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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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Janav S @TheCoolJ92781 6 days ago The best Carpenter movie I've ever seen. It's so fun, humorous, and Kurt Russell couldn't feel more like Jack Burton, probably one of his most iconic characters. The story, narrative, and characters are just great, although it is very messy and the intro just plain sucks. See more Carlos T @RT67858720 Oct 24, 2026 Minha nota: 6/10 — um clássico divertido e cheio de personalidade, que vale pela nostalgia, pela química dos protagonistas e pela criatividade, mesmo sem ter uma história tão consistente quanto poderia. See more Mike R @RT49123036 Oct 24, 2026 This is my favorite movie, also the favorite of Critical Drinker, and it’s Kurt Russell’s best work. Easily the greatest action comedy ever made. James Hong is fabulous in it too. See more Gareth V @geewah Oct 15, 2026 Russell is a delight, the supporting cast is great and the whole thing is shot with Carpenter’s love of pulp. It’s messy, it’s cheesy and it’s wonderful. See more Jack B @RT43275989 Sep 20, 2026 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 Sep 20, 2026 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 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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