# Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, to star in Big Trouble in Little China remake **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448 "2015-06-02T16:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/21 "2015-06-02T18:53:45Z")
They’ll probably have him kiss Gracie Law goodbye too. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/22 "2015-06-02T19:07:50Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I am less worried about Dwayne Johnson’s ability to play a character who _thinks_ he the hero (but he’s not. He’s just not.) I’m more worried about the producers not getting that Wang Chi is actually the hero, and ol’ Jack Burton is the sidekick. Don’t worry, they already didn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/23 "2015-06-02T19:23:34Z")
I’m ok with it. Hollywood has always remade their movies for the next generation. If it is bad, I won’t watch it. If it is good I’ll watch it. If it is hugely different I’ll wonder why they reused the name. But every once in a while, the remake is vastly superior and since I like good movies, I’ll hope for that. And even if it is, it won’t change the original. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/24 "2015-06-02T19:35:44Z")
As someone once wrote on this board; “An American stumbles into the last act of an epic Chinese tale and assumes that he’s the hero.” If the remake doesn’t understand that, it isn’t a remake, it’s an abomination. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/25 "2015-06-02T19:40:58Z")
I’m cautiously optimistic for this one. The Rock is a damn entertaining guy and if anyone can pull it off, I would think it would be him. He may be a little oversized though, but I can see him getting lost in a big kung fu fight and unable to keep up. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/26 "2015-06-02T20:24:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Don’t worry, they already didn’t get it. They were not brought upon this earth to get it! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/27 "2015-06-02T20:26:27Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I’m cautiously optimistic for this one. The Rock is a damn entertaining guy and if anyone can pull it off, I would think it would be him. He may be a little oversized though, but I can see him getting lost in a big kung fu fight and unable to keep up. Yeah, that’s more or less where I’m coming from. If the script keeps the concept that the “protagonist” is actually the side kick, and doesn’t know it, then Johnson is an inspired casting choice. Kurt Russel didn’t have much of a reputation as an action star when he did BTiLC. Dwayne Johnson is primarily known as an action star/wrestler. That sort of background could potentially throw the protagonist/side kick dichotomy into even sharper relief. I think the real problem is that, whoever writes the new script, will be _too good at writing._ The original should, by any reasonable standard, be a terrible movie. There’s way too many characters, the plot’s all over the place, the relationship between the various villains is, at best, only implied. It should be a huge, hot, mess. But somehow, it works on the screen. I don’t think that’s the sort of thing that can be done on purpose, and it’s a huge part of the original’s charm. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/28 "2015-06-02T20:28:48Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I know. The movie works because Wang is the hero, and Jack is the comic relief. Will Dwayne Johnson make that work? I kind of doubt it. It’s all in the reflexes. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/29 "2015-06-02T20:35:58Z")
At least the Rock is experienced at [referring to himself in the third person](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8vz6w0drc). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/30 "2015-06-02T20:42:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Kurt Russel didn’t have much of a reputation as an action star when he did BTiLC. While I at least mostly agree with the rest of your post, I have to point out that this assertion is not supported by the facts. _Escape From New York_ (1981), _The Thing_ (1982) and _Mean Season_ (1985) had already firmly established Kurt Russell as a bankable action movie star before _Big Trouble in Little China_ was released in 1986. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/31 "2015-06-02T20:46:02Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I think the real problem is that, whoever writes the new script, will be _too good at writing._ The original should, by any reasonable standard, be a terrible movie. There’s way too many characters, the plot’s all over the place, the relationship between the various villains is, at best, only implied. It should be a huge, hot, mess. But somehow, it works on the screen. I don’t think that’s the sort of thing that can be done on purpose, and it’s a huge part of the original’s charm. +6.5 on the Richter scale. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/32 "2015-06-02T20:47:38Z")
Just maybe… DJ is Jack Burton Jr. Dad is Kurt Russell. Mom was **Miao Yin**. Wang is \*still \*pissed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/33 "2015-06-02T20:50:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Mom was Yao Ming. [Uhhhm…?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_Ming) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/34 "2015-06-02T20:52:26Z")
What? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/35 "2015-06-02T21:08:18Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > While I at least mostly agree with the rest of your post, I have to point out that this assertion is not supported by the facts. _Escape From New York_ (1981), _The Thing_ (1982) and _Mean Season_ (1985) had already firmly established Kurt Russell as a bankable action movie star before _Big Trouble in Little China_ was released in 1986. I wouldn’t call _The Thing_ an action movie. There aren’t any big fights or crazy stunts in it. It’s mostly people standing around with their mouths open while they get killed by special effects. And while _Escape_ was successful given its budget, it was still a comparatively small movie. I’ve not seen _Mean Season_, but reading a few plot synopsis online, it doesn’t sound terribly action-oriented to me. Could be wrong, though, I’m just going off IMDb and wikipedia. Anyway, at the time _Big Trouble_ came out, “action movie” meant things like _Commando_ and _Rambo II_, which is the sort of action film tradition that Johnson comes out of: big guns, big explosions, lots of stunts, everything else essentially optional. Taking an actor from that background, and putting him in a movie where he’s arguably the least competent major character in the story, would make that reversal of expectations potentially a lot stronger. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/36 "2015-06-02T21:18:31Z")
I’m a reasonable guy. But, I’ve just experienced some very unreasonable things. If this works, I’d love a remake of _Under the Rainbow_, please. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/37 "2015-06-02T21:19:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yeah, that’s more or less where I’m coming from. If the script keeps the concept that the “protagonist” is actually the side kick, and doesn’t know it, then Johnson is an inspired casting choice. …I think the real problem is that, whoever writes the new script, will be _too good at writing._ The original should, by any reasonable standard, be a terrible movie. There’s way too many characters, the plot’s all over the place, the relationship between the various villains is, at best, only implied. It should be a huge, hot, mess. But somehow, it works on the screen. I don’t think that’s the sort of thing that can be done on purpose, and it’s a huge part of the original’s charm. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > +6.5 on the Richter scale. Yes, the dynamic Miller described is Richter to a T (and not so much Carpenter). In medias res, with a vengeance. And as for the \*‘sidekick thinks he’s the hero’ \*heart of the original: I, too, fear that Johnson and/or his management and/or the movie’s producers will make Jack Burton the standard wise-cracking Hero—and will have no clue why the new movie will end up doing only standard business, then slipping into well-earned oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/38 "2015-06-02T21:25:04Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Y…-and will have no clue why the new movie will end up doing only standard business, then slipping into well-earned oblivion. That would be the Hell of Failed Remakes (the Chinese have a lot of Hells). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/39 "2015-06-02T21:35:44Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > That would be the Hell of Failed Remakes (the Chinese have a lot of Hells). Heh. 😃 Which brings to mind: Has there ever been a movie as _quotable_ as this one, that was remade? If so, was the same screenplay employed in the re-do? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448/40 "2015-06-02T21:39:08Z")
> [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](#): > > Well I agree this movie does not need to be remade, I do like “The Rock”. You shouldn’t call him that; he now prefers “Black Blood Of The Earth”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwayne-johnson-aka-the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake/721448.md?page=3)