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John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China](Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - Movie | Moviefone) didn’t make a ton of money at the box office back in 1986 – taking in a measly 11 million dollars during its theatrical run – but it has gone on to become a cult classic thanks to home video. It’s hard to pick a favorite Carpenter flick for me – Halloween](Halloween (1978) - Movie | Moviefone), Escape from New York](Escape from New York (1981) - Movie | Moviefone), and The Thing](The Thing (1982) - Movie | Moviefone) are all contenders – but Big Trouble will always have a special place in my heart because it’s so different and well – bizarre. In a good way, of course.
Big Trouble satisfied the filmmaker’s urge to make a martial arts film, but not just any hand-to-hand combat flick. Carpenter’s movie is an action comedy with a healthy dollop of Asian mysticism thrown into the mix to balance out a hilarious performance from Carpenter’s frequent collaborator Kurt Russell.
Russell plays Jack Burton, a loveable doofus who becomes embroiled in supernatural shenanigans in San Francisco’s Chinatown. When his friend Wang’s green-eyed girlfriend is kidnapped by the villainous (and ancient … ) David Lo Pan (James Hong), it’s up to Burton to join forces with a ragtag assortment of Chinatown residents to save the girl. Part action, part comedy, all Carpenter, this is a prime example of what makes a cult classic.
Continue reading Scenes We Love: Big Trouble in Little China