Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Kurt Russell as "Jack Burton" 
Dennis Dun as "Wang Chi"
Kim Cattrall as "Gracie Law"
Victor Wong as "Egg Shen"
James Hong as "Lo Pan" 

Directed by John Carpenter

If there's one thing that I have noticed about today's motion pictures, it's the marked decrease in their fun content. Everyone's trying to deliver pyrotechnics and computer-generated effects by the bucketful, but filmmakers seem to have forgotten that effects are nothing without a sense of fun, even humor about itself. I guess this is what makes me so nostalgic for the '80s, when filmmakers knew how to make memorable special-effects action/adventure movies, such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Robocop," and "Big Trouble in Little China."

The latter was unfortunately a box office lightweight during the summer of 1986. However, it endured as a cult classic in the days of home video and premium cable, and has recently earned a special edition DVD release, chock full of the extras DVD fans have come to expect and love from their favorite movies. Trust me, this is a good thing. "Big Trouble in Little China" is an impressive special effects adventure, but also a doubly impressive comedy, guided by John Carpenter's deft hand and driven by a hilarious lead performance from Kurt Russell.

Russell is Jack Burton, a blowhard trucker whose favorite activity seems to be shooting his mouth off. While making a delivery to San Francisco's Chinatown, Jack takes the opportunity to catch up with his old friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), a restaurateur. Wang is excited because his fiancée, Miao Yin, is arriving in America, something for which he has planned for five years since his own arrival in America. Unfortunately, just as she steps off of the plane, she is abducted by a street gang, which sends Jack and Wang on her trail, bringing them in the middle of a gang war, and ultimately against the minions of the evil sorcerer Lo Pan (James Hong). Lo Pan has lived for hundreds of years, cursed to exist in flesh as a desiccated old man unless he can marry a green-eyed maiden, and Miao Yin is one of the only Chinese girls he can find with green eyes.

This sets off an insane chase involving undead sorcerers, underground dungeons, lightning-powered soldiers, flying swordsmen, and even a big, hairy monster. At the center of it all are Jack and Wang, aided by straight-arrow busybody lawyer Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and tour bus driver Egg Shen (Victor Wong). This film is unique in that the leading man and sidekick roles are transposed, as Jack is more of a comic figure, while Wang does most of the fighting. Russell and Dun carry this off pretty well and make an affable duo, aided by a great supporting cast. Hong's Lo Pan is a particular highlight, an enfeebled old man at first, made even more pathetic by his desperation and loneliness.

Aside from the humor and characters, the movie's biggest draw is the effects-driven martial arts-fantasy action, inspired by the imaginative Hong Kong fantasy and wuxia (swordsman) films as "Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain" and "A Chinese Ghost Story." The raid on Lo Pan's lair is a great example of this, as everything culminates in a fantastic free-for-all. My favorite part of the sequence sees Wang taking to the sky to do battle with one of the three Storms, Lo Pan's supernatural elite soldiers. It was such an awesome and funny sight to behold, and if anything, this movie is great at blending the awe-inspiring with the hilarious. An offbeat cult classic if ever there was one, "Big Trouble in Little China" comes with one of my highest recommendations. I say to you, loyal readers, log off and go rent this movie. Now.