Movies I Was Told To Watch - Big Trouble in Little China

Film: Big Trouble in Little China

Recommendor: Alex, friend (aka commenter Nic Cage)

Thoughts: Yes, you read that right. I managed to make it to the age of 32 without having seen Big Trouble. No Jack Burton, no Six Demon Bag, no James Hong (a future FF-UN, to be sure), no Kim Catrall and that damned mole of hers. It wasn't a conscious decision - it was most likely a combination of my ambivalence towards John Carpenter and the fact that I didn't have cable when I was growing up.

The verdict? Probably not unlike the kind of verdict that someone in my demo that hadn't seen The Goonies until now would give. I enjoyed it for all the things that probably made the children of the 80s love it: the cheesy plot, the bad acting, the goofy effects - it's like Bloodsport with a better story and a lack of bad accents (and Ogre). It's too late for me to unabashedly love it, but I wouldn't turn it off were it to pop up on TV in the future.

That said, it is pretty bad. Having been made in 1986, many of the effects, such as the exploding man, have not aged well. The acting, particularly by Russell, is subpar even for the type of movie. Kim Catrall makes for an unbelievable object of desire for Russell's Jack, seeing as how she's never been desirable. The action consists mostly of chase scenes rather true action (or magic). And by the time the credits roll, you're left with many more questions than answers: Why doesn't Kurt Russell...do anything? Why didn't Lo Pan simply kill Jack and Wang the 800 times or so he had a chance to? Why wasn't Bolo Yeung prominently involved? What ethnicity exactly is Suzee Pai (Miao Yin)?

But it's hard not to like any movie where a truck driver is the hero. Preach on, Burton.

Recommendor Rating (Listen/Ignore): Listen (Alex's overall rating: 2-0)

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Darn tootin!"