the plot: After completing a haul, truck driver Jack Burton (Russell) is looking forward to kicking back in Chinatown and doing a little gambling. Jack wins a hunk of cash from his friend Wang (Dun), but before Wang can pay, he must go to the airport to pick up his bride-to-be. Jack follows and, at the airport, meets Gracie Law (Cattrall), a local lawyer who’s at the airport to pick up a friend. But the Lords of Death street gang interrupts everyone’s plans by kidnapping Wang’s fiancé and spiriting her off to Chinatown. Jack and Wang give chase, but their pursuit leads them directly into the middle of a vicious gang war. Watching over the dueling gangs is the dreaded Lo Pan (Hong), a powerful sorcerer and the unofficial ruler of Chinatown. Jack, Wang, Gracie and an intrepid reporter attempt to infiltrate Lo Pan’s hideout, but Gracie is capture and Wang is unable to find his fiancé. The duo decides to regroup and lead a full-on assault against Lo Pan. Aided by one of Chinatown’s more benevolent gangs and the kindly, if eccentric, sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong), Jack and Wang take the fight directly to Lo Pan, unaware of the true extent of his evil plans.

why it’s good: For three films—“Escape from New York,” “The Thing” and “Big Trouble in Little China,” Kurt Russell was John Carpenter’s fast-talking, ass-kicking muse. “Big Trouble” was their last film together in the ’80s (they reunited for “Escape from L.A.” in 1996) and, while it may not be the best work from either Carpenter or Russell, it’s certainly the most fun and most memorable. As Jack Burton, Russell spoofs his earlier Carpenter performances, trading his usual brooding tough guy persona for a happy-go-lucky, one-liner spouting regular Joe who, every now and then, does something heroic. Carpenter gives the film the feel of an old-style movie serial, complete with mini-cliffhangers and dastardly death traps for the heroes to escape. And, of course, there’s plenty of action, from gun battles to kung-fu brawls to various showdowns between Jack and Lo Pan and his gang of supernatural fighters. Sure, most of the story doesn’t make sense (especially the part about Lo Pan’s curse—how is being turned into an immortal demon a curse, anyway?), but none of that really matters when the bullets and punches start flying. Sure, Carpenter’s straight-up horror films, like “The Thing” and “Halloween,” are technically better, but “Big Trouble” is too much damn fun to resist.

why you should own it: Those who don’t own “Big Trouble” may, in fact, end up stuck in one of the many Chinese hells described in the movie. Fox’s special edition DVD features deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, commentary from Carpenter and Russell, and a music video by Carpenter’s band, The Coup DeVilles.