Siskel & Ebert on John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA |

Siskel & Ebert on John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China

Do you remember Siskel & Ebert? Today at Life After Gateway, it’s a blast from the past.

Gene Siskel on BTILC: “Give me a break.”

They were a famous film-reviewing duo. They were incredibly compelling to watch, and their TV show soared in the ratings as a result. They were reviewers from competing newspapers in Chicago — Gene Siskel from the Tribune, Roger Ebert from the Sun Times — and they had differing interests and likes. As a result, they often disagreed about the films they reviewed. Some of the reviews led to on-screen arguing, and there are famous videos online of the two arguing off camera as well. Their show started in 1975 as Opening Soon at a Theatre Near You on PBS. The show soon morphed to Sneak Previews; here’s the opening, credit to YouTube channel Blake Patterson:

It eventually transitioned to At the Movies, then Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, then simply Siskel & Ebert. The two reviewed movies together until Gene Siskel’s death in 1999. They rated movies with either thumbs up or thumbs down; there was no spectrum or grading out of four or five.

Gene Siskel on BTILC: “I was simply exhausted watching this movie.”

Watching their show was sometimes the only way to find out what movies were coming out the following week and what critics thought of them. The only other way, at the time, was via the newspaper or TV commercials. Nowadays, many of their reviews are on YouTube, and watching them is, frankly, a blast from the past. The reviews are immensely enjoyable. Sometimes they got it right, and sometimes they got it wrong.

Here is the intro to the final (and most successful?) iteration of their show; credit to YouTube channel Bytor55110 :

When it comes to John Carpenter’s films, as with most other critics, they usually got it wrong.

Siskel: “Kurt Russell … is dwarfed by the ridiculous amount of special effects in this film.”

I bring this up because recently I stumbled across their review for John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, which is now regarded as a cult classic. Check out the review below, courtesy of YouTube channel HazBeenEdits. It’s funny that Siskel’s largest complaint is about the effects; it’s the last thing I think about in regards to this film. For me, it’s a satire on the American hero, with Kurt Russell playing it for laughs and making fun of the typical Alpha Male.

Ebert: “It was too much … it was just too much.”

It’s also Carpenter’s homage to the Kung Fu films he watched growing up, and a fun exploration of the Western genre inserted into modern day San Francisco Chinatown. The movie featured incredible talent including Al Leong (Die Hard), James Hong (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Kim Cattrall (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), Victor Wong (Tremors, Prince of Darkness), and Carter Wong. The most amusing element was that the sidekick in the movie — Wang — in fact turned out to be the hero, and Jack Burton the sidekick. The supernatural elements, and the mysticism and religious elements, were simply background context for the satire and comedy.

It was clearly years ahead of its time, and competing with Aliens and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off hurt its box office.

Roger Ebert: “Where’s the story? Why am I supposed to care about these characters … It was just one special effect after another.”

Here’s the review. What do you think? Did they get it right?

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 3 June 2026

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007