Most critics respond warmly to the film’s unruly blend of comedy, martial arts and supernatural adventure. Praise centres on Kurt Russell’s bungling Jack Burton: his misplaced confidence gives the action a comic centre, while the film’s self-mockery helps familiar adventure material feel less derivative. The favourable reviews also credit John Carpenter with keeping the proceedings lively, finding pleasure in the stunts, visual invention and willingness to make the apparent hero look foolish.
The divide is wide, however, particularly over whether that energy lasts. Reservations cluster around repetitive fights, effects that crowd out character and a story that becomes difficult to follow. Even Radio Times, which dislikes the genre mixture, finds Russell amiable; the Los Angeles Times instead regards his performance as part of the problem. What admirers enjoy as playful absurdity strikes the dissenters as strained, with spectacle doing too much of the work.