--- title: "Big Trouble in Little China: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/big-trouble-in-little-china/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/big-trouble-in-little-china" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Big Trouble in Little China (1986): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 9 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 3 negative. 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. ## Little White Lies — Ewen Hosie Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 2016. The critic praises the film's cult appeal and self-aware genre mashup as ahead of its time, highlighting its entertaining qualities, visual flair, effects, score, and subversion of racial stereotypes through Russell's dumb but endearing hero. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/big-trouble-in-little-china-30th-anniversary-john-carpenter) ## Slant Magazine — Robert C. Cumbow Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2011. The critic calls the film the most underrated of 1986 and praises its skillful blend of comedy, action, and genre elements as better than the Indiana Jones films. He singles out Kurt Russell's self-deflating, heroic performance as Jack Burton for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/summer-of-86-big-trouble-in-little-china-take-1/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds it one of John Carpenter’s more amiable pictures, an American tribute to Hong Kong sword-and-sorcery films that is breathlessly paced, wittily scripted and action-packed despite a confusing climax. It singles out Kurt Russell’s bungling hero performance and the introduction of Chinese-style wirework and mythology for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/big-trouble-little-china-review/) ## Time Out — CPea Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic notes the film's self-mockery saves it from being derivative, praising Russell's bozo trucker persona and the sly humour amid Chinatown clichés and kung fu action, though the martial arts fall short of Hong Kong standards. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/big-trouble-in-little-china) ## The New York Times — Walter Goodman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 1986. The review praises the wild stunts, spirit, and exotic kung-fu action as delivering good value in an upscale send-up of mystical adventure tropes. Carpenter is credited with keeping the proceedings lively despite the familiar genre elements. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/02/movies/the-screen-big-trouble-wild-stunts.html) ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 2/5. The critic finds the attempt to fuse martial arts with adventure does not gel, praising Russell's amiable inept hero but complaining that fight scenes are stodgy and special effects take over. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-rscuzj/big-trouble-in-little-china/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 1986. The film begins with a promising high-concept premise and visually spectacular opening but soon recycles its action set pieces to the point of exhaustion. Ebert faults the overreliance on special effects at the expense of character engagement. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/big-trouble-in-little-china-1986) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Wilmington Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 1986. The film is dismissed as overcalculated absurdity that squanders talent on balderdash, with the story going leaden and detonating into firebombs of foolishness. Russell’s John Wayne impersonation is singled out as a misstep that undermines the concept. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-02-ca-428-story.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Rating **. 31 December 1985. The promising story of an ancient magician and his quest collapses as Carpenter’s attempt at an Indiana Jones-style adventure goes horribly awry. Kurt Russell’s embarrassed performance as the truck-driver hero is highlighted as emblematic of the film’s misfired tone. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1985/film/reviews/big-trouble-in-little-china-1200426976) ## HeyUGuys — Joe Cunningham Rating 4/5. 17 December 2013. The critic finds the film hard to pin down with constant subversions of expectations and red herrings, but praises its incredible action and genius comedy as making it unlike anything else and an essential watch that stands the test of time. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/big-trouble-little-china-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/big-trouble-in-little-china.md