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Big Trouble in Little China

Play trailer Poster for Big Trouble in Little China PG-13 1986 1h 39m Action Adventure Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 158 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a big-talking, wisecracking truck driver who's suddenly hurled into a wild adventure even he could never invent. At the root of it all is Lo Pan (James Hong), a 2,000 year old evil magician who rules an empire of spirits beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. Doomed to a fleshless existence, he can only be saved by a green-eyed Asian beauty. When the fiancé (Suzee Pai) of Jack's friend (Dennis Dun) is kidnapped by Lo Pan's minions, Jack goes to the rescue. He finds himself dodging demons, grappling with goblins and facing baffling terrors like the Room of the Upside-Down Hell as he battles his way through the labyrinth of Lo Pan's dark domain.
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Big Trouble in Little China

Big Trouble in Little China

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Critics Consensus

A joyously overstuffed blend of comedy, martial arts, and supernatural mayhem, Big Trouble in Little China makes little effort to be coherent but races along thanks to Kurt Russell's rowdy swagger and John Carpenter's kinetic direction.

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Critics Reviews

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Alexander Walker London Evening Standard Jun 2, 2026
The plots adds up to only a non-stop obstacle race. Go to Full Review
Adam Mars-Jones Independent (UK) Jun 2, 2026
The film is hectic but wooden, violent but bloodless. Go to Full Review
Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune Jun 2, 2026
3/10
While there are some gems of humor in the film, they are buried in an avalanche of overkill. Go to Full Review
Noah Berlatsky Everything is Horrible (Substack) Aug 28, 2026
The delirious joy of the film is both the mash-up of cowboy & martial arts tropes, & the way in which the movie nonchalantly shuffles back & forth between treating the heroes as heroes & treating them as cinemagoers ineptly pretending to be heroes. Go to Full Review
Lee Tuohy Sunday Independent (Ireland) Jul 29, 2026
Between Russell's hysterical John Wayne performance and Carpenter's non-stop action it's all fabulous fun. Go to Full Review
Mike Cidoni Gannett News Service Jun 15, 2026
1/4
Romantic banter has never seemed more forced. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jack B @RT43275989 21 hrs ago This movie is what happens when somebody puts kung fu, neon, monsters, Jack Burton, and approximately 900 gallons of 80s cocaine into a blender. Absolute masterpiece of beautiful nonsense. As Jack so wisely says: "It’s all in the reflexes." 😂 And honestly, if your movie doesn’t contain a glowing green eyeball floating around like it just got kicked out of a nightclub, what are we even doing? See more Frans B @FransB 1 day ago Hilarious, breakneck speed mishmash of magic, clumsiness and over the top action. John Carpenter made sure there is never a dull moment in this absurd roller coaster ride to nowhere 😜 Looks like the objective was just to have FUN making this movie, which is great. Whole cast performs admirably and convincingly in character. More action, sorcery, magic, tomfoolery, drama, calamity and overall confusion than a bat must feel at a rave. Entertaining and captivating See more Huntin P @PaxVobiscum80 5 days ago I think the 1980s must have been the good timers' decade. Movies were all about having fun. No politics, no lectures, no didacticism, no patronising the audience, just press Play. John Carpenter directs this delightful action comedy, an actioner with horror elements, but really the whole thing is one big goof. I can't believe I didn't laugh at the Three Storms when I was a kid. Those hats! One of them is armed with back scratchers, another with spanners! Kudos to Kurt Russell for making fun of his tough guy image. Jack, the Pork Chop Express trucker, is all swagger and confidence, but most of the time he's borderline useless. His buddy Wang wallops a whole gang of Wing Kong gangsters while Jack is still trying to get his weapons out. The look on his face when he realises he's superfluous! The magical and mystical elements are so much cartoonish tosh, but all harmless fun. Strongly recommended to anyone who wants to have a good time watching some silly nonsense. See more M B @Timbero 6 days ago All the ingredients come together! Just so entertaining and so influential. Indeed!!! See more Alejandro R @AleAliAlea Sep 10, 2026 Sure, this movie plays fast and loose with pace, logic, narrative but I love seeing Kurt Russell do his best comedic version of John Wayne. Fun “guilty pleasure” See more Brent B @RT62765066 Aug 13, 2026 One of my favorites. Just a fun good time See more Read all reviews
Big Trouble in Little China

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a big-talking, wisecracking truck driver who's suddenly hurled into a wild adventure even he could never invent. At the root of it all is Lo Pan (James Hong), a 2,000 year old evil magician who rules an empire of spirits beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. Doomed to a fleshless existence, he can only be saved by a green-eyed Asian beauty. When the fiancé (Suzee Pai) of Jack's friend (Dennis Dun) is kidnapped by Lo Pan's minions, Jack goes to the rescue. He finds himself dodging demons, grappling with goblins and facing baffling terrors like the Room of the Upside-Down Hell as he battles his way through the labyrinth of Lo Pan's dark domain.
Director
John Carpenter
Producer
Larry J. Franco
Screenwriter
Gary Goldman, David Weinstein, W.D. Richter
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
TAFT Entertainment, SLM Production Group, Twentieth Century Fox
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 2, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$11.0M
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Mono, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio
70mm, Scope (2.35:1)
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