very confusing, making one wonder what the point is. So many characters are weaved in and out, and at a certain point it gets difficult to remember who's doing what and why they're doing it. Plus, while the story is an interesting fantasy, it's incredibly silly, and it lacks in quality; seeing tacky neon lights in the cave of an ancient Chinese sorcerer doesn't indicate that the set designer tried very hard. To give this film some credit, I found the special effects to be quite good, considering it was made before the advent of computer generated images; the lightening bolts eminating from one of the three Storm gods were very impressive. Also, there are a few kung-fu fighting scenes between rival Chinese gangs that will entertain the action film buff. If you go to your local video store and find that all the good films are taken, rent "Big Trouble in Little China," just to say you saw it. Who knows; you might enjoy it. Despite the film's many flaws, there's a certain attractiveness to it that demands it be seen at least once. It's the kind of flim you watch with a group of friends and make fun of. I'm not sure if that's what John Carpenter wanted to get out of it, but considering the kind of film it is, that may be the best he'll get.
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