At least that is what the movie "Karate Kid" should have been called, because it has nothing whatsoever to do with karate. In this movie Xiao Dre a.k.a. Dre Parker (played by Jaden Smith) learns Kung Fu from Mr Han (played by Jackie Chan) in order to survive at his new school and find his place.
When I was a little tyke of 8 to 10 years old I just couldn't get enough of the Karate Kid Trilogy. I watched those movies over and over until I knew them by heart. Off course that has been many years ago and I haven't seen those movies in a decade. But the story about a young kid who got to a new school, having the hots for a girl, being bullied there and a lone old man teaching him Karate, so he can stand up for himself, I have always admired. I probably saw a bit of myself in it, without the karate or the happy end though. Thus when I saw that a remake was being made I wondered if it could bring up all those nostalgic feelings again, or like any other remake would be a complete waste.
The movie is actually rather good. People who have seen the original will after 10 minutes be able to predict things that are comming. The remake shows at certain moments little creativity, especially towards the end. A number of scenes are even the same to the dialogue, just with other people in it. On the other hand the story has been really fleshed out and many characters have more depth.
For one it is more believable that a kid has trouble grounding himself and hating his mother for moving when he moves to China, where he does not speak the language and by appearance stands out. In the original version, Daniel moved from one part of America to another part of America. The difference is also that the remake shows what Dre had to give up when moving to China. The viewer gets more emotionally drawn into the fight that Dre has to go through.
Another one is Dre's crush Mei Ying. She has her own dreams and problems to deal with and her parents that keep pushing her. The movie shows how the introduction of Dre has its positive and negative influences on her. In the original, Daniel's crush Ali was nothing more then a girl that 2 boys are fighting over. Nothing dreams, nothing problems, the only thing she did was scream and cry that they should not fight.
The story brings more depth and still almost follows the script of the original to the point. But the biggest question is how do Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan perform in comparison to their predecessors.
Ralph Macchio had to be a high school teenager in his final years and getting his drivers license, Jaden Smith actually gets to portray a child at the beginning of his puberty. As diverse as their characters are they also are diverse in their portrayals. Very little can be said about this, but Jaden Smith does seem to meet the high expectations that Ralph Macchio had set. His advantage though is that he actually portrays a child, smaller than his mother and smaller than his teacher.
Jackie Chan however has a lot higher ladder to climb. Pat Morita had portrayed a very specific and lovable character with Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Morita's much older appearance actually gives him a wise old man image and it is thus more surprising that there hides such a powerful warrior inside him. Jackie Chan is known for his martial arts and his specific and occasionally humoristic style also makes an appearance in this movie. Mr Chan doesn't look as old and wise nor has the mystique or appears as weak. But he does bring a lot more chemistry and emotion to his part and to the interaction with Jaden. A number of scenes that would have been rather plain have been given a lot more depth due the acting of Jackie Chan.
Concluding
This remake does not deserve the name it has, merely because it has absolutely nothing to do with karate and everything with kung fu. But nonetheless it is a good movie. It follows the original with a lot of detail, but fortunately it follows the original's strong points. The two deviate in that the remake has a lot more depth to the story and characters. The martial arts is a lot more flashy and spectacular as it goes a lot faster and has more flying in it. The best part is that the remake keeps the signature events and uses it perfect.
The remake did bring back all those nostalgic feelings I had when I was little and some more. However the story is rather widely known and brings very little suprises. It is not a movie that will reach the best of the year, but it is still a good movie that will entertain a great deal of people.
Score: 7 (out of 10)
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Topic: Kung Fu Kid (Read 880 times)