Big Trouble in Little China

This is a fun, almost campy movie; don't try to think about it too hard. Rather, enjoy it for what it is. It has an almost folklore-ish feel to it, as if what's being presented is more of a tongue-in-cheek tale (which it is fully aware of) and as such some aspects _maaay_ have been exaggerated. And if you watch it in this vein, I think you will enjoy it quite a bit. But the second you start to take it seriously, it will crumble to pieces. It's entertaining to watch. The characters are very large (and sometimes goofy/campy) and the plot heads in the correct direction most of the time. This movie flew under the radar during its original release (not helped at all by being released 16 days before Aliens...) but had found extremely solid footing in home rentals/home video. I remember my first viewing of this movie -- I knew nothing about it going in, I just sat there and watched it...and I loved it. It was funny, it was exciting, and in some few scenes even thrilling. It's not perfect, it has its flaws and blemishes certainly, but boy is it fun! :)

'Big Trouble in Little China' didn't entertain me. There isn't anything about it that I really like, to be honest. It isn't a truly terrible movie by any means, but the story didn't take hold of me and the characters and their actors weren't all that watchable. I wasn't sold on the plot's set-up and then when it goes crackers it was too goofy for me to enjoy too. It's one of the weakest Kurt Russell performances that I've seen, and I'm someone who rates that guy fairly highly as an actor. Elsewhere, Kim Cattrall is kinda forgettable, while James Hong (unique voice aside) doesn't get given enough to stand out. The make-up/special effects, particularly for the latter, didn't do it for me either, likewise with the humour. A quick glance at Wikipedia suggests this had competition with 'The Golden Child'. Well, if we're comparing, then that one did it better, albeit only by a relatively small distance because I don't recall much about that Eddie Murphy movie; it has been over four years since I watched it for the one and only time, admittedly.

Enjoyable enough adventure flick with another charismatic performance from Kurt Russell. The plot certainly felt disjointed at times (and one sequence didn't really advance the plot all that much) but still had a lot of fun. Not one of Carpenter's best nor a standout amongst 1980s movies, however still liked it well enough. **3.5/5**