Big Trouble in Little China

Some of the movies I write are moving and life changing. This movie certainly changed my life, only in very different ways :).

I had heard of this movie for years, but one of my coworkers (who had just finished quoting the movie) told me I had to see it, and he brought his dvd in for me. Right now, he is probably at home holding his new daughter, and I wanted to post this for him today. Happy fatherhood Titus.

I expected a campy, cheesy action movie and that's what I got. But, I have to say, it plays within that genre so well that it almost rises above the cheesiness and campiness. It's a classic "Where did this day go wrong?!!?" kind of story. Jack Burton (Kurt Russell who really nails this performance) is a truck driver in San Francisco who wins a card game against a desperate friend. His friend cannot afford to pay him, and suddenly, Jack finds himself up to his eyeballs in a sort of underworld beneath Chinatown in San Francisco. The rest of the movie follows Jack and company as they work to topple the ancient underworld boss (who is 2000 years old) and get things back to normal.

What I liked about the movie is it never takes itself seriously. This is mainly done through Russell's character. Everyone else is taking the whole thing seriously, but Jack never dispenses with the wise cracks, and thinks himself the sexiest man alive...any woman would be dying to have him. This character is only made possible by Kurt Russell finding the right tone.

If I start actually thinking too much, I might have to start talking about how the movie gets repetitive, but that's beside the point. John Carpenter does a good job of getting me to buy in, and from there you can enjoy a fun ride. When the movie came out, I would imagine that the visual effects were cutting edge. They look somewhat dated, but actually hold up pretty well.

The movie is sort of in the spirit of the Indiana Jones movies, but doesn't quite reach the same level in terms of bringing us into the movie's world. If you have read this far, know that most of my musings, again, are beside the point. Enjoy the ride, laugh at the cheesy dialogue, and maybe have a box of Chinese take out at hand.