Each month, a member of The Cineastes selects a film for all members to watch and write about. For more information, click here.

July's film is Big Trouble in Little China as picked by Eugene Lee at YGG’noise
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Directed by John Carpenter
1986
USA

Big Trouble in Little China is a preposterous B-movie-on-purpose that really rubbed me the wrong way. But I’ll get to that later. Lets get the even more ridiculous musical score out of the way, right now. John Carpenter, the director of the film, also composes the music (is it music?). After the opening scene, which acts as prologue, we are subjected to a musical cue that would make Zack Snyder wince. Usage of synth and guitar that could be described as “So 80’s”, assault us as the opening credits come into view. At this point, I was actually somewhat in sync with Big Trouble. It was immediately so campy that I felt Carpenter knew what he was doing. I thought it had the potential to be a film that was content with it’s B-movie aspirations, paying homage and poking fun, but it didn’t end up having the brains necessary to do so. It actually falls short of its already questionable ambitions.

Now here is the paragraph where I would usually summarize the plot but I must admit that after 30 minutes of the film, I became lost. Not because the movie was all that hard to follow but I had great difficulty feigning interest and paying attention. Basically, a truck driver named Jack Burton, played by Kurt Russell, accidentally gets involved in some crazy plot in Chinatown involving mystical, even monstrous forces and wackiness ensues. Characters are pursued down strange corridor after strange corridor until I could no longer keep count. Asian stereotypes parade around and get into fight after fight. Eventually the film just blended into one tired action sequence.

We are bombarded by impressive special effects, which are there for no other reason than to bombard us. Using stereotypes found in kung-fu films and the like, Carpenter has the opportunity to poke fun at the somewhat offensive portrayals of Chinese people we are used to. Instead, he celebrates them and makes no apologies about it. There isn’t a satirical bone in this film’s body and it suffers from being just as stupid as the movies it was inspired by.

In a no-holds-barred action-comedy such as this, one would expect over-the-top performances that are at the very least, entertaining. Kurt Russell plays Jack Burton like a retarded Indiana Jones, shouting one-liners that would get a stage actor pelted with tomatoes. He is unable to make his character charming enough for us to root for him. Harrison Ford was always able to bring a certain quality to characters like Han Solo and Jones that Russell simply can’t pull off. Kim Cattrall is boring and dimwitted as Gracie Law, the female lead, but I don’t blame her, as it is clear that that is the intent.

There are, however, movies that have committed worse offenses than Big Trouble in Little China. If you can derive entertainment from it, go ahead and do so, but I am someone who could not. The 80s contains the most films I can’t, for the life of me, connect with. I have never loved the crowd-satisfying flicks like Back to the Future, the Indiana Jones series, The Breakfast Club, ET, Terminator, The Goonies, Ghostbusters, The Monster Squad etc. For whatever reason, it is an era of film that is lost on me. I have heard others speak of these works with an enviable amount of fondness, but for me they are a solid alternative to sleeping pills (of which, I am actually more fond of).

The set pieces are impressive, but occupying them are characters we don’t care for, involved in a story that becomes far too tedious to keep up with. The typical B-movie was very low budget and always had to focus on the fun before anything else. Here, John Carpenter has a considerable amount of money to make a movie and it sucks the spirit right out of it, leaving us with a film that looks like it is having a good time, but never lets us in on it.


The rest of The Cineastes writings on Big Trouble in Little China:
Adam Batty @ Hope Lies
Jake @ Filmbound
Eugene Lee @ YGG'noise
Jack McLain @ The Third Act
Guy Solis @ Inertial Frame
Kurt Walker @ Walking in the Cinema
Joshua Wiebe @ Octopus Cinema

posted by adam cook
 


Comments

Joshua W link
07/15/2009 13:19

Interesting article, I think I get where you're coming from in terms of not connecting with the 80s. And if you don't like Ghostbusters, I can absolutely see why this one would fall flat for you.

However, I think you're missing the satirical elements of this film, it's basically satirizing the action genre and while the whole film is built around Burton, it's unique for him being an irreparably awful hero. Despite all of his badass posturing, he continually fails again and again and its only with the help of the 'Chinese stereotypes' that he's able to make any difference at all. Essentially he's an American stereotype colliding with Asian ones, and for once he's not appearing superior.

Plus I can't fathom how you wouldn't enjoy Russell's performance, it's the most bizarre mix of noir antihero and over-the-top adventurer. He's muttering these great one-liners like he believes them and then does something like fire his gun up in the air causing debris to knock him unconscious. It's ridiculous, it's absurd, and it works. For me, anyways.

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Crapmonster link
07/15/2009 14:42

Its definitely preposterous on purpose and its saddening it rubbed you the wrong way but completely understandable. its somewhat of a tricky film in that regard, in that often times satire and celebration of a particular stereotype is often a blurry line.

What's more interesting is the fact that many of the elements you point out here are the very ones that I and others have used to argue for its satirization. Its quite interesting actually in how well polarized this film can be upon its viewers.

Oh and on a last side note, maybe there is something to do with the 80s here. I personally love all the films you mentioned, I cant actually even imagine someone not liking Terminator, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters. So maybe...there is a generational thing too to the whole stylistic cheese factor.

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Adam Cook link
07/16/2009 00:51

Joshua, I was far too turned off by the film initially to look deeper at it, or even follow the plot. Whether it has something to say or not, it still must command attention, not snores. Thanks for not being too hard on me though.

Thanks Crapmonster for leaving a fair and understanding comment (I know it's one of your favourite movies!). I made a point of mentioning I don't like all those films to get people to take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm clearly not the right demographic.

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witkacy link
07/16/2009 18:51

Adam, I agree completely with everything you said.

I had the (mis)fortune to see this movie in the theater on its release - probably on opening night, looking forward to Carpenter's newest - and disliked it so much that I never went out to a theater to see another Carpenter film again! (I discovered They Live only via home video)

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Joshua W link
07/16/2009 19:45

Adam, like the man says "It can't be bullshit to state an opinion." Yours may not gel with mine, but that doesn't mean you're wrong.

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Tom link
07/17/2009 02:30

i dont agree, i dont think it is satarising the action genre it is actually paying hamage to it, whihc would make sense seeing Carpenter's love of the B-movies of his youth.

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