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Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong ... see more see more... , Kate Burton , Suzee Pai , Donald Li , Carter Wong , Peter Kwong , James Pax , Lia Chang , George Kee Cheung , Chao Li Chi , Jade Go , Jerry Hardin , Danny Inosanto , Nathan Jung , Eric Lee , Paul L.Q. Lee , Al Leong , Min Luong , Rummel Mor , Craig Ng , Gerald Okamura , Sue Francis Pai , Bill M. Ryusaki , Noel Toy , Shinko isobe , Kenny Endoso , Jeff Imada , James Lew , Brian Imada , Jimmy Jue , June Kim , Danny Kwan , Jim Lau , Donna L. Noguschi , Stuart Quan , Dian Tanaka , Gary Toy , Daniel May Wong , Willie Wong , Craig Noble

Playing in a manner that can be conservatively described as larger than life, Kurt Russell plays a macho truck driver who agrees to go to the San Francisco airport and pick up his friend's (Dennis Dun... read more read more...) fiancee (Suzee Pai, freshly arrived from China. Suddenly, a gang of Chinatown toughs kidnap the girl right before Russell's eyes. After a wild chase sequence, Russell discovers that the girl has been abducted by a genuine, bonafide sorceror (James Hong), the ghost of a 3000 year old warlord. And that's just for starters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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34 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: John Carpenter

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (6,894)

  • FrizzDrop
    August 10, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Mediocrity has never been so entertaining, in another John Carpenter cheese fest, fresh for laughter and strange action packed scenes of ungodly tripe. The reason this Carpenter film works so well, is that it never takes itself extremely seriously. The film is meant to be a spoof... read more on the martial arts films of the past, and yet it's a myriad of genres put together as well. The martial arts are really well done, but most of the time they are laugh out loud hilarious, as the facial expressions of the fighters reflect someone with digestive problems rather than a serious foe. The main character is that of Jack Burton, an ordinary truck driver hauling a load through San Francisco's Chinatown. Throughout the film he is painted as an ordinary guy, even when faced with danger. He frequently falls down, misses his enemy by inches, and gets knocked out by rubble. Still, he continues fighting, and his perseverance is the cornerstone to a true hero. The performances were genuine, though the dialogue was subsequently tailored for disaster. Russell is a bit callous, but certainly has empathy under the surface, and Cattrall's lines are plain annoying, ranging from desperate to spunky. Because the film is set in America but has the trappings of a Chinese kung fu film, we're given the best of both genres, a world between that of comical fight scenes, and the reasonable Average Joe common sense of Russell. It's funny, ridiculous, and full of bevy 80's special effects that will remind you of your childhood. All around a good time.
  • mumby1988
    May 15, 2011
    mumby1988
    One of the ironies of being in the film business is that when you finally get the chance to make your dream project, it often ends up being your worst film. In 1985 John Carpenter was on a roll, enjoying both the commercial success of Christine and the Oscar buzz for Starman. Hav... read moreing long dreamed of making a martial arts movie, he leapt at the chance to direct Big Trouble in Little China - a decision which ended his relationship with Hollywood, and ultimately resulted in one of his weakest films.

    As with Prince of Darkness, Carpenter's subsequent failure, there is something inherently interesting in the central concept of this film. It aims to do for martial arts movies what Indiana Jones did for matinee idols: take all the clichés and conventions of those films, restage them with the budgets they deserved, and pay tribute to the aspects that worked while sending up those that didn't. The twist with Big Trouble is that this story does not have a period setting, with Carpenter attempting to marry ancient Chinese mythology to the technology and social attitudes of the 1980s.

    Carpenter may not have Steven Spielberg's track record when it comes to blockbusters, but he had shown his knack for directing action movies on Assault on Precinct 13 and, to a lesser extent, Escape from New York. And to give credit where it's due, the design elements of Big Trouble are pretty good. Dean Cundey, Carpenter's long-time cinematographer, gives the film a grainy B-movie look while utilising anamorphic lenses (another Carpenter trademark) to make the action feel very modern. The stunt choreography by James Lew is balletic but playful, creating stunts which are cartoonish without prompting us to look where all the wires or trampolines are hidden.

    Unfortunately all the good work of Carpenter and his colleagues comes to nothing. After a pretty decent opening, Big Trouble in Little China slowly descends into the very formulas it was trying to send up, resulting in a film which is repetitive, uninvolving and lacking in narrative direction.

    The central problem lies in a further comparison to Indiana Jones, namely in the business of being tongue-in-cheek. Although Raiders of the Lost Ark was clearly motivated by a desire to send up its subject matter, Spielberg understood that it wasn't enough to simply stand around making fun of old film clichés. In order to sell the film to an audience, it had to be entertaining in its own right, with enough in the way of pace and punchy action to wow an audience who hadn't grown up on John Ford or Howard Hawks.

    One of the great successes of Raiders - in fact, of all the original trilogy - was its combination of pace and narrative; the story was pulpy enough to be gripping when married to the action, but even if you weren't that interested in what was going on, you could just sit back and enjoy the spectacle in blissful ignorance. Big Trouble in Little China doesn't have this perfect pacing: it barrels along so quickly that the story keeps getting lost, with characters having to stop and explain the plot to each other in an increasingly incoherent manner.

    Because the film keeps losing its narrative thread (what there is of it), its ability to work as an affectionate pastiche or parody begins to gradually desert it. Certain elements remain faintly subversive, such as Dennis Dun's character, whose resourcefulness and intelligence sends up Indie and Short Round in Temple of Doom. But elsewhere the film bears an uncanny resemblance to The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, Peter Sellers' final film which attempted (unsuccessfully) to send up similar stereotypes. The film forgets about its desire to be ironic as soon as it becomes convenient, settling for spectacle where we expect to see so much more.

    Even if we attempt to enjoy Big Trouble as empty-headed entertainment, we still don't get very far. One of the pleasures of classic martial arts films was the scale of the fights and the seamless way in which they were filmed. Bruce Lee's fight scenes would be filmed like Gene Kelly's dancing, in long continuous shots which created a natural sense of scale and continuity. A lot of both Lee and Kelly's film work was somewhat lacking narratively, but again it didn't matter because of the inherent physicality and tactility of their fighting and dancing respectively.

    Big Trouble, on the other hand, has precious little in the way of physicality. The fight sequences may be inventively choreographed, but they are shot from such odd angles and edited so rapidly that you can't tell what's going on or who is fighting whom. Then there are the cheesy special effects, which include beams of light coming out of people's mouths or characters conjuring up lightning like Emperor Palpatine. These effects were created by Boss Films, who did the effects for Ghostbusters, and as with that film the characters become lost in a lot of uninvolving visual trickery.

    In most cases, the special effects in Big Trouble are there to pad out the action rather than contribute to the story. The laser beam fight between Victor Wong and James Hong, in which imaginary warriors are conjured from rings and battle it out, is like watching a boring video game and breaks up the more interesting duel involving Dennis Dun. Even the old-fashioned monsters are no good, with neither the wookie-like creature nor the floating head with many eyes getting anything like the screen time they need to set them up as sustained and believable threats to the characters.

    On top of all that, the film is populated by a cast of characters which are poorly drawn and unlikeable. Kurt Russell, who has never topped his performance in The Thing, spends most of his time mugging at the camera. While his Clint Eastwood impression in Escape from New York had a certain amount of appeal, his John Wayne impression in this film is off-putting and obnoxious. Kim Cattrall is equally annoying and largely wooden, and the film only seems properly interested in her when she's been dolled up in buckets of rouge. Dennis Dun's character is underdeveloped beyond his one-liners with Jack, and Victor Wong is as criminally underused here as he was in Prince of Darkness.

    One factor that might mitigate Big Trouble's poor execution is the conditions under which it was made. The film went into production around the same time as the Eddie Murphy vehicle The Golden Child; Carpenter was hired because he could work fast, enabling the studio to get their film out first. Certainly one cannot accuse Carpenter of bottling it in the presence of more money; as his 1990s output shows, he was capable of making bad films regardless of how much they cost. But even with the rushed production schedule, you would have expected someone of his mettle and genre experience to come through with the goods.

    Big Trouble in Little China resembles a dumb mix of Indiana Jones and Year of the Dragon, albeit without the overt racism of the latter. It disappoints as empty action and as an attempted subversion of martial arts clichés. It still has pockets of humour, whether intentional or otherwise, which keep it from being either depressing or Carpenter's worst film. But it simply doesn't cut the mustard either as a Carpenter film or on its own terms - it's no fun, and nothing but trouble.
  • ajv2688
    January 27, 2011
    ajv2688
    This movie is stupid and cheesy, but for some reason it's also funny and enjoyable once in a while, so I'll just say it's okay.
  • MrMarakai
    June 12, 2010
    MrMarakai
    Director John Carpenter made some excellent films during the 80's (The Thing, Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, Prince of Darkness) but none more enjoyable than this hilarious over the top action-adventure.
    Jack Burton is a loud mouth, wise cracking truck driver, who while help... read moreing a friend, is drawn into a world of centuries old Chinese mythology with magic, danger and evil sorcerers.
    The film is basically done with a B-movie style and is an absolute riot from beginning to end. Kurt Russell has never been better as the so called "hero" with endlessly quotable lines and a perfectly pitched performance. Burton has to be one of the most enjoyable, buffoonish characters I've seen in films and Russell nails it brilliantly. He's a bit like Indiana Jones without the intellect.
    An all round crowd pleaser.
    Wonderful entertainment.
  • 366weirdmovies
    April 16, 2010
    366weirdmovies
    Truck driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) gets sucked into a plot involving eastern sorcery in and under San Francisco's Chinatown district. A brilliant mix of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and a kung-fu movie with a blistering pace and eye-popping sets, costumes and effects.
  • matertenebraum
    March 30, 2010
    matertenebraum
    If you've ever heard of the director John Carpenter, you`ll be familiar with his works (of art), like Halloween, Escape From New York, Assault On Prescient 13, The Thing, They Live, and this movie, a mid 80`s classic starring none other than Carpenter`s favourite front man, Kurt ... read moreRussell. Set in Chinatown, Los Angeles, its a modern day fable of good versus evil, Chinese black magic, the hero storms the castle type affair. Russell plays Jack Burton, a wise cracking long distance truck driver and all American hero, passing through Chinatown on some business. After a card game with old friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), Wang (now penniless thanks to Burton`s good fortune) persuades Jack to drive him to the airport, to pick up his childhood sweetheart, a girl Wang has not seen since they were children. Its here the story begins, as Mao Yin, Wang`s girlfriend, is captured by a mysterious gang. The two form a pact to rescue the girl from the clutches of the evil Lo Pan, former crime lord of Chinatown, a myth who has apparently lived to the age of almost 200, with a little help from some black magic.

    That's it, I`m saying no more, because I don`t want to spoil it. You've probably seen the movie anyway.

    Its hard to pick a favourite John Carpenter film, very hard, but this one has it all. Its a great action movie, a great comedy, an original story, great lines, and even a love story, a perfect blend of what big screen entertainment should be. Its strange though, that the ending was left so open, begging for a sequel that was never made.

    "Son of a bitch, must pay"

    Big Trouble in Little China exploding storm Pictures, Images and Photos

    lopancool Pictures, Images and Photos

    Big Trouble in Little China Pictures, Images and Photos

    Big Trouble in Little China Pictures, Images and Photos

    Big Trouble in Little China Pictures, Images and Photos
  • ythelastman89
    November 16, 2009
    ythelastman89
    Another one of those unbeatable match ups between Kurt Russell and John Carpenter. It's just such a goofy story, you can't help but fall in love with it. Kurt Russell knows how to be witty and an action star all at once. The thing that's great about his character is that he's abl... read moree to screw up and still bounce back. The music and tone of the movie are so 80's, but so perfectly fitting for the movie. The action sequences are fun and really well done at the same time. This is easily the big inspiration for games like Mortal Combat, there's a character who is almost inseparable to Raiden. It's just a great movie that doesn't take itself to seriously and allows you to have fun with the amazing landscape and characters.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    October 22, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "They told Jack Burton to go to hell...and that's exactly where he's going!"

    An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.

    REVIEW

    Okay. The title shoul... read mored identify that this is not a serious movie. And believe you me, it isn't (I mean that positively). Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton, a truck driver who sounds like he spends all day watching reruns of sitcoms and Sylvester Stallone movies. Then, when Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) is captured, Jack and several other people have to go underground in San Francisco's Chinatown to try and rescue her. Down there, they find evil sorcerer Lo Pan and his empire. From there, the movie is basically a litany of various forms of ass-kicking. My favorite scene was the fight scene where everyone is just flying at each other.

    "Big Trouble in Little China" is completely silly - and rather ridiculous - from beginning to end, but the good kind of silly and ridiculous. If nothing else, the whole thing is worth seeing just to hear Kurt Russell's hilariously sarcastic comments.
  • skactopus
    October 14, 2009
    skactopus
    "You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this?" John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China is really something. Talk about an entertaining comedic action adventure.

    The story for this hour 40 minute picture may sound stupid, but it is pretty darn uni

    ... read moreque. Whether it is the comedy or the action, there is never a dull moment in this film. The dialogue for the characters are nicely written, which in turn makes them highly memorable.

    The martial arts choreography isn't of Jackie Chan or Jet Li caliber, but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch. The same can be said about the effects, although they aren't half bad.

    Kurt Russell was born to play Jack Burton and this is why he owns this film. Sure, there are some good villains in Lo Pan and the 3 storms: Thunder, Rain, and Raiden ... I mean Lightning. However it all comes back to the comedic Jack Burton. Victor Wong, Kim Catrall, Dennis Dun, and James Hong also put on good performances.

    What more is there to say? Big Trouble in Little China. Go see it.

    Jack Burton: What's in the flask, Egg? Magic potion?
    Egg Shen: Yeah.
    Jack Burton: Thought so, good. What do we do, drink it?
    Egg Shen: Yeah!
    Jack Burton: Good! Thought so.
  • stormyweather980
    September 10, 2009
    stormyweather980
    In "Big Trouble in Little China," Jack (Kurt Russell) and Wang (Dennis Dun) go on a search for Wang's fiance. A sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong) wants to marry Wang's fiance because she has green eyes, even though she's Chinese. But finding Lo Pan and getting Wang's fiance back... read more will be no easy task because they will have to go through other sorcerers, fight a lot of people, and survive many traps in order to do so. To give them some much needed help, Egg Shen (Victor Wong) teams up with them.
    "Big Trouble in Little China" is a great movie. Everything about it is great. It has elements of many different kinds of movies such as comedy, action, adventure, and even horror to just name a few. The special effects with the magic are well done, the monsters look cool, the martial arts fights are exciting, the acting is good, and even the score goes great with the movie.

    In this movie, there really was big trouble in little China. I recommend anybody who likes great movies to get "Big Trouble in Little China." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001.

View All Big Trouble in Little China Reviews

Critic Reviews

Walter Goodman
May 21, 2003
Walter Goodman, New York Times

An upscale send-up. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Special effects don't mean much unless we care about the characters who are surrounded by them, and in this movie the characters often seem to exist only to fill up the foregrounds. Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic
July 6, 2010
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews

This is a bizarre, fun, action packed film, filled with wild characters and an adventurous, imaginative and campy spirit. Full Review

Nick Schager
April 6, 2010
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Benefits from a rollicking wise-ass performance from Kurt Russell but otherwise falls limp courtesy of too many corny gags. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
November 15, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

A film to embody the Eighties, and justify them Full Review

Peter Canavese
August 12, 2009
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

A 'B'-movie-style Western meets Eastern, a supernatural 'chopsocky' fantasy with leading man Kurt Russell doing a feature-length impression of a dead movie star. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. [B... Full Review

Phil Villarreal
July 22, 2005
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star

The high-octane action comedy takes all that was worthwhile from decades of B-flicks and distills it into a maximum-concentration explosion of cinematic TNT. Full Review

Steve Crum
June 1, 2005
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Imperfect, yes...but still great cultish fun with Kurt Russell.

Michael A. Smith
April 15, 2005
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Russell and Carpenter make a great team.

Scott Weinberg
April 2, 2005
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

A wholly enjoyable mixture of action, comedy, romance, and horror.

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Facts

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    • Wang Chi: Ready Jack?
    • Jack Burton: I was born ready!
    • Jack Burton: Not so fast, gentlemen! We got enough people droppin' like flies around here, and where's that getting us, huh? Nowhere... fast. You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this?
    • Thunder: Who?
    • Jack Burton: JACK BURTON, ME! Ol' Jack always says... what the hell.
    • Lo Pan: Now this really pisses me off to no end!
    • Jack Burton: What does that mean? Huh? China is here, I don't even know what the hell that means. All I know is this Lo Pan character comes out of thin air in the middle of a goddamn ally while his buddies are flying around on wires cutting everybody to shreds and he just stands there waiting for me to drive my truck straight through him, with light coming out of his mouth.
    • Jack Burton: May the wings of liberty never lose a feather.
    • Jack Burton: When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: 'Have ya paid your dues, Jack?' 'Yes sir, the check is in the mail.'
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Big Trouble in Little China Trivia

  • Kurt Russell as Jack Burton battles an ethereal sorceror in Chinatown?  Answer »
  • In which movie does Kurt Russell play Jack Burton?  Answer »
  • SAME NAME: Harrison Ford in Patriot Games Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China Russell Crowe in Master and Commander Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic George Clooney in Out of Sight Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas  Answer »
  • Which word can make up the three following movies when entered in the blanks? 1. _______ 2. _______ Daddy 3. _______ Trouble in Little China   Answer »
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