No-nonsense trucker Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) finds himself embroiled in a supernatural battle with centuries old sorcerer Lo-Pan (James Hong) in Chinatown, San Francisco. 

When Jack Burton arrives in San Francisco in his truck, lovingly named The Pork Chop Express because he hauls pigs to the slaughterhouse, he meets up with his pal Wang (Dennis Dun) for a night of gambling. 

Sceptical that Wang is going to pay him what he owes Jack opts to tag along to the airport where Wang is meeting his girlfriend Miao Yin (Suzee Pai). It is here that he meets Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and witnesses Miao get kidnapped by a gang called the Lords of Death. 

Back in Chinatown Jack, Wang, Gracie and other community members attempt to rescue Miao and are told the legend of Lo-Pan by an elder named Egg Shen (Victor Wong) who explains that Lo-Pan must marry a woman with green eyes to break a thousand year old curse that prevents him from taking over the world. Unfortunately for both Miao and Gracie, they fit the bill. 

Big Trouble in Little China is a lot of things; a box office flop on initial release in 1986, it has since become a cult classic thanks to VHS (oh the heady days of cassette tape), a comedy where the hero has more self belief than actual skills, a supernatural film about black magic, an action movie featuring Kung-fu and gunplay and most importantly a film that never ever takes itself too seriously. As a teenager I must have watched this film more than a dozen times and the thing that kept me coming back over and over again (other than my brother rewinding the tape and pressing play again) was Kurt Russell’s performance as Jack Burton. So how does it hold up now? 

This was director John Carpenter’s fourth (of five) films with Kurt Russell as the lead and for my money their second best movie together after 1982’s The Thing. But whereas that film was incredibly tense and downbeat this one is jocular and fun. Both feature Russell at his best. 

Bookended by Jack Burton dishing out advice on the CB radio we get to understand just how much Burton embellishes his stories and how much of them might be true. Whilst in the middle of all of the action we can laugh at Burton’s hilariously realistic reactions to the craziness happening around him (his response to a floating ball of eyes that Lo-Pan uses as an early warning system is genuinely hilarious) and discover that Wang is actually the hero whilst Jack falls about around him. 

As for the action, it would be fair to say that it does not live up to today’s standards by any stretch of the imagination. But if you can keep in mind this is an incredibly low budget 1980’s movie you may keep yourself from laughing with mean spirited humour at some of the shoot outs and fights. On the plus side we do have Lo-Pan’s bodyguards named The Three Storms; Rain (Peter Kwong), Thunder (Carter Wong) and Lightning (James Scales) who are lots of fun. And no one could tell me that video-game Mortal Kombat did not take inspiration from Lightning for their character Raiden!

And then there is the romantic chemistry between Russell and Cattrall (whose character is very much the female equivalent) and the camaraderie between Russell and Dun. Both resulting in you rooting for the dumb old Jack Burton saving the day. 

This may not tick all of your movie watching boxes if you were born this century but I still hope you give it a try. 

Remember, “It’s all in the reflexes”.