Movie Review - 'The Karate Kid'

The Karate Kid Starring Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, and Taraji P. Henson Directed by Harald Zwart Rated PG

There was a movie released in 1984 titled The Karate Kid, which spawned a few sequels and found a permanent home in the pop culture lexicon. While many reviews of the new film called The Karate Kid will compare the two, that won't happen here. It simply isn't relevant enough. Remakes, spin-offs, and sequels have been happening for years and if they really bothered audiences that much, they'd stop paying to see them. The trick is to find a new way of presenting the story, eliminating comparisons by creating films that stand or fall over on their own merits. A Nightmare on Elm Street remake doesn't do that but this movie does. The Karate Kid isn't great entertainment but it's a well-meaning, well-assembled, and well-oiled family film that has simple, easily defined goals, has touching performances and never sets itself up for failure. Without going into too much detail, the circumstances that force Dre (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) to move from Detroit to Beijing resonate pretty loudly: She works in auto manufacturing at a time when that's not the most stable thing to be doing in Michigan. So it's China or Option B, whatever that is. Obviously, 12-year-old Dre has trouble fitting in. Most kids speak very little English, and he speaks no Chinese. Hower, he does instantly connect with Meiying (Wenwen Han), a female student at his school, but their friendship annoys a group of young boys, who knock the living daylights out of Dre a couple times. During one such encounter, Dre's bacon is saved by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the maintenance man at his apartment building. Han is demonstrably very good at kung fu, and soon, Han begins an unusual training regimen for the 12-year-old, a lot of which stems from repetitive exercises of taking his jacket off and putting it back on again. The goal, as much as self-preservation, dignity, and honor, is an open kung fu tournament set to take place, oh, around the end of the movie. Get out your ruler and draw that straight line from point A to point B. But the lack of plot complexity isn't really an issue, but the telling of it could be a concern. Fortunately, this is easily the best acting Jackie Chan has ever done, and while he's likable even in his atrocious American action movies, he really does draw you in here. It's a complete performance by a guy whose entire reputation is built on fight choreography and death defying stunts. Jaden Smith was superb opposite his father in The Pursuit of Happyness, but hard to stomach in The Day the Earth Stood Still. In his defense, so was everyone and everything else in that movie. He shows pretty good intensity and natural charm in The Karate Kid, and you don't have to think real hard to figure out where he picked that up. Also of note, he's got pretty convincing action moves when the time comes. There are some fast edits to cover things up, but on the whole, his training and fight scenes are believable. The least believable component of the film surrounds the kung fu tournament Dre enters to square off against the kids who attacked him months earlier. There's a giant digital scoreboard with slow motion instant replays of pre-teens getting clobbered and the none-too-complicated two- or three-point scoring system. That was laughable. Otherwise, The Karate Kid comes by the admiration many will have for it honestly. It's satisfying. Because it's shot in China, there are many wonderful things to look at that many westerners haven't really seen before. Combine that with the real earnestness of Chan's portrayal of the reclusive master and Smith's developing skills, and The Karate Kid does what any movie should do, remake or original: It stands on its own merits.

Comments

[Boyka]

I agree with the above review of this movie. Young Smith did very well in this film, and I can't wate to see what his next carier move will be.
Chan's performance in this film is, in my opinion, his best acting to date. This is the first roll I've seen him play that relied more on his acting abilities than his martial arts talent. And (perhaps to the shock of many) he played the part to perfection. Although the filming of this movie appeared to be a little rushed.
To sum it all up, my worries of remaking this classic film were unnescisary. Outstanding job to everyone.

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