"The Karate Kid" is very much a worthy counterpart to the 1984 film on which it's based, not only in terms of story, but also in terms of quality; the excitement, humor, warmth, and themes of friendship, maturity, and overcoming adversity have been left intact, and better still, there's no sense that any of it has been cheapened or simplified to the sake of appealing to a mass audience. The only exception, and I'm really just nitpicking here, is a glorious but contrived aerial shot of martial arts training directly on the Great Wall of China, the helicopter camera zooming around Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith as they pose dramatically. If there was ever an image that belonged in a Chinese tourism commercial, this would be it.A more substantial criticism is that, because this is such a faithful remake, there isn't much it can do to surprise us. Anyone familiar with the 1984 film will know exactly how this new version will play out, from the main character's awkward arrival at the start to the climactic tournament at the end. There is a bit of an inconsistency; because it takes place in China, the featured martial art is kung fu, not karate, so the title is technically inaccurate. There's also the convenience of all the important characters being able to speak English, if not fluently, then just enough to get their point across. But it's all done so well that we may find ourselves suppressing the desire to look for flaws and make comparisons. What would be the point? Remake or not, this movie stands entirely on its own as a great entertainment, not just as a sports drama and a spectacle but also as a coming-of-age story, which is just as charming and insightful as it was twenty-six years ago.
Smith plays twelve-year-old Dre Parker, who's forced to move from Detroit to Beijing with his mother (Taraji P. Henson). He doesn't much care for it, although he does immediately develop a crush on a good-natured girl named Mei Ying (Han Wenwen), a violin prodigy. Unfortunately, this introduces him to the sadistic school bully, Cheng (Wang Zhenwei), who quickly and brutally takes him down in full view of the other kids. How did he become so aggressive? A visit to a local kung fu class explains everything: Cheng's teacher, Master Li (Rongguang Yu), has taught him to be merciless when fighting his enemies. Mercy, he says, is for the weak. Dre, both small-statured and a foreigner, is considered a weakling. The idea that the underdog is separated by culture as well as by status is something the original film never had the chance to explore. It's a welcome addition.
So is Jackie Chan, who takes the reins from the late Pat Morita and transforms Mr. Miyagi into Mr. Han, a reclusive janitor who agrees to train Dre for an upcoming kung fu tournament. After his disastrous starring role in "The Spy Next Door," I had my doubts that Chan would be able to pull this off. I was happily proven wrong; this is his most mature and compelling performance to date, having been given the opportunity to genuinely act and not merely be a goofy action star. We see range. We see depth. We can conceivably feel something for his character. And for once, the kung fu moves he built his reputation on are actually in service of the story. He's not a stuntman showing off he's a wise elder trying to make a point, and just like with Pat Morita's character, it involves a menial task that must be done repeatedly, almost to the point of a compulsion.
Some may object to the puppy love between Dre and Mei Ying, paling in comparison to the original film's teenage love between Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue. While I agree that there's no such thing as romance before puberty, I am aware that those tween years see the emergence of hormones, and I can certainly believe that Dre and Mei Ying would have their first kiss by the light of a rear-screen projector. There's no sense believing that they're falling in love, because they're not. If anything, they form a sweet and innocent friendship, one made stronger by the fact that both are being tested by their own life circumstances. And much like the divide between Dre and Cheng, both are threatened by cultural differences, Mei Ying's parents fearful that a musically uninspired American boy will be a bad influence on her. Like all good boys, he just wants make a fine first impression.
A stretch in the middle of the film reveals views of mist-shrouded mountains and tours of ancient temples, where kung fu students practice rigorously. This is perhaps a bit conventional, but it's also undeniably breathtaking. I'm addressing that last observation to those who can't bring themselves to see this movie for its story or its characters maybe the visuals will win them over. Still, don't be so quick to dismiss everything else it has to offer. Yes, "The Karate Kid" is yet another Hollywood remake, but that doesn't change the fact that it tells an engaging story with interesting characters and features good performances. I greatly enjoyed this movie, and if you go into it with an open mind, I think you will too.
The results? A mixed bag. Since I generally prefer to judge a remake on its own merits and try to avoid making too many comparisons to the original, I was somewhat surprised that, after seeing Karate Kid 2010, ALL I was doing was making comparisons in my head comparisons in which the new version kept coming up short. Annoyed with myself, I decided to watch the 1984 version again to make certain it wasn't just nostalgia that was coloring my opinion. So I re-watched. It wasn't just nostalgia the original IS better.
The Karate Kid 1984 wasn't the best written or best acted film ever or even of 1984. But it was very popular. Kids liked it. Their parents liked it. People saw it multiple times. They quoted from it ("wax on, wax off"). Some, including my own kids, still do. :-) Enrollment at karate schools across the country rose dramatically. What really came home to me during my back-to-back viewing of the two films is that the new version simply lacks much of the heart and most of the humor that formed the basis for that initial popularity. And both of those the heart and the humor came, IMO, from the wonderful relationship between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). While the plot of the remake closely follows the original, the new film never comes close to capturing the essence of that relationship and so failed to engage me in the same manner the original did.
But while I didn't find the heart and humor in The Karate Kid 2010 that would have given me that "absolutely love it" feeling, the film has its own charms and I was able to enjoy it on its own merits, particularly in a couple of areas where it clearly outclasses the original, such as:
* The athleticism of its stars (Jaden Smith as Dre Parker, Jackie Chan as Mr. Han & Zhenwie Wang as the bully, Cheng). Jaden Smith, even at age 11, has more muscle definition than Ralph Macchio had at twice his age (or possibly ever) and is physically much more convincing as a student who could master difficult martial arts moves in a short space of time. Chan and Wang (Wang particularly) are also more convincing athletically than their counterparts.
* The vastly superior fight scenes. Each and every fight scene is better "choreographed" and much more interesting to watch. (They are also more violent parents might want to see the film before taking children under the age of 10 or so.)
* Dre's friendship with the violin prodigy Meiying (Wenwen Han). Even as a dedicated fan of Elisabeth Shue (the love interest in the original film), I found the Dre/Meiying relationship more appealing. I probably would have enjoyed their storyline more if the writers had simply left it platonic and concentrated on the cultural differences between them to create some tension, but their relationship made possible one of my favorite moments in the film: the scene where Dre goes to Meiying's home and addresses a formal apology to her father in Chinese. I also loved the violin piece she played.
* The gorgeous scenery. Views of China including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and a mountaintop temple were simply stunning. (Those interested in seeing more of China might want to check out Wild China: Natural Wonders of the World's Most Enigmatic Land).
* And, lastly, the ancient healing method? MUCH cooler in the new film.
Both films have a collection of underlying messages that they effectively deliver that violence is not the answer, that there is honor is being a peacemaker, that bullies often learn their ways from others and, most meaningful to me personally, that children (or anyone for that matter) should never have to live in fear. I will say this: if a remake, even if it doesn't quite live up to the original, renews these messages and makes them more accessible to another generation, I'm in.
I give this new version of The Karate Kid 3.5 stars for me it hovers somewhere between "it's ok" and "I liked it". I'm rounding down because, with some serious editing (dang, it was too long just like this review!), and with a little more care to inject more heart into it, I would have been happy to give it a firm 4 stars. While I believe the original is better, I think this one is worth a look and that its messages are ones that every generation deserves to hear.
Recommended.
Buy The Karate Kid (Mastered in 4K) (Single-Disc Blu-ray + Ultra Violet Digital Copy) (2010) Now
This movie was a pleasant surprise. I'm always a bit wary of remakes, but when I saw that Jackie Chan w/b in it, I took the chance. I was very impressed with Jaden Smith & all the hard work he put into this movie, with the help of Jackie Chan. Very impressive. Nice to see Chan finally get the chance to show that he's about more than comedy action.Having grown up watching the original Karate Kid in the 80's, I was anticipating something a little deeper than this movie. The original Karate Kid was simple and effective. This new Karate Kid had fighting that was like something out of the Matrix and was totally not on par with the way kids their age would be able to fight. I watched kids leap 20 feet through the air, jump over buildings, take hits that would leave an adult keeled over in pain yet they brushed them off and carried on for 5 minute fight scenes. Simply too overdone in my opinion. Although the new Karate Kid followed much of the storyline of the original, Daniel's character, now played by "Dre Parker" was a whining child who struck me as annoying through the whole film. The ending scene was so ridiculously fake it was just plain disgusting. In the original, with one leg hurt, Daniel used the Crane Technique which he kicked his opponent with one leg in use. In the new version he does a one legged backflip and kicks his opponent in the face on his way down landing on his good leg. This whole movie just left a bad taste in my mouth and was another example of why producers should leave the classics alone. Want to buy The Karate Kid for your child? Buy the original!Karate Kid was a good movie overall, but left me still wondering why it was remade when it was over. The movie mostly matches the original in basic story even if the new version is in China.On the good side, the technology of today makes some of the scenes more realistic, especially the fights, but it still felt like something was missing in this movie when compared to the old one, as if they thought using today's technology would somehow make a better movie which seems to be a normal problem with modern remakes.
Jaden Smith does a decent job with the role, but it felt like the character was a little too young. Maybe that's because I grew up watching Daniel Larusso who was supposed to be about 17 or 18 in the original. The love story is better in the new movie and was mostly a afterthought in the original, as was Jaden's relationship with his mother compared to Daniel's. The original movie focused mostly on the main plot, while the new movie attempted to branch off a bit to get a little more involved with other characters.
Jackie Chan does a pretty good job with the part, but, again, it just cant compete with Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. The boy who plays the antagonist in this movie does a good job of making you hate him, similar to the original.
The only part of the movie that seemed to defy reality a bit was the final fight scene. When Daniel Larusso did the crane technique in the original movie it was believable, but when Jaden Smith does the complete flip to kick the other kid down I was thinking no way. It just wasn't believable to me.
This movie is worth seeing, but fans of the original will still walk away with a slightly sour taste afterwards.
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