Big Trouble in Little China

So this is my favorite Kurt Russell movie. There are a few movies that I can watch over and over again. One being Romancing the Stone; Big Trouble in Little China offers all the same as RTS, but this gives a little more. It is John Carpenter at his finest. The cast is great, some of them appearing in more than one Carpenter flick,, Kurt has been in 4 movies,, (The Thing, Escape from New York, BTLC, Escape from L.A.) but I have to say that BTLC is my favorite. It offers quick comedic quips, great action sequences, Chinese black magic and the awesome Kim Catrall in one of her best 80's movies, (Although, I think Porky's was a funnier role for her.) I cannot mention a Carpenter movie without the superb music that is composed by Carpenter himself.

The movie is set in San Francisco Chinatown. The story centers around Jack Burton (Kurt Russell)and getting his truck back that was stolen from the Wing Kong, a underground Chinese gang. Jack and his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun)go to the airport to pick up Wang's finance Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) who is then kidnapped by the Wing Kong. We meet Gracie Law (Kim Catrall) who is helping a fellow Chinese citizen. Jack and Wang follow the gang to their hide out (as Jack says " A place where they sharpen their knifes). As they approach the hideout there is a stand of between two rival gangs with Jack and Wang caught in the middle. As they are getting away from the fight, Jack runs his truck through Lo Pan (James Hong) an ancient Chinese sorcerer. With Lo Pan's henchmen the "Storms" finishing the rival gangs battle, Jack and Wang retreat to Wang's restaurant, they devise a plan with the help of Gracie Law to find Miao Yin, when things go array, they decide to go to the source, the Wing Kong Exchange to look for Lo Pan. With the help of Egg Shen (the always great Victor Wong) a sorcerer in his own form of Chinese black magic they try to defeat Lo Pan and his henchmen to rescue Miao Yin and get Jack's truck back.

This movie is a great movie to watch over and over again (like I do, have worn out two VHS copies and working on the dvd). The music is awesome, the special effects are not the best, but it does give you the image of a cult classic movie, which it has been placed into history as.

Some of my favorite lines are as follows......

Jack Burton: This is Jack Burton in the Pork Chop Express, and I'm talkin' to whoever's listenin' out there.

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?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail.

Jack Burton: Well, ya see, I'm not saying that I've been everywhere and I've done everything, but I do know it's a pretty amazing planet we live on here, and a man would have to be some kind of FOOL to think we're alone in THIS universe.

Jack Burton: All I know is, this Lo Pan character comes out of thin air in the middle of a goddamn alley 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!

Miao Yin: I don't belong to you.
Lo Pan: You don't. You belong to Ching Dai. I must sacrifice you. But I love you and I need you.
Miao Yin: No!
Lo Pan: Here take her. Take the bitch!

Egg Shen: Can see things no one else can see. Do things no one else can do.
Jack Burton: Real things?
Egg Shen: As real as Lo Pan!
Jack Burton: Hey, what more can a guy ask for?
Egg Shen: Oh, the six-demon bag!
Jack Burton: Terrific, a six-demon bag. Sensational. What's in it, Egg?
Egg Shen: Wind, fire, all that kind of thing!

Give the movie a try, I think if you are in the right frame of mind and you are a Carpenter fan Big Trouble in Little China is not one to be missed.

Gourmet Review 10/10