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Big Trouble in Little China follows trucker Jack Burton (Jack Russell) as he tries to help his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue his fiancée from an underworld gang led by an evil sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong). Joining them in this journey full of unreasonable things is an assorted group of allies, which include Wang's businessman friend, a friend of Wang's fiancée, and an old magician.
This is a film I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of times when I was a teen. However, for some reason, it had been easily 25-30 years since I last saw it; which is a shame cause the film is a ton of fun. Even if things doesn't make much sense and seem "unreasonable", like Lo Pan himself said, we are "not brought upon this world to get it!". Especially since the film is carried by Russell's charisma and the great chemistry between the cast, as well as the fantastic setpieces and colorful villains.
For all of Jack's projected "macho" attitude, I also love how the film pushes back against the stereotypical "white savior" trope by letting him be sorta in the sidelines. More often than not it is Wang, his friend Eddie, and the Chang Sing gang the ones that take the spotlight. Carpenter even plays with the trope and our expectations a couple of times in pretty funny ways.
I'm a reasonable guy, but going back to this film after such a long time seems like a very unreasonable thing. Big Trouble in Little China is full of great action, solid comedy, and overall a ton of fun. I should've gone back to it sooner, but everybody relax: I'm here.
Grade:
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
(1986, Carpenter)
(1986, Carpenter)
"I'm a reasonable guy. But, I've just experienced some very unreasonable things."
Big Trouble in Little China follows trucker Jack Burton (Jack Russell) as he tries to help his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue his fiancée from an underworld gang led by an evil sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong). Joining them in this journey full of unreasonable things is an assorted group of allies, which include Wang's businessman friend, a friend of Wang's fiancée, and an old magician.
This is a film I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of times when I was a teen. However, for some reason, it had been easily 25-30 years since I last saw it; which is a shame cause the film is a ton of fun. Even if things doesn't make much sense and seem "unreasonable", like Lo Pan himself said, we are "not brought upon this world to get it!". Especially since the film is carried by Russell's charisma and the great chemistry between the cast, as well as the fantastic setpieces and colorful villains.
For all of Jack's projected "macho" attitude, I also love how the film pushes back against the stereotypical "white savior" trope by letting him be sorta in the sidelines. More often than not it is Wang, his friend Eddie, and the Chang Sing gang the ones that take the spotlight. Carpenter even plays with the trope and our expectations a couple of times in pretty funny ways.
I'm a reasonable guy, but going back to this film after such a long time seems like a very unreasonable thing. Big Trouble in Little China is full of great action, solid comedy, and overall a ton of fun. I should've gone back to it sooner, but everybody relax: I'm here.
Grade: