X
- 1986
- PG-13
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
- 1986
- PG-13
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
Summary An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.
Directed By: John Carpenter
Written By: Gary Goldman, David Z. Weinstein, W.D. Richter
- 1986
- PG-13
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
- 1986
- PG-13
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 39 m
Big Trouble in Little China
53
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.
Directed By: John Carpenter
Written By: Gary Goldman, David Z. Weinstein, W.D. Richter
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
53
27% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
53% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
53
27% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
53% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Big Trouble in Little China is a far more enjoyable mash-up of classic Westerns, Saturday-morning serials, and Chinese wu xia than any of the Indiana Jones movies, with Kurt Russell in full bloom as Carpenter’s de rigueur hard-drinkin’, hard-gamblin’, wise-crackin’ loner hero—a bowling-alley John Wayne.
What matters is the stunts and the spirit, and this latest set of exotic exploits of an indomitable hero (Kurt Russell) and a spunky heroine (Kim Cattrall) gives good value.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 95 User Ratings
7.3
65% Positive
62 Ratings
62 Ratings
29% Mixed
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
5% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 95 User Ratings
7.3
65% Positive
62 Ratings
62 Ratings
29% Mixed
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
5% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Carpenter has always been a skilful genre mechanic, breathing life into old forms; if he stubs his toes up against the bamboo curtain this time, there is still more enjoyable sly humour than in most slug-fests.
At his best, Carpenter was able to do amazing things with low budgets and a surfeit of creativity but, despite the arguments of its adherents, Big Trouble in Little China isn’t an example of one of those instances.
The big trouble with John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China is its tone. This time out, the director of Halloween and Starman has concocted a cartoon with human characters -- or, as it is described in the movie's press materials, a mystical action-adventure comedy-kung-fu monster-ghost story. Any film that needs that many adjectives to explain itself is already in trouble. [03 July 1986, p.D9]
THERE'S Big Trouble in Little China all right, as Kurt Russell wrestles his way through this kung-fu comedy adventure. It might have been a Raiders of the Lost Wok, but instead it's a bad marriage of martial arts and action spoofery, bungled by director John Carpenter working from the world's worst screenplay. [04 July 1986, p.N29]
Though the film does contain a few minutes of patented Carpenter camera magic, it is unable to sustain either story or character. For all its flash and color, it is a dull film--an artless dig in the Spielberg garden. [02 July 1986, p.C3]
Big Trouble in Little China is a regular 80s trash action movie. Such films in the 80s who just did not shoot. But I'm sure Big Trouble in Little China brought fame only that the film again starred Kurt Russell, and was directed by John Carpenter. For the most part, Big Trouble in Little China is a completely passing movie with terrible wrestling scenes. When you look at it, you get the feeling that this is a film parody. You can encourage fans of 80s action movies and films with Kurt Russell to watch. The average viewer of Big Trouble in Little China is more likely not to like it, it will seem secondary. Well, thank you for the first appearance of Raiden even before the creation of the first part of Mortal Combat.
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This movie is certainly, well, different. It's probably one of those movies one can watch with their friends while drunk, it certainly conveys that sort of atmosphere. Regardless, while everything seems to be interesting and over-the-top, a lot of scenes, jokes, and fights just left me cold. A weird movie, that didn't thrill me that much.
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For a large part, Big Trouble in Little China can be an entertaining movie with a lot of fast-paced dialogue that feels natural and fun. That being said, It utterly falls apart in the final act, which highlights a lot of flaws that were there but not as noticeable early on.
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I really wanted to love this, the basic idea sounds great after all. Unfortunately this movie is really just bad, not even so bad its funny. No, its just boring bad. As an action movie the action is just bad or mediocre. As a comedy its not really funny enough. As a fantasy movie there isnt much fantasy. As a special effects movie the FX are mostly bad or boring. Very disappointed. Ve
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Production Company
Twentieth Century Fox,
TAFT Entertainment Pictures,
SLM Production Group,
Taft/Barish/Monash
Release Date Jul 2, 1986
Duration 1 h 39 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Adventure doesn't come any bigger!
Awards
Urban Action Showcase And Expo
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Nomination
