Concerned only with non-stop action and wisecracks, John Carpenter’s loony Hong Kong cinema parody wastes no precious time trying to make sense. The movie seems to count on you getting lost, as its hero, Kurt Russell, is himself lost. He’s a mouthy trucker, a regular guy who likes beer, poker, and coming on to women with corny pick-up lines, and he doesn’t understand or believe a word of the Chinese mystical malarky that’s laid on him every five minutes here. He just knows his Chinatown restaurateur buddy’s girlfriend got kidnapped by supernatural samurais and he needs to help find her. Plus, the bad guys stole his truck.
A great “guy movie”, originally written as a western, believe it or not. Commercially and critically, this sank like Rosie O’Donnell in quicksand when it was in theatres, but it became popular on home video and cable TV. Kurt Russell’s funniest performance.