One of the great anti-heros of the 1980’s, Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken (John Carpenter’s Escape From New York) is a quick-thinking cynic; a cool, level-headed former Special Forces military man with a plan. . . and let’s face it, his combination of quick wit and eye patch makes him one bad-ass muthafuka. Quite the opposite, Jack Burton (also played by Russell), with his diction having a John Wayne tinge, is a cocky, brash American, a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants ‘in his own mind’ leader who lacks the brains, the skills or the know how to be in that all-important position.
The main protagonist of John Carpenter’s 1986 fantastical martial arts action/adventure/comedy Big Trouble in Little China, Burton is a truck driver (his big rig named The Pork-Chop Express), spending those long days and even longer nights spouting his unique brand of advice to whoever is listening on their CB – a prime example, “when some wide-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: ‘Have you paid your dues, Jack?’ ‘Yessir, the check is in the mail’”.
The loosey-goosey driver delivers his most recent batch of fattened piggies to Chinatown in San Francisco, and instead of hitting the road right after, decides to gamble the night away with his good friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), a restauranteur who is ingrained in the community. Winning big, his buddy isn’t carrying the cash he needs to pay him immediately, leading Burton down a wholly unexpected rabbit hole.
Glued to his friend until he gets what he is owed, the pair head to the airport, as Wang is expecting his fiancée on the next flight from China – a rare, emerald-green-eyed woman named Miao Yin (Suzee Pai). In a twist of fate, Burton finds himself between an Asian woman meeting a Chinatown lawyer, Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall), and a group of violent street gang members ominously called The Lords of Death – looking to nab her for the sex trade. . . in the chaos, they grab Miao instead.
James Hong as David Lo Pan
Attempting to track the kidnappers, they find themselves thrust into the middle of a gang war. . . an event that eventually attracts a triumvirate of super-powered warriors united under the moniker The Three Storms – Thunder (Carter Wong), Rain (Peter Kwong) and Lightning (James Pax), along with their quasi-overlord, David Lo Pan (James Hong), an ancient sorcerer who can morph between feeble old man and all-powerful warlock. Tortured by an age-old curse, the only cure is for him to marry a green-eyed woman.
As you can imagine, Lo Pan finds Miao’s eyes quite fetching – a perfect woman to be his long awaited bride. Forming a rescue group, Burton, Wang, Law and her friend, newbie reporter Margo (Kate Burton), combine their forces with tour bus driver Egg Shen (Victor Wong), a magician who has long opposed Lo Pan. Will the ragtag team be able to defeat the ancient evil one and rescue Miao from the clutches of the fiend?
Big Trouble In Little China director/composer John Carpenter with Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams
A unique combination of Jackie Chan style action, Indiana Jones type adventure, as well as a dose of foggy neon seeped streets that shout neo-noir, Big Trouble in Little China is perhaps not the easiest film to explain, but it is an easy motion picture to watch. It flips your prototypical characters upside down, as hero Burton is actually the bumbling sidekick (forgetting to turn the safety off, dropping his knife, suggesting poorly conceived plans and knocking himself out along the way. . . yet is the first to exclaim “everybody relax, I’m here” when he’s gone for one second), while Wang would usually be the minority sidekick (like Shortround in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), though in this one, is more of the hero – a talented man out to rescue his love. And, if you’ve read my recent Star Pick with John Carpenter, you will clearly pick up a Howard Hawks vibe (his favourite director), as the way in which Burton and Law talk is very much like the witty banter heard in Hawks films like Only Angels Have Wings and His Girl Friday.
Imbued with an iconic John Carpenter composition, its synthesizer heavy score is perhaps not what you would first expect when watching a kung-fu slanted American satire, yet his non-stereotypical rock-driven, energy-brimming backbeat thrusts the narrative forward, adding more than adequate doses of suspense, mystery and intrigue along the way. Check out John Carpenter performing it live in Montreal below.
Sadly, Big Trouble in Little China was a box-office bomb, likely due to many causes. . .one of which is its complicated subject matter – 20th Century Fox was unsure of how to capture the eccentric story’s many themes and genres (meaning that it was not promoted properly). . . it did not help that John Cameron’s behemoth Aliens opened only a short while later, basically killing any chance it had of enjoying an extended success in theatres. It was this movie that left John Carpenter frustrated, turning his back on the studio system for good, returning to the realm of independent film making – where there is way more freedom (and much less interference).
A cult classic that has only become more appreciated over time, Big Trouble in Little China is a whole lot of fun. Filled with those bizarre and awkwardly threatening kung fu stares, action that falls somewhere between karate, sci-fi and shoot-em-up American-style gunplay, slap stick humour, clever banter, and nearly everything in between, Carpenter once again adds his own unique spin to multiple genres. So, don’t get tied down by the preconceived notions that a box-office bomb brings with it, you’ll be surprised by all of the surprises that The Pork-Chop Express carries.