Review of Big Trouble in Little China

action 2 alchemy 1 china 1 fantasy 4 magic 3 wuxia 1

1986 · Directed by John Carpenter
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A 3.5/5 means: Solid. Above the bar. The good parts sizably outweigh any shortcomings. I'm glad to have watched it once.

I adore the kooky monsters and Egg the alchemist who flings exploding gems. While the movie gains depth from Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) being a fallible hero, I think that gets stretched a little too far for the fight in Lo Pan's wedding chamber. Everyone drank Egg's potion before the fight. It enabled Wang Chi to fly around doing wuxia, going head-to-head with one of the thunder sorcerers. Yet Jack could knock himself out with a falling rock and couldn't push the armored guardian off himself? I'm quibbling, though. This is a good movie.

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