"You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this?"Well, if i were Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), i'd say "grab a tub of pop corn, a tall beverage of your choice, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
Yes, "Big Trouble in Little China" has got to be one of my all time favorite movies. The swaggering Jack Burton (Kurt Russell at his John Wayne best), the wide eyed Gracie Law (a young Kim Cattrall at her pre "Sex and the City" best) struck up a light and easy partnership in this John Carpenter romp through the depth of "San Francisco Chinatown".
At the heart of the story is a story about what happens when Jack Burton accompanies his friend Wang (Dennis Dun) to the airport to pick up the love of Wang's life, Miao Yin. Add a dash of a Chinatown sex trafficking gang (the dangerously named Lords of Death), a dollop of societal war between the Wing Kong and the Chang Sing, a pinch of mistaken kidnapping gone wrong, a neigh immortal demon sorcerer named David Lo-Pan (the ever entertaining and memorable James Hong) seeking to become flesh once more, three supernatural warriors who's posing strikes fear into the hearts of men but who's martial arts leaves something to be desired in the final reckoning, and a Chinatown sorcerer named Egg Shen (the late great Victor Wong) who is also the proprietor of the famous Egg Foo Yung Chinatown Tour tour bus, and you have this rollicking cult-classic from 1986.
The dialogue is camp at its ultimate best. Close your eyes and you might conjure up the image of John Wayne every time Jack Burton swaggers through his lines. The martial art fights are hilarious attempts to capture Hong Kong kung fu movies. The story is held together on gossamer strands but the enthusiasm of the acting and movie making overcomes.
The greatest enjoyment for me is watching Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, the big talking loud mouth who is not afraid of anything in his speech making but cautious and tentative in action. A running joke through out the movie is of Jack being incapacitated by his own actions or in defense of his person when the big fight scenes begin. As the fight scenes progress, you see the camera pan through the various characters fighting valiantly and Jack Burton lies unconscious or struggles to free himself, only to insert himself into the fray when the action has all but died down. However, Jack Burton does get the manliest fight scene in the end and does, after all, save the day. Kim Cattrall's Gracie Law is the bleeding heart liberal who is trying to combat sex trafficking when she was caught up in the misadventure of the story. Her relationship with Jack Burton dances on the edge of heavy flirtation but there was never any chance of it progressing pass fleeting touches and kisses in the heat of the moment... Jack Burton, after all, is his own man...
Ah... it is such a nice way to loose oneself for 90 odd minutes and not have to think about the news that circulates our world today... after all, when the Pope has decried Christmas as a sham in this world of continuous violence... one really needs to wonder if we have hit rock bottom yet.
i, for one, am glad to have movies such as "Big Trouble in Little China" to escape into.
