Big Trouble in Little China, released in 1986, is an action-adventure movie directed by John Carpenter starring Kurt Russell. The film is rated PG-13 with no warning on the packaging why it is rated PG-13, but besides some scenes in a brothel, this movie is full of action.
Honestly, I would watch the film again, but it is a movie you put in the background while you do something else. I’d only rewatch the film for the hilarious quotes. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is one of those movies you have to see at least once, just to say you have.
The film takes place in Chinatown in San Francisco and follows truck driver Jack Burton, Kurt Russell, on a crazy Asian-themed adventure to help his friend, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) get his green-eyed girl back. In the movie, having green eyes is a very rare thing and makes you a hot commodity. This movie is filled with Asian tropes such as karate, swords, samurais, an emperor, and other crazy Asian legends.
As for the details of the movies, the acting was okay. I believed the characters and that they were there. It is just old, you have to keep in mind for the technology they had back then, this was pretty decent, but it is an eyesore looking at it now. The plot was easy to follow because it is a ‘get the girl’ kind of plot, but if you are not paying attention the entire time you find yourself one place and then another without reason. It is only because the fight scenes are long and cheesy that it was difficult to keep focused on the movie, which is why it is a film good for the background noise. Don’t worry, if you miss a fight scene in another 10-15 minutes, another fight scene will come back on.
Something that surprised me about this movie is that they did not overplay or stereotype the Asian music. This film did not play Asian clichés, and I found that nice because even though this movie had a ton of Asian tropes, the music was far from anything stereotypical. I would say give this movie a watch for the dialogue. You follow a truck driver and a restaurant owner on a quest to save the girl. They are the unlikely team that gets put together and even though this is an action adventure there are a lot of laughs along the way.
My first thought when I saw the cover of this movie is that this movie is going to be all dumb humor. Surprisingly enough, though, not a lot of stupid humor, but there are some gold pieces of dialogue and conversation throughout the movie. I say if you like action adventure films or anything to do with Asian culture, this movie is a good one to pick up. It has a lot of Asian aspects about it, but it is not so much folklore that it is boring to the watcher. You learn some new things while seeing a gun-fight the next scene.
I would give this movie 3 out of 5 stars. I did not completely hate it, but I did not completely like it either. The dialog stands out, and the plot was easy to follow, but the fight scenes were long and repetitive, and one moment you are somewhere and the next you have no clue where you are. Overall this movie was fun, and you have to experience it for yourself. This movie will not leave you disappointed; it will leave you wanting to watch it again, but maybe for another day.
This includes all the necessary pieces of a review, Diane, except for a lead that catches the reader’s attention. The second to the last graf where you summarize Asian culture and action-adventure could have been a better first graf. The same might be aid for this sentence: “You follow a truck driver and a restaurant owner on a quest to save the girl. They are the unlikely team that gets put together and even though this is an action adventure there are a lot of laughs along the way.” That sort of summary, and the “odd-ball buddy” genre note, would establish a foundation for the review.
“Surprisingly enough, though, not a lot of stupid humor, but there are some gold pieces of dialogue and conversation throughout the movie.” Include examples. SHOW the reader what you mean by “gold.”