Big Trouble in Little China is a 1986 cult classic. Starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, James Hong and Dennis Dun, and directed by legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter, it’s one of our favorite cult classics. The film finds the macho Jack Burton (Russell) helping a friend retrieve his kidnapped fianceé, only to be thrown into a world of Chinese mythology in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Full of spooks, kooks and bravado, the film is exciting from minute one. Given the film is now over 30 years old, we’re taking a look back to review the 5 things that have aged well, and the 5 things that haven’t.
Hasn’t Aged Well: Gracie and Jack’s Chemistry
These two carry a love-hate relationship for the duration of the movie. While it’s entertaining, it doesn’t give off vibes of a long-lasting relationship. Even in the film’s conclusion, Jack leaves Gracie without a kiss or real goodbye. Plus, he’s already rejected her idea of joining him out on the road to pursue their relationship further. It seems whatever they had was a fling that wasn’t really a fling, considering they fought most of the time and only shared a few real moments of couple potential. In any case, they’re not exactly #relationshipgoals.
Aged Well: The Score
John Carpenter is talented in more ways than one. He scored many of his films, including Big Trouble in Little China. It may sound like something from the eighties but it holds up for its unique sound. Each score perfectly represents the scene it plays in, either emphasizing a point or amplifying the emotions of that particular scene. Go ahead and give it a listen, it just may become your next musical obsession.
Hasn’t Aged Well: Jack’s Bravado
Jack is a loveable character but he had a tendency to be over-the-top. He would shout if he felt people ignored him, he would try to be tougher than he really was, and he truly tried to impress everyone he met, though he knew virtually nothing about martial arts, Chinese mythology or basically anything else he became involved in. It could get old from time to time, and Jack trying too hard still shows to this day.
Aged Well: Martial Arts
Take for instance the character of Wang Chi, Jack’s best friend. Wang can seriously kick some butt. He’s obviously spent a lifetime utilizing martial arts, and it shows. Many of the fight scenes in the film exemplify martial arts at its best, with fast movements, perfectly timed moves, and even adding weaponry into the mix to make it that much harder for the characters to fight, but also that much more entertaining for audiences to watch unfold. Even in 2020, we still appreciate the fight scenes and the martial arts that go with it from 1986.
Hasn’t Aged Well: Miao Yin’s Damsel-In-Distress Act
Miao Yin, Wang’s fianceé, is kidnapped in the movie’s beginning. She never tries to put up much of a fight. In fact, it’s like she instantly gives up. She’s nearly rescued at one point, but doesn’t fight her captors until they escape via roof, flying away. She had time between them taking off her restraints and flying away to attempt to escape, though she weakly tried to fight them off from her place on the bed, but without much effort. A damsel-in-distress is a bit overused, and granted we wouldn’t have a movie without Miao Yin’s kidnapping, but it’s a bit disappointing that her character wasn’t portrayed as more of a fighter.
Aged Well: Plot Switch
The plot takes the liberty of switching things up a bit in the hero-sidekick dynamic. That is, it portrays Jack as the hero, but really it’s his best friend Wang that heroically saves the day. Jack is more of a sidekick, as he makes more mistakes than not. It’s funny, actually, particularly in a scene where Wang takes out most of the bad guys and Jack waits until the end to jump out, ready to fight, after Wang’s already taken out all the bad guys. That’s part of the humor surrounding Jack, and part of what makes his and Wang’s chemistry work so well. Wang is the hero but lets Jack have the glory, and Jack is happy with that.
Hasn’t Aged Well: Uncertain Ending
Remember that monster that was hiding in Jack’s truck as he drives away in the film’s conclusion? Don’t you want to know what happened afterwards? To this day we’d love to have an answer, and to be able to see the original cast in a sequel. A continuance of the story has been in the works for some time, but until it sees the light of day, we won’t be sure exactly what to expect. In the meantime, we’re still missing out on an ending over 30 years later, so that’s one thing that’s remained the same since 1986.
Aged Well: Quotability
The film has plenty of quotable moments, mostly said by Jack himself. Jack Burton in the Pork Chop Express is easily a favorite, as are his lines. There are plenty we can apply to everyday life just for the fun of it, and the quotability of the film is undoubtedly one of the very aspects that has made the film so legendary as a cult classic that it’s still a fan-favorite to this day. From Jack’s ego (“Everybody relax, I’m here”) to his simple explanations for his lucky shots (“It’s all in the reflexes”), we love it and want to repeat every word.
Hasn’t Aged Well: The Creepy Old Guy
Lo Pan, the film’s main villain, is after a girl with green eyes so he can sacrifice her to break a curse that had been cast upon him centuries before. He looks better as a young fellow, because as an old man he wouldn’t make the cover of “Sexiest Man Alive.” He gets greedy and selfish as the film continues, finding another girl with green eyes (Grace) and kidnapping her in addition to Miao Yin. He decides to sacrifice one to break the curse and keep the other as a wife without her consent. It’s definitely anyone’s worst nightmare.
Aged Well: Special Effects
There were plenty of things about this film that were way ahead of its time, the special effects being one of them. From the fights to the sorcery, the special effects were impressive and very well-done. It may not hold up to what today’s special effects look like, but it does hold up in the sense that for 1986, the special effects team went above and beyond to do their jobs and make the special effects worthwhile.
