I have been a bit fan of John Carpenter for many years now. A filmmaker that I feel really allowed the blockbuster idea to flourish going into the 80s. His films are full of filmmaking soul ranging from the use of wide, cinematic anamorphic lenses to a reliance on practical effects in costume, makeup, and set design. His films cemented in history mostly due to his entries within the horror and thriller genres. Creating some of the biggest, most loved films in the west. A filmmaker that is known for his lower budget look, but never for low budget quality. I always assumed I had seen John Carpenter's library, and not just once! I can't recall how many times I've seen The Fog by now. And with his frequent collaborator Kurt Russell, his most famous works had sort of established an expected theme and idea from fans. However, browsing through Disney+, I realised I had never seen Big Trouble in Little China, and funnily I had no idea it was made by John Carpenter while watching it; though I noticed many Carpenter styles that had me curious as to who had made it. That Google search of course led to no surprises once his name popped up.
Big Trouble in Little China was a fun experience. Full of Carpenter's style but with some surprising differences. It very much felt like a film of its era, not just due to the special effects or the sound effects, but the story and magical themes that are found within it. Aspects of fantasy mix with the classic Kurt Russell action and blend together to creative something quite unique, especially given its location and characters; most notably the fact that our protagonist is merely an everyday truck driver, a regular citizen and nobody particularly special, caught up in a crazed world and culture far from all he knows. An accurate representation of the average protagonist thrown into mystery and exploration. This grittier nature is one that you come to expect with a film by Carpenter. Though the worst part of the film was by far when my Internet went down and never returned! Leading to me eating up my phone data to finish the film!
Big Trouble in Little China
A main theme that I absolutely love about John Carpenter's films is the simplicity in their narratives. They surround the simple idea of ancient curses and magic running rampant and impacting small civilisations and communities. These people getting all caught up in these fantasy elements are often regular people, everyday workers and family members, nobody particularly special. These characters are rarely ones of supreme strength, unless we bring in Kurt Russell. Which is a fun take on things given Carpenter's two styles of all-out action and deep fantasy combine into one here in Big Trouble in Little China. Our truck driver meeting up with a friend gets caught up in the idea of saving his friend's girlfriend from a gang in Chinatown, San Fransisco. The two enter the location, surrounded by gang wars and bullets raining. And on goes an adventure that opens up into something completely unexpected: an ancient sorcerer lives within the location, cursed unless they can come across a woman with green eyes to marry. To which the curse would finally be lifted.
While the story is simple, it is by far the filmmaking that makes this film shine. The ways in which the guns sound, their fun 80s sound effects. Alongside the synth music that plays and provides ambience to the strange world these characters now find themselves within, as they ascend deeper underground in search for the woman to bring her back to safety. Match this with the very blue, filmic visuals that come from shooting on 35mm film stock and anaerobic lenses and the film is oozing with soul. It really pulls you into this mystical, ancient Chinese world full of magic and curses. Surprisingly, the film failed at the theatres and never really managed to take off, only really becoming of interest to existing and future fans of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. And while it's a big surprise that the film failed, I can see some elements as to why this may have happened. For one, the film is quite long, especially for a lower budget John Carpenter film. To add to this is the film's narrative which does a really seem a bit confusing in parts as the characters roam back and forth throughout the environment. Carpenter is also known for his highs stakes films in which main characters die off, and this doesn't really happen. I can see ecisgig fans and critics finding some of these moments in the film a bit lackluster, as it rarely feels like anyone is actually in any danger.
Which is disappointing to state given the film has some very good special effects in the magic side of things. As well as costume design; the film is famous mostly for a particular scene in which a head expands and blows up. I had no idea it was from this film, and that was quite the surprise to see suddenly appear. And being a Carpenter attempt at a blockbuster, it does seem like it suffers from some teething problems. Something that is to be expected given his best works come from ones that seem cheap. More relaxed and with less time to go through everything. With this said, I still very much enjoyed the film. It dragged on a bit, but I kept finding myself appreciating something different. All falling back to the love of filmmaking and the dedication that went into creating a style and pursuing a constant building of atmosphere. I love Carpenter's use of music, sound, and even the construction of the sets. There's something incredibly immersive about the backgrounds, locations in dense smog/fog and with really harsh tones of lighting. Film stock of course making these colours warmer, more comforting to the eye. All alongside the anamorphic lenses which widen the frame and give us plenty of the environment and prop design to appreciate.
It is far from John Carpenter's best work. But it's sometbing I still enjoyed and had me feeling that itch to check out his films again for another run through his incredible library. And Just Russell's performance is incredibly strong here in Big Trouble in Little China, one of his strongest performances that I have seen. Less of the stiff 80s theatre acting and more a serious portrayal with fluidity. I think it will be a long time until I watch this film again, but I wouldn't say I hated it at all. The story is okay, but as you can tell; it's the filmmaking that is the highlight here. And even if it isn't one of his best films, there's nothing quite like it with that Carpenter touch. Even to this day nothing quite comes close. A style that truly belongs to him.
