Jack’s distance from the central story of “Little China” is highlighted during the film’s climactic magical battle. Jack, hoping to get the drop on some back guys, leaps from a hiding place, startling them with a loud shout and a few bullets fired from his machine gun, straight into the ceiling. Jack, however, accidentally shoots down some stones from overhead and he is konked on the head. He spends a good portion of the climax unconscious on the ground.

In the EW interview, Russell admitted to his lack of fighting prowess and recalled making a suggestion to Carpenter:

“I couldn’t do the chop-sockey. I had to come up with ways to not be involved. So, I said to John, ‘How about if we come in here, and I’m all excited, and hit the machine gun, and rocks fall on my face, and I’m out?’ Jack’s out for the first two minutes of the fight that’s 10 minutes long, whatever. And then he gets into the fray, and sure enough he stabs this big guy, but the guy falls in a way that’s crushing Jack, and he can’t move. I was just constantly finding things like that.”

Indeed, Jack does get to land the final death blow to one of the film’s bad guys, although, as Russell noted, he doesn’t get to do it with dignity. One of the reasons “Big Trouble in Little China” is so funny is because Jack thinks he’s cooler than he is. Russell is a charming, cool actor, but “Little China” shoulders him with a bumbling sidekick role. Even when he gets to land a kiss on Kim Cattrall at the end of the film, she leaves a big lipstick smear on his mouth that he’s unaware of.

It’s a great film.