The Three Storms, Lightning in particular for being the inspiration for Raiden.
On the heroes' side are neighborhood sorcerer Egg Shen and Intrepid Reporter Margo.
Fountain of Memes: It's a movie from the '80s, so it's expected. Jack Burton in particular is extremely quotable.
Heartwarming Moments: While the film enjoys poking fun at Jack Burton, it also makes it clear that the man is a brave, loyal friend. When Wang starts to ask Jack not to come with him, Jack makes it clear he isn't going anywhere.
Wang: They've got this sorta clubhouse thing, you know, where they all hang out. Jack: Sharpen their knives, huh? Wang: I can't ask you to- Jack: Where is it?! Wang: Thank you, Jack.
Wang and Jack's tribute to the American Armed Forces may be a bit corny,but it's is also touching.
Wang: Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. Jack: May the wings of liberty never lose a feather.
Or, possible, Awesome In Hindsight, with Lightning, a predecessor to Raiden of Mortal Kombat, complete with nice hat. Kitana's famous Kiss of Death fatality also references Thunder's death very closely.
Not only does Lo Pan and Egg Shen's duel looks like they're playing a video game, but the colors used for both of them, green and purple, respectively, are each associated with the Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
Magnificent Bastard: "David" Lo Pan is an ancient Chinese sorcerer cursed until he can marry the green-eyed daughter of a holy woman. Ruling the underworld and keeping his enemies on the retreat, Lo Pan masterminds the kidnapping of heroines Miao Yin and Gracie Law so he can circumvent the prophecy by marrying both while sacrificing one to a demon so he may keep both his youth and godly power simultaneously.
Memetic Badass: Jack Burton given the amount of tough talking he does and how he does manage to make good on it in one key moment at the end.
Memetic Mutation: To say the movie is quotable is an understatement.
"Indeed!"
"Like ol' Jack Burton says..."
"You leave Jack Burton ALONE! We are in his debt!"
The main page quote detailing "light coming out of his mouth."
Thunder's death where he inflates is often considered one of the goofier movie deaths.
"It's all in the reflexes."
"Son of a bitch must pay!"
Narm Charm: Much of the movie, a lot (if not all) of it deliberately.
The "Magical Video Game Battle" between Lo Pan and Egg Shen. It is both awesome (as intended) and hilariously ridiculous.
Despite how incredibly fake and stupid it is, Thunder blowing up like a balloon somehow works because of how funny it is. And apparently he has salad for internal organs.
The second encounter of the Beholder has it laying on the ground, literally licking its wounds. When it sees the heroes, it just gives an annoyed Aside Glance at them (before it's killed.)
Tsui Hark's Wuxiagame-changerZu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1982) exists as a reference at this point, along with such early kung fu ghost comedies as Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980, Sammo Hung) and The Dead and the Deadly (1982, Wu Ma). But as the film is being written (...) most of the HK supernatural fu classics have yet to be made. No Mr Vampire (q.v.), no A Chinese Ghost Story (q.v.), no The Swordsman (1990, credited to King Hu). The western fandom for HK films extant in 1986 revolves around Bruce Lee, Shaw Brothers Chop Socky, and real-world martial arts practice. It sure isn't ready for lightning-throwing warriors or ghostly sorcerors. Accordingly, Big Trouble flops on its theatrical release, joining the roster of fan favourites that slowly grows its popularity on home video.
Slow-Paced Beginning: The first third of the film is a series of half-heartedly delivered Info Dumps so it can get all the exposition out of the way. It's only after all that when the non-stop action begins.
Special Effects Failure: The film's age means that many of its special effects looked dated to modern audiences, and disatisfied John Carpenter upon the film's release, though were pretty good for their era.
Thunder's explosion is obviously a suit pumped full of air.
The monsters are obviously suits and puppets.
Values Resonance: The satirization of "White Savior" tropes continues to feel timely and refreshing given that there are contemporary movies that can't seem to get away from them. Jack Burton isn't there to save or uplift his Asian compatriots, he's just there to get his truck back, get his money, and help them out since Wang's his friend and their goals mutually benefit with each other. Jack is essentially the comedic ethnic sidekick to Wang.
Vindicated by History: Despite a positive test-screening, the movie bombed at the box office (no doubt due to 20th Century Fox's other filmAliens being released the next week) and critical opinions were negative enough to make Carpenter leave studio film work. Nowadays it's considered one of his best films by fans and critics alike.
The Comic
Tear Jerker: Issue 4's revelation about the first Mrs. Burton is actually surprisingly sweet, and sad.
She was the one. Does it matter how we met? How we fell in love? How she made me feel special because if someone like her loved me, well, I must be alright. Because no one as amazing as her would just take up with any jerk.
None of those things matter. The only thing that matters is she's gone, and like Miao and Wang, all I want to do is reach out and touch her one more time.
It seems like yesterday, or a century ago that she came home and collapsed in the doorway. Seems like merely two hours or a millennia ago that I sat with her day after day in that hospital. It could be five minutes or an eternity ago that she gripped my hand with all the feeble strength she could muster. Just seconds ago she looked in my eyes with all the fear and love possible in the human soul and told me goodbye.
As she faded away I kissed her and felt her last breath escape her lips.
That's the last time I ever kissed a woman goodbye, and it will always be the last kiss goodbye.
It makes his refusal to kiss Gracie goodbye in the film even more heartbreaking.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The new villain kidnaps Wang Chi but leaves Miao Yin behind. You'd think maybe this bit of Swapped Roles for the two would allow her to travel with Jack to get her fiancee back, allowing the writers to give the Satellite Love Interest from the movie a little bit of Character Development. You'd think that... but you'd be wrong.
