Big Trouble in Little China Review
Carpenter’s cult classic is a delightfully mad mess. ★★★☆☆
From an early age, John Carpenter wanted to make westerns and martial arts movies. His dream finally became reality in 1986 with Big Trouble in Little China, an energetic genre melting pot that, while rabidly adored today, famously failed to light up at the box office, the final blow in the legendary filmmaker’s fractious relationship with the Hollywood system.
Like Carpenter's classics Escape from New York and They Live, and in keeping with his own childhood fascinations, Big Trouble follows a lone protagonist riding into town.
On this occasion, that hero is Jack Burton, Kurt Russell’s motormouthed truck driver, who, along with best friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) and local lawyer Gracie Law (played with feisty gusto by Kim Cattrall), find themselves caught up in an ancient supernatural battle raging in the mysterious depths of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Big Trouble in Little China is a lot. Carpenter goes all in with his vision, giving us a wild adventure that takes his idiosyncratic hallmarks and throws in, among a load of other things, kicks, flips and sorcerers. It doesn’t come close to the lofty qualities of his best efforts — it’s slapdash and a bit shaggy in its middle act — but it’s never dull, not even for a second.
A big reason for the enduring love is Russell’s wisecracking, vest-loving Burton, who, in a wonderfully subversive twist, is actually the film’s sidekick character. Criminally underrated — like Carpenter — for much of his career, Russell’s versatility is on full display, his bumbling hero essentially an inverted version of Snake Plissken.
It’s a fun take on the leading man archetype that the MCU has put to good use in recent years. Russell’s loveable but mostly useless himbo running, so heroes like Starlord and Thor could fly.
While it’s not hard to see how it’s garnered such a cult following over the years, Big Trouble’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. You can’t fault Carpenter’s ambition and creative brilliance, but let’s face it: an urban fantasy martial arts action mystery thriller romantic comedy horror was always going to be a little unruly.
It’s a mess, but it’s a bloody glorious mess.
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