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Movies that feel like Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

If you loved Big Trouble in Little China, the closest films we have are The Prodigal Son (1981), Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and Conan the Barbarian (1982). All three share Big Trouble in Little China's kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.

🍅 64% Rotten Tomatoes7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. John Carpenterkineticepicwittyplayfuldreamlike

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If Big Trouble in Little China hit the spot, these will too

The Prodigal Son poster
The Prodigal Son
1981 · dir. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
🍅 100%7.3action · comedy

Both are working the same pair: martial arts, kung fu

The difference: Reviewed even better

A rich man's son believes himself to be the best kung fu fighter in Canton. Unfortunately, his father, anxious for his son's safety, bribes all his opponents to lose. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of an actor in a traveling theatre company, the son resolves to find a better teacher.

Feels alike?
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons poster
🍅 94%6.7action · fantasy · adventure

Both are built on the same subject: kung fu

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

In a world plagued by demons who cause great human suffering, young demon hunter Tang Sanzang must fight against monstrous demons, as well as contend with a beautiful demon hunting woman on his path to enlightenment.

Feels alike?
Conan the Barbarian poster
Conan the Barbarian
1982 · dir. John Milius
🍅 68%6.9adventure · fantasy · action

Two things both keep coming back to: magic and mythology

The difference: Lighter on wit

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

Feels alike?
Project A poster
Project A
1983 · dir. Jackie Chan
🍅 81%7.2action · adventure · comedy

One thread runs through both: martial arts

In late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be made a fool of.

Feels alike?
My Lucky Stars poster
My Lucky Stars
1985 · dir. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
6.3action · comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: kidnapping

Two Hong Kong cops are sent to Tokyo to catch an ex-cop who stole a large amount of money in diamonds. After one is captured by the Ninja-gang protecting the rogue cop, the other one gets his old Orphanage gang, dubbed the "Five Lucky Stars," to help him. They don't like this much, but they do it.

Feels alike?
Last Action Hero poster
Last Action Hero
1993 · dir. John McTiernan
🍅 42%6.5fantasy · action · comedy

The same preoccupation in both: magic

After his father's death, a young boy finds solace in action movies featuring an indestructible cop. Given a magic ticket by a theater manager, he is transported into the film and teams up with the cop to stop a villain who escapes into the real world.

Feels alike?
Highlander poster
Highlander
1986 · dir. Russell Mulcahy
🍅 70%7adventure · action · fantasy

Kinetic where it counts, epic underneath

He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536. He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York City in 1986. His name is Connor MacLeod. He is immortal.

Feels alike?
Armour of God poster
Armour of God
1986 · dir. Jackie Chan
🍅 80%6.9adventure · action · comedy

Witty and playful in the same breath

After an adventurer known as the Asian Hawk steals a mysterious sword known to be a piece of the Armour of God, a magical suit of armour that dates back to the Crusades, a cult of Satanic monks kidnap his ex-girlfriend and demand he turn over the sword and recover the rest of the armour.

Feels alike?
Red One poster
Red One
2024 · dir. Jake Kasdan
🍅 29%6.2action · adventure · comedy

Common ground: kidnapping

After Santa Claus (codename: Red One) is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with the world's most infamous tracker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Feels alike?
Boruto: Naruto the Movie poster
Boruto: Naruto the Movie
2015 · dir. Hiroyuki Yamashita
7.7adventure · action · animation

Both lean on dream logic more than on action

The difference: Played as animation first

The spirited Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto, is a skilled ninja who possesses the same brashness and passion his father once had. However, the constant absence of his father, who is busy with his Hokage duties, puts a damper on Boruto's fire. He ends up meeting his father's friend Sasuke, and requests to become... his apprentice!? The curtain on the story of the new generation rises!

Feels alike?
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow poster
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
1978 · dir. Yuen Woo-ping
🍅 80%7.3action · comedy

Comedy with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Everyone abuses and humiliates a downtrodden orphan until he befriends an old man, who turns out to be the last master of the snake fist fighting style. Jackie becomes the old man's student and finds himself in battle with the master of the eagle's claw style, who has vowed to destroy the snake fist clan.

Feels alike?
The Myth poster
The Myth
2005 · dir. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
🍅 20%6.1action · adventure · comedy

Epic adventure in both cases

When a fellow scientist asks for Jack's help in locating the mausoleum of China's first emperor, the past collides violently with the present as Jack discovers his amazing visions are based in fact.

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The best-reviewed films that share Big Trouble in Little China’s defining feeling.