Big Trouble in Little China (Remake)

[Mola Rob]

You're absolutely wrong. Halloween is his most famous film.

And more bad films than good ones?

The Fog, Halloween, Christine, They Live, Prince of Darkness, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, Starman, Vampires, and Ghosts of Mars

I'll give you Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Village of the Damned, and Escape from LA as bad movies.... but, exactly which of the others do you consider bad?

Damn near every one of his films has become iconic. Sorry, but Carpenter has a solid career, and has made many of my favorite movies.

I would agree on all counts except Ghost of Mars but I would add that Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, and Prince of Darkness are all good movies. His movies are not for everyone but I'm a lifelong fan and think his body of work is underrated for the most part.

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That could still work for the Rock, they could play up his physique which would fuel his bravado and thus add humor, a big, buff guy who's not really all that tough or badass, despite the way he looks. I'll wait and see until there's some more about what they're doing to do with this remake and wait for the trailer before deciding whether or not this will be a waste of time or not, right now it's way too early to tell.

But the question remains is why do we need to see Mr. The Rock even try when the original movie was good? Why the hell can't they create a new character he can create by bugging his eyes out and looking crazy?

 

[Apollo]

Who cares?

They need to make THEIR OWN Film instead of re-making a Cult classic.

When the original came out it bombed and bombed hard.

People did'nt get a lot of the film.

Jack was supposed to be the hero instead of the bumbling blowhard who was completly out of his element.

Carpenter was WAY ahead of his time with this one and it is nice to see that a lot of people FINALLY got it!

Remaking classics did not work for Robocop or Total Recall, but there are a lot more film goers out there that have not scene the original BTILC than have, and the remake is for them, not us, and none of us are going to be forced to watch it.

 

[tgreco]

My take away from this conversation is that the only people who want to see John Carpenter films remade, are people who aren't fan's of John Carpenter's work in the first place.

Let's see how they've done with the remakes so far...
Assault on Precinct 13... RT score 60%
The Fog ... 4%
Halloween ... 25%
The Thing ... 35%

comparably
The Originals
Assault on Precint 13 : 97%
The Fog: 69%
Halloween: 94%
The Thing: 80%

How about they leave this one alone, and we teach the young ones that not every great movie was made in the last 10 years.

 

[Apollo]

Right but you know it is a double edged sword but one that I like.

John gets some fast easy money and the unwashed masses get crap! :lol

My take away from this conversation is that the only people who want to see John Carpenter films remade, are people who aren't fan's of John Carpenter's work in the first place.

Let's see how they've done with the remakes so far...
Assault on Precinct 13... RT score 60%
The Fog ... 4%
Halloween ... 25%
The Thing ... 35%

How about they leave this one alone.

 

[Mola Rob]

It's Hollywood, they don't know when to leave anything alone.

I'm proud to say I was one of the fifty or so people who supported Big Trouble in Little China by seeing it in the theater on opening night in 1986...I got it right off the bat.

 

[Apollo]

Ditto!

A lot of my friends did'nt though! :lol

 

[Monkey67]

If the rock wants to be in it. Let him be the guy that's the muscle for Lo pan. You know the dude that blows up at the end. I rather them not remake it, but a new story many years later with new people. Maybe like egg takes on a new threat on his variation.

 

[dascoyne]

It's Hollywood, they don't know when to leave anything alone.

I'm proud to say I was one of the fifty or so people who supported Big Trouble in Little China by seeing it in the theater on opening night in 1986...I got it right off the bat.

I was the other guy in the theater cheering.

 

[Mola Rob]

It sounds like most of the people who saw it in '86 are now on the RPF. :lol

 

[MooCriket]

I missed out on seeing it in the theater, but during the summer when it came out on cable, I watched it religiously everyday before soccer practice. I later ended up wearing out a VHS copy. I may have only been twelve but I sure did not mind Gracie Law and Mao Linn

Not sure why, but this film and the Thing are two of my favorite Kurt Russel films.

 

[AJTaliesen]

I say no, not because of rose glasses, but really the opposite.

I did (and still do) love the original, but it wasn't great cinema. It was campy and stupid to the point where it almost became a parody of itself. It just managed to combine the exact right formula of chemistry, campiness, silliness, and just the slightest dash of actually taking itself seriously once or twice to add flavor, that would be nearly impossible to duplicate.

It really wasn't the story that made it great, it was the one in a million right combination of other factors, up to and including the era it was released in.

And yet..i do like the Rock, so... Maybe if some of you see it first and tell me it's good I'll consider it.

 

[The Mad Professor]

My take away from this conversation is that the only people who want to see John Carpenter films remade, are people who aren't fan's of John Carpenter's work in the first place.

Let's see how they've done with the remakes so far...
Assault on Precinct 13... RT score 60%
The Fog ... 4%
Halloween ... 25%
The Thing ... 35%

comparably
The Originals
Assault on Precint 13 : 97%
The Fog: 69%
Halloween: 94%
The Thing: 80%

How about they leave this one alone, and we teach the young ones that not every great movie was made in the last 10 years.

Point of Information: The 2011 movie The Thing was technically a prequel to the 1982 movie, not a remake. The 1982 movie was actually a remake of the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World, which is itself an adaptation of the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell Jr.

 

[tgreco]

Point of Information: The 2011 movie The Thing was technically a prequel to the 1982 movie, not a remake.

I know that technically the 2011 The Thing is a prequel, but honestly, it couldn't decide what it was.... part prequel, part remake... all bad.

And let's be honest. In the hands of a decent director and screenwriter, the 2011 The Thing should have been a hit. A classic. They had all of the right source material, and with 30 years of technology to get it done. All they had to do was not screw it up. Despite all it had going for it, it still sucked.

 

[ghostryder]

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Rock...na-Complaints-Has-Perfect-Response-71896.html

 

[brandomack]

I'm pretty sure this new movie is going to suck. Just like all the other crappy remakes...

 

[leafman]

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Rock...na-Complaints-Has-Perfect-Response-71896.html

At least he is willing to consider that it is a bad idea, I have to give him credit for that.

 

[Apollo]

Who knows maybe this is the start of something good

 

[Solo4114]

If by "start" you mean "end," then yeah, I think it could be. As in the start of people realizing that just slapping a brand on a product and calling it a day won't guarantee success. It also sounds as if the online negative response was strong enough to make the producers (and Johnson, who's probably a producer or exec. prod. himself) think twice. If enough of the fan base for the original isn't there, then you won't get good word of mouth, and there won't be enough support to take a cult film like Big Trouble in Little China and turn it into a remake (financial) success.

 

[dascoyne]

I can see how Dwayne could work in a vehicle like this, but by appropriating the title, Big Trouble, it's inviting comparison to a film and a performance that's already iconic. ... which is seldom a good idea.
DJ is a fine performer but I have no reason to think this remake would be anything different than any other action/fantasy/comedy starring The Rock. And those films are typically forgettable. Big Trouble in Little China, if remade, deserves much, much better.
DJ is a fine performer but he's no Kurt Russell. He's no Jack Burton.








Now if they cast Chris Pratt it might not be too bad. Starlord is not unlike Jack Burton in space.

 

[AJTaliesen]

I actually went back and rewatched this again this weekend (It's on netflix if anyone cares). Hadnt seen it in years.

I was actually surprised at how well it stands up. Yes it's very campy and 80's, but to be fair, it was campy and a little too 80's even during the 80's. It always felt like it was supposed to be a little overdone. Even the effects always felt like they were cheesy on purpose, and they still do.

The humor definitely still works and the cast had a wonderful on-screen chemistry that's just as much fun as ever to watch.

Watching it again did reinforce my belief though, that this would be VERY difficult to remake.


Also: interesting commentary on the state of Hollywood...is the ending when Burton is driving away. Back then it was possible to have a cool gotcha moment to end the story. Now...there's absolutely zero chance you could ever end a movie like that, have it make money, and not have a crappy sequel result from it.