“Like Ol’ Jack always says… What the
hell.”
If
you are looking for a deep art flick then this is probably the point at which
you can stop reading this review. However, while John Carpenter’s 1986 Sci-fi
Action thriller is certainly no art film it is
one of the most enjoyable films of its niche genre. Starting from a western
film style storyline, this film is a mish-mash of genre and style, and then
ends up perfectly coalescing into an incredibly fun film. It has an intriguing
plot, some killer star power, a stylish look, an amazing score by Carpenter
himself (which if you know anything about horror film scores you know this is
definitely a plus), and it has just enough of the cheese factor to make it completely
enjoyable.
The
plot surrounds Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) and Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) as they
attempt to rescue Chi’s green-eyed fiancé, Miao Yin, from an evil sorcerer,
David Lo Pan (James Hong), who had been cursed to live disembodied until he marries
a woman with green eyes. With the help of lawyer Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and
bus driving apprentice sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong) they battle through an
array of obstacles in order to try and defeat Pan and rescue Yin, who was
kidnapped upon her arrival in San Francisco from China. The film’s narrative is
punctuated by battles with ninjas, monsters, gangsters, and an assortment of
other nuisances. While it seems like a rather straightforward plot, it’s
actually much more complex than I’m making it seem. While it is a pretty simple
action film, the way that they splice different supernatural folklore-ish
aspects (both rooted in ancient legend and some created for the film itself)
creates an amazing narrative backdrop over which the story plays out. One of
the most interesting examples of this interweaving/marrying of invented and
existing myths is the unnerving concept of the underworld, which is a
confusing, topsy-turvy descent into a crazed dimension with all sorts of
fascinating elements in story for the characters. All of these Sci-fi and
folklore aspects are then driven by the genre conventions of a traditional
Western, creating an all-new type of film.
In
addition to the complex and killer storyline, the film really plays with a lot
of the different genre and gender conventions. Jack is kind of (well - totally)
a blowhard, bubbling with massive machismo that doesn’t really do him any
favors. He tends to fumble into action late and often slips up when he needs to
shine (while this does sometimes work in his favor). So while he is a very
traditional western “hero,” he’s much more flawed and human than the John Wayne
characters that he was obviously modeled after. Additionally the supporting
characters, while they are fairly conventional, also find ways to spin those
conventions, and at times turn them on their head.
While
there certainly are interesting and compelling aspects of the film, and as
someone who tends to overthink even the simplest of entertainment I generally
focus on those when writing these reviews, in the end this is simply just an
amazingly fun and adventurous ride to take with Carpenter and the cast! I
originally watched this film as a part of a film group that I was a member of
and ended up falling in love with it, which has happened with a good number of
other Carpenter flicks (Assault on
Precinct 13 (1976) and Halloween
(1978) being my personal favs). I would say that if you are looking to dig into
an interesting thrill ride of an action film and you also enjoy a healthy
helping of humor with your action, this is a perfect film for you, and you
simply must pick up the especially awesome re-mastered blu-ray release of one
of the best films of the genre (all of the genres that it embodies)!
-
Edward Hill
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