Line #72 Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/95cbf784fa8dc2adf360bb46c7cf4e49.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"You people sit tight, hold the fort, and keep the home fires burning, and if we're not back by dawn... call the president."'']]
3
4	->''"I'm a reasonable guy, but I've just experienced some ''very'' unreasonable things."''
5	-->-- '''Jack Burton'''
6
7	''Big Trouble In Little China'' is an 1986 martial arts fantasy action-comedy film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by W.D. Richter (of ''[[Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension Buckaroo Banzai]]'' notoriety).
8
9	Creator/KurtRussell is Jack Burton, a long-haul trucker with a penchant for making soliloquies over the CB. He's in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco's [[FriendlyLocalChinatown Chinatown]] to meet his buddy Wang Chi (Creator/DennisDun) and pick up Wang's fiancee Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) from the airport, but EvilSorcerer David Lo Pan (Creator/JamesHong) kidnaps her with the help of his Wing Kong street gang and his henchmen, the Three Storms.
10
11	Jack, Wang, lawyer Gracie Law (Creator/KimCattrall), tour bus driver Egg Shen (Victor Wong), and the Chang Sing street gang join forces to rescue Miao Yin from the deathless Lo Pan, but Jack's really in it to get his truck back.
12
13	Subverts a few tropes of the action hero genre. Most notably, as stated by both Carpenter and Russell in the DVD commentary: "This is a movie about a guy who [[WrongGenreSavvy thinks he's the]] ActionHero when he's really the [[PluckyComicRelief comic sidekick]]."
14
15	The story continues in the ''ComicBook/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' comic series by BOOM! Studios, the first issue of which arrived on June 4th, 2014.
16
17	Don't confuse this with ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. {{Hilarity\|Ensues}} will ''[[TearJerker not]]'' ensue.[[note]]Amazingly both films star Creator/JamesHong, albeit he plays the minor role of Evelyn’s butler.[[/note]]
18
19	A reboot has been announced, with Wrestling/DwayneJohnson in the lead role. While initial news suggested that Johnson would be playing Jack Burton in a remake, later news indicated that the film being planned is actually a sequel set in the same world.
20
21	----
22
23	!!''Big Trouble in Little China'' contains examples of:
24
25	* ActionSurvivor: Eddie is just a smooth-talking host at Wang's restaurant, not a badass martial arts warrior. He still acquits himself well in the escape from Lo Pan's fortress, helping Jack gun down a Wing Kong henchman and brawling against the female guards with Wang, KO'ing one in the process.
26	* ActorAllusion: In the scene where Creator/KurtRussell is attempting to infiltrate the brothel, he is wearing the same outfit that he wore in ''Used Cars''.
27	* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: The White Tiger is a bordello found in San Francisco's Chinatown.
28	* AffectionateParody: The film lovingly spoofs action hero and magical martial arts film tropes.
29	* AirJousting: Wang Chi and Rain in an aerial sword duel.
30	* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: Okay, maybe not ''all'' of them, per se, but ''most'' Asians in this movie sure as hell seem to. Wang, a restaurant owner, is an expert martial artist for some reason. On the other hand, his maitre d', Eddie, doesn't appear to have any such skill. He can still brawl his way through standard mooks, of course.
31	* ArmedFemalesUnarmedMales: Wang Chi and Eddie try to get the drop on Lo Pan's female guards but lose their guns in the process, forcing them to fight barehanded against the guards' bo staffs and tonfa.
32	* AttackReflector: During the assault on Lo Pan's wedding, Lightning tries to throw a lightning bolt at Egg Shen, but the latter pulls out a metal fan, deflecting the bolt back into Lightning and knocking him out of the fight for awhile.
33	* AudibleSharpness: Swords and knives get the traditional sound of being drawn.
34	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Jack and Gracie pile up a lot of SlapSlapKiss style UnresolvedSexualTension, and finally admit to caring for each other at the end, but when Gracie starts talking about moving in together, Jack promptly walks out the door without even a goodbye kiss. This is a remnant of the original Western version where the hero rides off into the sunset.
35	* AwesomeButImpractical: Lightning's ShockAndAwe powers. While they're fantastic for intimidation, he only successfully uses his electricity to kill once. Otherwise he spends too much time showing off his skills and allowing others to outmaneuver him.
36	* BackToBackBadasses: Subverted. Jack and Wang agree to fight back-to-back until the end in their first real fight together, but Jack is so tense that he accidentally throws his knife into a corner and the fight is over by the time he gets back.
37	* BashBrothers: Wang and Jack team up to fight Thunder near the climax; most of the battle is spent running away from the invincible demigod.
38	* BavarianFireDrill: Jack and Wang bluff their way into the Wing Kong Exchange building by pretending to be telephone repairmen who'd been called in to fix a problem. Jack hilariously carries around an unplugged table phone as part of his disguise. They even seem to be aware of how ridiculous their plan was. "I can't believe that worked."
39	* BeamOWar: Extremely literal example. Lo Pan and Egg Shen fire beams at each other during the climax. The two beams, upon colliding, take the shape of dueling swordsmen. And then they twiddle their fingers like they're using video game controllers to direct the swordsmen.
40	* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: According to Wang, UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi was the one who secretly defeated and cursed Lo Pan as part of his unification campaign.
41	* BetaCouple: Margo and Eddie spend a fair chunk of the film [[ShipperOnDeck shipping]] Jack and Gracie, which naturally leads to them hooking up themselves. Ironic because Jack himself ends up shipping Margo and Eddie to keep them out of the way and safe while he and Wang are StormingTheCastle.
42	* BittersweetEnding: For such a fun and funny adventure film, it ends on a surprisingly sour note: [[spoiler:Jack decides to ride off into the sunset rather than get the girl, brushing her off in their final scene rather brusquely. As he drives away, it's revealed that a monster has stowed away in his truck, making his future uncertain]].
43	* BlatantLies: After semi-accidentally gunning down a {{mook}}, Jack looks a bit shell-shocked. When asked if that was his first time "plugging a guy," Jack suddenly adopts a macho posture and casually replies, "Of course not!"
44	* BloodlessCarnage: Folks get shot, slashed, stabbed and devoured, yet the only drop of blood is seen when Lo Pan jabs his finger with a needle.
45	* BodyHorror: Thunder inflates himself to a comically huge size and explodes.
46	* BoundAndGagged: Gracie and Miao Yin are both tied up in the slave emporium prior to their delivery to Lo Pan; Gracie is gagged because they got tired of her yelling.
47	* BrainwashedBride: BigBad David Lo Pan has to find a green-eyed Chinese girl to marry so he can be restored to his full power instead of the decrepit human form he appears in. On finding ''two'' women, Miao Yin and lawyer Gracie Law, he decides to marry them both in a ceremony to appease his master and god, by killing one and sparing the other as his true earthly bride. Both women are clad in gorgeous red dresses and guided to the ceremony, but both are clearly brainwashed since [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090728/mediaviewer/rm554142465?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_51 their]] [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090728/mediaviewer/rm587696897?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_52 eyes]] are blank and milky-white.
48	* BringIt: Lo Pan does this to Jack (using his index finger) as Burton is driving his truck toward him.
49	* ButNowIMustGo: After defeating Lo Pan, Jack leaves his friends and goes back to what he does best - being a trucker.
50	* CallBack
51	** The phrase "Cops got better things to do than get killed." is spoken twice by different characters.
52	** Several dueling lines of dialogue are spoken twice during the film by different characters. The entire exchange about Jack's truck for example.
53	* CatchAndReturn: Jack's trademark skill is his ability to catch objects as a lightning reflex. He employs it in the climax.
54	* CatchPhrase: While he may not be badass in the standard sense, Jack certainly had the dialogue down pat.
55	** "It's all in the reflexes," which serves triple duty as a ChekhovsGun and a BondOneLiner.
56	** "You know what Jack Burton always says at a time like this?" [[PhraseCatcher "Who?"]] "Jack Burton. ''Me''."
57	* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Jack and friends pass a police car and fire truck on their way to the scene during their escape, which have apparently finally decided to respond to the explosions and gunfire.
58	* ChekhovsSkill: In the beginning, Jack catches a bottle flying at his face. Later, he catches a thrown knife out of the air and delivers the same quip.
59	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Briefly mentioned, between Wang Chi and Miao Yin.
60	* CoDragons: Thunder, Lightning, and Rain serve as Lo Pan's enforcers and gofers. As they are corporeal, they have the ability to do things that he can't.
61	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Each of the Three Storms has a different colored outfit; Thunder has tan, Rain has blue, and Lightning has black (complete with silver chest plate).
62	* ColourCodedEyes: Lo Pan needs to marry a girl with green eyes to break his curse and become corporeal again, but that also makes him mortal. In order to become both corporeal and immortal, he has to then kill his new bride. When he discovers that Gracie and Miao Yin both have green eyes, he's overjoyed because he gets to trick the prophecy.
63	* ComboPlatterPowers: Thunder, Lightning, and Rain. Thunder has SuperStrength, as would be expected of his name, but he also can [[InflatingBodyGag inflate himself]], and if the elevator scene is any indication he's also immune to sleeping gas. Rain is implied to be able to [[WeatherManipulation summon rain]], and also has SuperBreath which can blow a rubber ball into a person's stomach with enough force to knock them over, and he's an expert swordsman. Lightning... pretty much just [[ShockAndAwe summons lightning]], though he can make that lightning do some fairly strange things.
64	* CurbStompBattle: Jack Burton, an ordinary guy with no noteworthy skills ([[CatchAndReturn save one]]), against an ancient Chinese sorcerer-demon with fantastic magical powers. Maybe that's what gets Lo Pan to drop his guard.
65	** The final battle at Lo Pan's wedding between the Chang Sings and the Wing Kong counts as well -- [[spoiler:despite being outnumbered at least five or six to one, every Chang Sing fighter we see at the beginning of the battle is alive at the end and the Wing Kong appear to have been utterly wiped out]].
66	* CutlassBetweenTheTeeth: Jack carries his knife in his mouth when he needs both his hands free.
67	* CuttingTheKnot: In order to get into an elevator, Jack hauls out a knife and cuts through the wall to get in, which works because the wall is made of paper.
68	-->'''Jack:''' Hollow?\
69	'''Wang:''' Hollow.\
70	'''Jack:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck it.]] ''[SLASH]''
71	* DarkActionGirl: The security in Lo Pan’s warehouse includes several female tong members with some kung fu skills.
72	* DidNotGetTheGirl: {{Subverted}} and becomes "Did not want the girl". Jack declines to stay with Gracie at the end of the movie, saying sooner or later he rubs everyone the wrong way. Riding off into the sunset is one of the vestiges of the film's original Western setting. In Jack's defence, he and Gracie have known each other less than 48 hours.
73	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu
74	** Justified, as the heroes deliberately wait until after Lo Pan is married to fight him [[CombatPragmatist because he'll be mortal afterwards]].
75	** Two of Lo Pan's [[TheDragon dragons]] go out this way. Rain is defeated via a sword through the guts, and Lightning is defeated by having a big rock dropped on his head.
76	* DisasterDominoes: When Lo Pan dies, a tremor shakes the room, causing two rows of statues to fall over on one another. A large gong between the rows is tipped over halfway along, for extra "bong!!!" points.
77	* DivingSave: After kidnapping Miao Yin, the Lords of Death are escaping in a car. Jack pulls a frozen Wang Chi out of the way of the oncoming car.
78	* DontThinkFeel: Jack can and does do impressive things on "reflex" but often botches [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks actions]] when he makes a conscious, premeditated attempt.
79	* DragonTheirFeet: Two of Lo Pan's Dragons die after he does.
80	* DrivenToSuicide / TakingYouWithMe: Thunder doesn't take Lo Pan's death well. Rather than go berserk and tear up the place, he commits suicide by [[InflatingBodyGag self-inflation and explosion]], causing the building to collapse.
81	* DrowningPit: The elevator in Lo Pan's lair can be flooded with water to trap hapless intruders.
82	* DualWielding: Each of the Three Storms wield a pair of weapons in the alleyway skirmish; Thunder has a pair of knives, Rain has two rakes, and Lighting has emei piercers on his fingers that [[SpectacularSpinning spin]].
83	* {{Eagleland}}: Mocked, but in a good way. Nearly all of the main characters - save Jack and Gracie - are Chinese-American immigrants (including Lo Pan) and Wang Chi offers up a patriotic toast to America before drinking Egg's potion.
84	* ElementalEmbodiment: Lo Pan's CoDragons embody the aspects of storms: Thunder who has SuperStrength and [[InflatingBodyGag the power of self-inflation]], Lightning who has the ability to [[ShockAndAwe control electricity]], and Rain who is implied to be able to summon rainstorms and can create powerful gusts of wind.
85	* TheEndOrIsIt: As Jack drives off, we see that one of David Lo Pan's monsters is hitching a ride under his truck.
86	* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: Except for Jack, but he still throws in with a good punch or two.
87	* EvilCripple: Lo Pan in his "old man" form, restricted to a wheelchair.
88	* EyeScream: Averted with Lo Pan's sentry monster. Despite being nearly made of eyes, it dies due to a precision sword strike between them.
89	* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Lo Pan's spherical spy monster has eyes on stalks, on its back, and even one in its mouth and one in its nose.
90	* FantasyKitchenSink: Not a straight example, being a NewOldWest [[JustForFun/XMeetsY slash]] {{Wuxia}} fantasy flick, but it points out the reason that few martial arts films have consistent cosmologies;
91	-->'''Egg Shen''': Of course the Chinese mix everything up. Look at what we have to work with. There's Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoist alchemy and sorcery. We take what we want and leave the rest. Just like your salad bar.
92	* FemmeFatalons: Lo Pan can grow these at will.
93	%%* FingerSnapLighter:
94	* FiringInTheAirALot: Jack tries it and subsequently causes a chunk of the ceiling to fall on his head and knock him out.
95	* FireForgedFriends: At the beginning, aside from Jack and Wang, there's some hostility and some reluctance to work together. By the end, they've all become very good friends.
96	* ForgottenFramingDevice: The film starts with one of its characters being interviewed by a lawyer. He begins telling his story, which kicks off the action, but there's nothing at the end to explain how the cops got involved or why the character was detained for questioning. This scene came about from ExecutiveMeddling and was not something originally in the script or first cuts of the film, but added later.
97	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: During Jack and Lo Pan's confrontation, Thunder is chasing Wang in the background -- the latter is doing ''flips'' and ''backflips''.
98	* GhostlyGlide: Lo Pan floats over the ground when he's in his ghost form.
99	* GoodHairEvilHair: Lo Pan's long wispy beard definitely qualifies as Evil Hair.
100	* GroinAttack: When Lo Pan's Yeti monster grabs Jack from behind, Gracie kicks it in the family jewels to make it let go.
101	* GunsAkimbo: An unnamed Wing Kong member played by Gerald Okamura, possibly a MookLieutenant, sports two golden revolvers to good effect.
102	* GunsAreWorthless: Zigzagged. While regular mooks are not bulletproof, in the grand melee, Thunder confronts Jack. Jack tries to shoot him, but Thunder simply grabs the gun and smashes it. The Wing Kong security guards are [[HeroTrackingFailure also terrible at shooting the heroes]]. Lampshaded by Egg Shen, who flat out tells Jack that guns won't do much to Lo Pan but offers him one anyway on the basis of "If it'll make you feel better."
103	* {{Hellevator}}: How does it know which way to go without anyone pressing buttons? Ancient Chinese secret.
104	* HeroBall: Jack and Wang juggle it. Wang is more martially competent and [[IHaveYourWife properly motivated]]; but Jack is the one who comes up with the ideas and keeps saving everyone else's life. [[spoiler:He's also the one who kills the BigBad.]]
105	* HeroOfAnotherStory: We get quite a few, befitting the theme of the movie that Jack actually isn't the hero.
106	** Egg Shen has been fighting Lo Pan (and likely other mystical forces) for several years.
107	** Gracie Law and Margo have been exposing the Chinatown underworld, resulting in Gracie knowing quite a bit about the local gangs to the point where they now want to kill her.
108	** While this is the first time Wang has been up against supernatural threats (he grew up believing them to be myths), he obviously has experience at fighting bad guys and even has an alliance with one of the local gangs.
109	* HeroTrackingFailure: When Jack Burton is running near a wall, David Lo Pan's guards shoot at him but all miss, hitting the wall behind him instead. If one looks closely, a charge explodes just next to Jack's head. This was not done on purpose. Apparently, the special effects technician set the charges to go off too soon, nearly resulting in Creator/KurtRussell being injured. Of course they decided to ThrowItIn anyway.
110	* HeyCatch: Jack has a trick. It's his only trick, but it's a good one -- he can catch anything. As he says, "It's all in the reflexes."
111	* HookedUpAfterwards: Margo invites Eddie over to her apartment in a very seductive way.
112	* HowWeGotHere: The film opens with a lawyer asking Egg Shen to explain what exactly went down in Chinatown. Unusually for the trope, [[ForgottenFramingDevice the film never returns to this scene]], as it was tacked on by ExecutiveMeddling.
113	* HumbleGoal: All Jack really wants is to get his truck back.
114	* IfIDoNotReturn: Jack tells Gracie, "If we're not back by dawn... call the President."
115	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: David Lo Pan with Gracie Law and Miao Yin.
116	* ImmuneToBullets: When the Three Storms (magical henchmen of the BigBad Lo Pan) face off against the gang members in the alley, the gang members fire their guns at them. The Three Storms are completely unaffected by the gunfire.
117	* IndecisiveParody: Of martial arts/fantasy/action movies. If one doesn't know a lot about the tropes of martial arts movies (and back when it came out, most potential audiences didn't), it can easily be mistaken for one instead of a parody of the genre.
118	* InflatingBodyGag: When Thunder becomes truly enraged, he inflates himself with air.
119	-->'''Wang:''' I don't think he's gonna stop!
120	* IntangibleMan: While in his ghost form, David Lo Pan can pass through walls and other solid objects. He can selectively interact with solid objects when he needs to, such as when he holds the Needle of Love and Miao Yin during the wedding ceremony, but presumably he cannot become completely corporeal without reverting to being an old man in a wheelchair.
121	* IntimidationDemonstration:
122	** When Jack Burton confronts the Lords of Death members at the airport, one of them pulls out a knife and an extendable staff. When he starts swinging them in front of himself in a frightening display of his weapon-handling abilities, Jack wisely backs away from him.
123	** When the Three Storms first appear to break up the fight between the Chang Sings and the Wing Kong, they give a display of martial arts skills and supernatural powers to intimidate the gangs. One of the Storms, Lightning, adds a display of his electrical powers for extra "shock value."
124	** When Lightning confronts Jack, Gracie, Egg Shen and Miao Yin after the death of Lo Pan, he fires off lightning bolts in all directions in an attempt to frighten them.
125	* InterrogationFlashback: The movie starts with Egg Shen being questioned by his (rather unfriendly) lawyer about what happened. Egg Shen starts explaining, which fades into the events that started off the whole situation.
126	* IntrepidReporter: Margo ''wants'' to be one.
127	-->'''Margo:''' I must be so monumentally naive.\
128	'''Eddie:''' ''[kindly]'' You are.
129	* IWasBornReady: Before infiltrating into Lo Pan's headquarters, Wang asks Jack if he's ready, prompting him to respond that he was ''born'' ready.
130	* ItWasntEasy: Egg Shen disappears after the fight in the assembly hall, then abruptly reappears to throw his friends an escape rope through a hole in the ceiling. When asked how the he got up there, Egg just says "[[HandWave It wasn't easy]]!"
131	* JugglingLoadedGuns: Just before the climactic battle, Jack attempts to lead the charge of TheCavalry by shooting upwards dramatically. A chunk of the ceiling lands on his head for his effort, and [[TapOnTheHead puts him out of commission]] until the fight is well underway.
132	* KidnappedFromBehind: While the protagonists are escaping from Lo Pan's lair with the freed female slaves, Gracie Law brings up the rear. When the rest of the group goes ahead, Gracie Law lingers behind to check out something odd and is confronted by one of Lo Pan's monster guards. After {{Fainting}}, she is captured and taken away by the monster.
133	* KukrisAreKool: The Storms use these, both for cutting and throwing.
134	* LancerVsDragon: Wang Chi versus Rain in an aerial sword duel. [[spoiler:Wang wins, by throwing his sword into Rain's chest and sending him flying into a damaged statue that explodes on contact]].
135	* LargeHam: Several, but especially Jack and the villains.
136	* LawOfInverseRecoil: Subversion when Jack fires a machine pistol on full automatic.
137	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Lo Pan's creature is obviously a [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons beholder]].
138	* LighterAndSofter: Carpenter is mostly known for hard action and horror films. This one is much more comedic, though there's still a lot of violence.
139	* LipstickMark: After kissing Gracie for the first time, Jack spends a scene or two with stained red lips. He even delivers some badass dialogue -- and kills the BigBad -- completely unaware of how silly he looks. (Gracie does try to tell him before he confronts Thunder, but Jack ignores her.)
140	* LoadBearingBoss: When Jack finally defeats Lo Pan, his lair starts to fall apart.
141	* LoopholeAbuse: How Lo Pan intends to both end his curse and conquer the world. The curse dictates that he marry a Chinese girl with green eyes (already a rarity) to resurrect himself as a human, but he has to kill her if he wants to rule the universe, which nullifies the marriage. However, there's no rule stating he can't marry TWO green-eyed women and sacrifice one while keeping the other, which he realizes when he notices Gracie's eyes.
142	* MagicalAsian: Egg Shen and Lo Pan. Asians in Chinatown are, in general, more cool with magic than the white visitors.
143	* MeaningfulAppearance: Lo Pan has to marry and then sacrifice a woman with green eyes to become whole again. The thing is, he at first thinks he needs to sacrifice a ''Chinese'' woman, and (Han) Chinese people having green eyes is extremely rare if not impossible.
144	* MeaningfulEcho: "Cops got better things to do than get killed." Wang says this to Jack after their first experience with Lo Pan on the streets and Jack dismisses it as nonsense. After the assault on Lo Pan's warehouse Jack says it himself to Margo. Wang gives him a knowing look to confirm that they both now understand exactly what they're up against.
145	* MeaningfulName: Gracie Law is a lawyer.
146	* MightyWhitey: Subverted. Jack acts like he's the lantern-jawed, All-American hero of the story, but he's actually the SideKick of his more capable Chinese-American friend Wang Chi.
147	* MindControlEyes: When Gracie Law and Miao Yin are under David Lo Pan's control.
148	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: The kidnapping of a girl with green eyes → David Lo Pan's plan to rule the universe from beyond the grave.
149	-->'''Lo Pan:''' [[MemeticMutation Indeed!]]
150	* MirrorsReflectEverything: Egg Shen uses this when Lightning fires some, well, lightning at him. His mirror? A Chinese fan that looks like it's made of aluminum foil.
151	* MookLieutenant: One unnamed Wing Kong member (credited as "Hatchet Man", played by Al Leong) acts as the gang's leader, and is also shown [[RankScalesWithAsskicking fighting]].
152	* {{Mooks}}: Street gang Wing Kong act as Lo Pan's mooks.
153	* MrExposition:
154	** After Wang Chi's fiancee Miao Yin is kidnapped by members of the Lords of Death gang, he and Jack Burton follow them and end in a gang fight at a funeral. Later, Wang's employee Eddie Lee (who's been out gathering information on the streets of Chinatown) walks in and gives an infodump on what happened and why.
155	-->'''Eddie''': The Lords of Death were only on a joyride, not acting on orders from the Wing Kong. They just wanted a girl to sell and Miao Yin got in the way. Plus, the skirmish you guys stumbled into. Lo Pan, the word is, ordered the boss of the Chang Sings, Mr. Lem Lee, assassinated. That was his funeral.
156	** Would-be IntrepidReporter Margo Litzenberger temporarily embodies this trope at one point:
157	-->'''Margo:''' You mean the Lo Pan that's chairman of the National Orient Bank and owns the Wing Kong Trading Company, but who's so reclusive that no one has laid eyes on him in years?\
158	'''Jack Burton:''' Who the hell are you, anyway?
159	* MundaneSolution: Lightning, TheDragon who shoots lightning bolts out of his hands, is defeated by dropping a statue on his head.
160	* NeckLift: Thunder does this to Wang Chi when Wang and Jack attack him.
161	* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: The Chang Sing are criminals but seem to mostly exist as protection for the locals from the Wing Kong.
162	* NoManOfWomanBorn: Lo Pan has to marry and then sacrifice a green-eyed woman to return to human form, but he has to stay married to one in order to regain his full power. The solution: Marry two green-eyed women and sacrifice one of them.
163	* NoPoliceOption: Twice someone says that they should call the police (Jack and Margo later on). The answer [[MeaningfulEcho both times]] is "cops got better things to do than get killed", the first time being because the Triads are too violent and powerful and the second time because dealing with [[spoiler:Chinese ghosts and storm gods trying to take over the world]] is most definitely beyond their capacity. Sure enough, when the police finally interfere with the plot, it's [[TheCavalryArrivesLate after all of the insanity has ended]] and they are trying to (mostly off-screen) make sense of TheUnmaskedWorld.
164	* NoSell: Jack punches Rain square on the jaw. Twice. To absolutely no effect. In fact, Rain doesn't even ''blink'' when he's hit. Jack then gives a hilarious OhCrapSmile a split second before Rain kangaroo-kicks him through a door. Ten feet away.
165	* NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: The first time Jack tries to fire the TEC-9, he has to be reminded by Wang to take the safety off.
166	* {{Oculothorax}}: A [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Beholder-like]] monster shows up, to Jack's horror. "What it sees, Lo Pan knows."
167	* OffscreenTeleportation: Lampshaded when Jack asks Egg how he got from Lo Pan's underground temple to a passageway above them.
168	--> '''Egg Shen:''' Wasn't easy!
169	* OhCrap
170	** When a gang member calls Wang Chi by name, both Wang and Jack give a collective "Oh crap."
171	** Jack and company collectively wince after the knife he throws at Lo Pan misses.
172	* OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople: Jack opens a door and sees a mob of angry-looking mooks on the other side. Naturally he slams it shut in their faces. Subverted once the mooks have hacked through the door, Jack shoots most of them with his TEC-9.
173	* PairTheSpares: Jack attempts this by telling Margo that Eddie has a crush on her. It's mostly a ploy to keep both of them out of the way while he and Wang are StormingTheCastle, but Eddie gives Margo a look that implies Jack isn't wrong. Near the end of the movie, Margo suggestively asks Eddie to come over to her place later and help her choose the title of her planned book.
174	* PaperThinDisguise: Jack disguises himself as a phone company technician by literally carrying a tabletop phone.
175	* PGExplosives: Egg Shen uses explosives to blow up multiple {{Mooks}}. There's no gore; they simply fly through the air.
176	* PinballProtagonist: Carpenter meant to make a film where the POV is from the clueless white sidekick while the real heroes show off their training and years of knowledge. Jack's involvement in the plot happens by complete chance, his meetings with the major gangs and monsters are complete chance, and his second greatest achievement is accidentally knocking himself out during the final battle.
177	* PluckyComicRelief: Jack's true role in the story is as the sidekick to Wang; accordingly, he gets to deliver all the one-liners and be the ButtMonkey.
178	* PopGoesTheHuman: Thunder inflates himself to monstrous size after Lo Pan's demise, then explodes, bringing the temple down with him.
179	* PortraitPaintingPeephole: The Yeti monster spies on the heroes from behind a statue.
180	* PowerUpFood: Egg gives everyone a potion that makes them all into a BadassAbnormal, especially Wang Chi, who's strong enough to fight members of the Three Storms himself. Though [[TacticalWithdrawal "fight"]] may be overselling it a little once he runs into [[TheJuggernaut Thunder]].
181	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: There's a RunningGag throughout the movie of Jack delivering a pre-battle boast and then [[SubvertedTrope getting hauled off]].
182	* ProphecyTwist: Lo Pan attempts to pull this by marrying two women in his secret ceremony. There's also the fact Gracie Law, as a woman of mixed heritage (implied more than shown since her actress is not), qualifies for the ceremony requiring a Chinese woman of green eyes.
183	* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: Jack when punching Rain, one of Lo Pan's minions. After hitting Rain twice to no effect whatsoever, Jack sort of gives a [[WorthyOpponent respectful nod]] before getting kicked across the room.
184	* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Rain (one of the film's CoDragons) is a powerful supernatural being with dangerous martial arts skills. While Jack Burton is fighting him, Rain ''kicks'' him across the room.
185	* ThePunishment: Lo Pan was cursed ages ago to be of "no-flesh", unable to exercise his sorcerous powers in his physical form. He can assume the shape of his once-powerful self, but he is incorporeal and mostly unable to touch anything.
186	* PurpleProse: Lo Pan's inept attempts to gush about Miao Yin's looks.
187	* ARealManIsAKiller: In one scene Jack is embarrassed by having killed someone only for the first time and lies about it so as not to appear dorky to his male friends. The fact Eddie and Wang are clearly much more comfortable with killing, despite being restaurateurs, makes it all the more funny.
188	* RealityHasNoSubtitles: Several times in the movie, characters speak in Chinese without any translation for the audience.
189	** While David Lo Pan is interrogating Wang Chi and Jack, he speaks in Chinese to Wang Chi.
190	** When Wang Chi is pretending to hold Eddie Lee hostage, he shouts at the female jailers in Chinese.
191	** While the rescue party is in Egg Shen's warehouse, he speaks to the Chang Sings in Chinese.
192	** After Lo Pan's "wedding" with Gracie Law and Miao Yin, Egg Shen makes several comments in Chinese.
193	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Wing Kongs wear black kimonos with red trim and work as Lo Pan's {{Mooks}}.
194	* RevolversAreForAmateurs
195	** Eddie, Jack and Wang trade pilfered guns, each trying to get rid of the unwanted snub-nosed revolver. Eddie winds up with it.
196	** Egg Shen tries to offer a large caliber piece to Jack, thinking it will make the latter feel "like [[Film/DirtyHarry Dirty Harry]]." Jack is unimpressed and chooses to stick with his TEC-9.
197	* RidingIntoTheSunset: Name-dropped in the commentary.
198	* RunningOverThePlot: The main character is introduced to the BigBad when he runs ''through'' him with a semi truck. The villain in question was a walking dream (a ghost, essentially).
199	* SadlyMythtaken: Much of the movie is only tangentially related to actual Chinese mythology, but the "evil bodhisattva" stands out most.
200	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Miao Yin has virtually no characterization beyond being the girl Wang Chi loves and [[DamselInDistress needs to rescue from Lo Pan]]. In fact, she comes close to having no dialogue at all.
201	* ScreamingWarrior: At first all the screaming into combat is done by the street gangs, with Jack as a slack-jawed bystander, but he and Wang get into the act as well in the big melee in Lo Pan's temple.
202	* SecondPersonAttack: During the street fight between the warring gangs one of the fighters roundhouse kicks the camera.
203	* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Jack's a macho, all-American kind of a person (or so he thinks), while Wang is a dutiful store owner, dizzy with excitement to meet his Chinese betrothed after many years apart, and tends to be more emotional. [[SubvertedTrope Jack's machismo is mainly for show, however, while Wang's the real macho one.]]
204	* ShapedLikeItself: Egg Shen invokes this trope when he and Jack are beneath Chinatown.
205	-->'''Jack:''' That is ''not'' water.\
206	'''Egg:''' Black blood of the earth.\
207	'''Jack:''' What, you mean oil?\
208	'''Egg:''' I mean black blood of the earth!
209	* ShockAndAwe: Lightning's powers are, as one might expect, to shoot bolts of electricity everywhere. He enjoys his job a bit too much, perhaps, as he spends so much time showing off that the heroes can counter his attacks or run away.
210	* ShootOutTheLock: Jack shoots off a padlock to free the female captives from their cells in Lo Pan's warehouse.
211	* SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: Jack's CB soliloquy offers the following gem:
212	-->'''Jack:''' [...] Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
213	* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Subverted when the heroes must stand by and allow Lo Pan's wedding to take place so he will become mortal, and thus vulnerable.
214	* StompyMooks: The Lo Pan's terracotta warriors.
215	* StoutStrength: Thunder is the most heavyset of the Three Storms, and when shown with his shirt off he's less bodybuilder, more powerlifter build. He's also the most physically powerful, shattering Jack's gun with a single blow and carrying Eddie (who's a big dude) with one arm. Of course, being a demigod probably helps.
216	* SummonMagic: Egg Shen and Lo Pan conjure huge spirit-warrior figures to duel one another during the wedding-ceremony battle.
217	* SunglassesAtNight: At the start of the film, Jack is driving a truck, with sunglasses on, well after the sun has gone down.
218	* SuperSerum: Egg Shen provides this in the form of a potion that lets one "see things no one else can see, do things no one else can do." It also provides a good buzz.
219	* SupportingProtagonist: Jack has a lot of enthusiasm, but he has no idea what is going on and is constantly in need of explanation and leadership from the others.
220	* TapOnTheHead: Wang and Eddie knock out several of Lo Pan's guards, and Jack does it to himself at the start of the giant melee by way of FiringInTheAirALot and hitting the ceiling.
221	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Many of the characters speak their motivations aloud, even referring to themselves in third person. For example, when introduced, Margo exclaims she's desperate and will do anything for a story.
222	* ThemeNaming: Lo Pan's CoDragons, the Three Storms, are named after components of storms: Thunder, Lightning and Rain.
223	* ThirdPersonPerson: [[CatchPhrase As Jack Burton always says]], talking about yourself in first person is for wimps.
224	* ThroatLight: Lo Pan can emit a blinding blast of magical power from his mouth.
225	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks:
226	** Wang delivers the killing blow to Rain at the conclusion of their [[AirJousting aerial duel]] by throwing his sword into Rain's guts.
227	** DoubleSubverted when Jack confronts Lo Pan. Jack's first throw misses by a mile. Lo Pan picks up the knife and throws it back, only for Jack to catch it out of the air and throw it again on reflex, this time getting Lo Pan square in the forehead.
228	* TookALevelInBadass: Jack goes from an ActionSurvivor to BadassAbnormal (or just BadassNormal through abnormal means) over the course of the movie.
229	* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: The Wing Kong and Chang Sing street gangs are explicitly referred to as "Fighting Tongs," though only one side is evil.
230	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Gracie is the {{Tsundere}} tomboy, and Miao Yin is the easily frightened DamselInDistress girly girl.
231	* TrollingTranslator: {{Lampshaded}} as Jack and Wang Chi are sneaking around David Lo Pan's base.
232	-->'''Jack:''' (''pointing to Chinese writing on elevator'') What does that say?\
233	'''Wang:''' (''speaks Chinese'') "Hell of Boiling Oil".\
234	'''Jack:''' You're kidding.\
235	'''Wang:''' Yeah, I am. It says "Keep Out".
236	* UndersideRide: The ending shows the hero happily driving away, only to throw in a last second JumpScare revealing a monster hiding under his semi trailer.
237	* UndignifiedDeath: None of the prominent bad guys die very well. Rain gets impaled mid-leap and flies into a wall screaming, Thunder gets so upset he explodes, Lightning gets a statue dropped on his head and Lo Pan getting a knife thrown back in his own head looks so surprised he got killed by someone as lame as Jack Burton.
238	* TheUnmasquedWorld: The first scene (which is chronologically the last scene) implies that the outside world noticed the fight with Lo Pan and wants answers.
239	* WaitHere: Parodied when Jack tells this to several of his {{Sidekick}}s.
240	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse
241	** Tara is a woman from China whose rights are being protected by the lawyer Gracie Law. After she appears in Gracie Law's office, she disappears from the story and is never mentioned again. What happened to her? Were her rights respected?
242	** After David Lo Pan's female Chinese slaves are rescued from his headquarters and taken away in Egg Shen's bus, they do not appear again in the movie. Where they turned over to the INS? Deported back to China? Treated as refugees?
243	** After the final battle and with the Wing Kong gang wiped out, the Chang Sings vanish from the story. Likely they simply escaped victorious while Egg Shen stayed behind to find the heroes.
244	* WhyWontYouDie: Lo Pan gets visibly frustrated by Jack's refusal to give up despite how obviously overmatched he is.
245	-->'''Lo Pan:''' Is it too much to ask, Thunder? Kill him! For me!
246	* WireFu: This trope is not only played straight (as would be expected), but discussed. After an early encounter with evil {{Mooks}}, Jack Burton complains about people flying in on "wires." In universe, we are asked to accept that real magic permits the astounding gymnastics that Jack observed, but Jack is still AgentScully. Wires are a more reasonable explanation than magic. He becomes less skeptical as the story progresses.
247	* WizardDuel: Egg Shen and Lo Pan have a BeamOWar battle in the middle of [[WeddingSmashers the grand melee at Lo Pan's wedding]]. The duel is inconclusive, though Lo Pan seems to claim victory. At the very least, he claims that Egg Shen could never beat him.
248	* WorthyOpponent: Rain seems to regard Wang as one. After Wang carves his way through several {{Mooks}}, Rain challenges him.
249	* WouldHitAGirl: Eddie and Wang take on the female Wing Kong jail guards and pull no punches. Justified when you consider the ladies gave both of them a pretty bad pounding.
250	* WreckedWeapon: During the assault on Lo Pan's wedding, Thunder gets ahold of Jack's Tec-9 and smashes it.
251	* YellowPeril: Wang explains that the Chinese-American immigrants brought black sorcery along with their culture, and that the entire world is in danger if Lo Pan succeeds in his goals. However, because heroic Chinese people are the only ones aware of the threat, they're also critical for its defeat.
252	-->'''Wang''': Chinese hear these things when we're kids. Then we grow up... and pretend not to believe them. No horseshit, Jack. I don't blame you. I'm Chinese, and I don't even want to believe it. But it's for real... sorcery, Chinese black magic.
253	* YouDoNOTWantToKnow: Jack is freaked out by the creature in the sewers, but Egg Shen brushes his questions off.
254	-->'''Egg:''' It will come out no more!\
255	'''Jack:''' ''What?!'' Huh? ''What'' will come out no more?!

Context Film / BigTroubleInLittleChina