Well it’s time that I begin talking about another group of films that I am seeing for the first time. For my first blindspot film of 2014, I have chosen a film that I have kept hearing great things about. That film would be John Carpenter’s 1986 martial arts comedy Big Trouble in Little China. The film stars Kurt Russell as truck driver Jack Burton, who sets out to help his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue his kidnapped fiancee (Suzee Pai) and they both find themselves stuck in the middle of a centuries old mystical battle in San Francisco’s Chinatown. At the centre of this battle is a 2000 year old sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong), who desires a bride so he can become mortal again. The film also stars Victor Wong as Lo Pan’s nemesis Egg Shen and Kim Cattrall as lawyer Gracie Law. A common misconception about John Carpenter is that he is a horror director. This is understandable, since he is known for directing many classic horror films, including Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing. However, if anything, Big Trouble in Little China helps to demonstrate how multi-faceted a filmmaker John Carpenter truly is. This turned out to be a very fun film filled with martial arts action, slapstick comedy, and supernatural fantasy. The film, which was originally envisioned as a western, featured Kurt Russell as a very cowboy-like truck driver, who finds himself in the middle of the fantastical Chinese underworld. I have to say that it would probably be very difficult for someone not to love this film, which is pretty much the definition of escapist entertainment. I thought the film was quite fun to watch from top to bottom and I almost couldn’t believe how crazy things get. It’s one thing for there to be a trio of fighters, who shoot lightning out of their hands, however it’s another thing altogether for monsters to randomly appear out of the wall and eat people. Let it be said that I had an absolute blast watching this film. I also have to say that I highly enjoyed John Carpenter’s score for the film, which is in his usual symphonic style, with a slight oriental feel. I particularly liked the music during an early chase scene in the film, which really helped bring my enjoyment level up, before any of the fantastical elements are even seen. I also thought it was a hoot that the film has a theme song performed by a group called the Coupe De Villes, which is actually fronted by John Carpenter himself, along with his friends Nick Castle and Tommy Lee Wallace. So yeah, you can add me to the list of people, who really enjoyed Big Trouble in Little China. 9 | REALLY LIKED IT
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