A movie that slipped through my fingers as a child, Big Trouble In Little China is an 80s comedy with moments of great humor and lots of stereotyping played for fun. Some of it has not aged well, but it is fast-paced and entertaining.
As a cinephile, there are a lot of movies in my arsenal that are not great films. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that Grease 2 is one of my favorite childhood movies. I (nicely) forced my little brother to watch it with me at least once per week, and to this day, I enjoy it when I put it on. It is not great cinema, but I love it. It speaks to my memories (and most of the songs are subjectively pretty great!). I suspect that is the same situation for people with Big Trouble In Little China.
Big Trouble In Little China is an 80s film about Jack Burton, a truck driver, who loses a bet to his friend, Wang Chi. When he goes to the airport to help pick up Wang Chi’s bride-to-be, Miao Yin, a gang abducts Miao Yin because she has green eyes. The men attempt to rescue her, but end up on an adventure (along with a woman named Gracie Law, her friend Margo, and a few others) to fight the evil Lo Pan so that he doesn’t sacrifice Miao Yin in an effort to save himself from his current ancient ghost form. He can only do this if he finds a Chinese girl with green eyes.
A few particularly funny things stand out about this film. Jack thinks of himself as the guy who is going to save the day, but fairly often, by the time he gets there, the day has already been saved by his partner or their friends. The sets, action, and graphics are big, bold, and often hilarious, with things like huge statues lined with literal neon tubing to highlight how special they are.
There is a scene where the men are sitting in an apartment planning what to do (just after the airport), and a person walks through the door covered like Snow White’s evil stepmother dressed as the Old Hag. She takes off all of her coverings and says, “Don’t panic, it’s only me, Gracie Law!” How did she know they’d be there? Why did this stranger break into the house? What in the world?
Clearly Big Trouble In Little China has some built in issues with racial stereotyping and cultural appropriation. It is an 80s movie, so if you are able to look past that, there are some good laughs and action sequences to be had. It’s not quite as charming as The Goonies or as lyrically captivating as my beloved Grease 2, but it has many flavors of nostalgia, and, if you love the big and showy films of that generation, you’ll definitely get a kick out of this one. Plus, some of the CGI isn’t half bad for 1986.
Runtime: 99 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English and Cantonese with no translation (but you don’t really need one)
Should You Watch It? Yes, it’s funny
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
As a cinephile, there are a lot of movies in my arsenal that are not great films. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that Grease 2 is one of my favorite childhood movies. I (nicely) forced my little brother to watch it with me at least once per week, and to this day, I enjoy it when I put it on. It is not great cinema, but I love it. It speaks to my memories (and most of the songs are subjectively pretty great!). I suspect that is the same situation for people with Big Trouble In Little China.
