Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like...Jack Burton? When Big Trouble in Little China hit the big screen back in 1986 it wasn't a smash success but I think there was a large chunk of viewers who became instant fans, my twelve year old self at the time being one of them.
Jack Burton would certainly think he's the hero of the movie, but is he really? He gets the girl, sure, and gets the bad guy, all right, but for the most part he was just always in the right place at the right time. It was a whole host of other characters that did the heavy lifting, so why aren't they being admitted into the Thor's Day Heroes? Well, Burton has style, he's quick with the one-liners, and he's a decent shot with the throwing knife. It's all in the reflexes you know. Welcome aboard Jack Burton, truck parking is behind the building.
Great memories. One of my favorite movies!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jay, one of mine as well. Happy to say my nine year old daughter now considers it "not too bad" and doesn't protest when I play it either!
DeleteDefinitely a cult classic. One of those movies that probably made a majority of the audience go "WFT" with the remaining ones going "Oh yes."
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, this one slipped through so many cracks. Those who get it...really get it. Those who don't lump it in with all the other 80s action "crap" that was out there.
DeleteLove that!
ReplyDeleteRock on Supes!
DeleteJack Burton is awesome. One of Kurt Russel's best performances IMO... Portraying a deluded fool who you can't help but root for, is no easy task.
ReplyDeleteSpecial Kudos to John Carpenter for transposing Kong Kong Cinema into western theaters 10 or so years before it was cool.
That's a good point on Carpenter bringing the east to the west way before it was trendy. Also, major kudos to Carpenter for writing AND performing the movie's theme song. THe bonus features on the deluxe DVD even have the music video. Yikes!
DeleteAll aboard "The Pork Chop Express".........classic!
ReplyDeleteThanks Fran! A very ambiguous Jack Burton showed up twenty years later in a d20 modern/horror campaign of ours as a grizzled mentor. Kind of a cool homage at the time.
DeleteJack Burton, ME!
ReplyDelete1986? How the #%$ did this come out in 1986? Twenty-seven years ago??
ReplyDeleteI always thought there would be time to model my life on Jack Burton; now it seems too late.