The Karate Kid

There is no hiding my undying love for the original Karate Kid. Not because it was exceptionally good, but rather because it was kind of trashy. The hairdos were incredibly eighties. All of the actors that weren't named Pat Moritia overacted the crap out of the movie. And then there were the bad guys I love to hate, with gems like "sweep the leg" and "get him in a body bag Johnny." I tend to honor these cheesy villains by naming my trivia team the Kobra Kai Dojo and rocking out to the song i provided above (check out the link if you have a second). This movie had a lot to live up to.

The movie doesn't shift too far away from the original. All the major beats remain the same it is just the environment that changes. Jaden Smith stars as Dre, the young pupil from Detroit who has moved to Beijing, China with his mother played by Taraji Henson (much better than her 1984 counterpart). I suppose the east-coast west-coast culture shock was no longer enough so there is instead a shift is socieo-economic area (I imagine the sweet tax-cuts helped too). Smith has clearly inherited the best traits from his parents and blends the aggressive nature of his mother with the fun and charming style of his father. I usually hate children actors as they always seem like they are trying to be kids. Smith is asked to carry the film and he makes it appear effortless.

This interperation of the film is much grittier than the original movie. It is much easier to believe the fear of a 12 year old facing bullies than it was for a 22 year old (I had to double check that fact and verify that Macchio was indeed 22 when filming started, holy shit the kid doesn't age!).

Also gone is the actual karate. Instead the movie uses wushu kung fu which provides visually h harder hits. The styles big hits translates better on the big screen as audible 'ooohs' and 'aahhs' were shared aloud as the audience saw the young children take some big shots. Its sometimes tough to watch the kids take such big hits, but in the same breath it helps the audience understand the dangers our protagonist faces. This may be wushu but you can't call the movie kung fu kid or you risk losing out on potential revenue from the gen-x audience who are more than willing to share this story with their kids.

To protect young Jaden from his bullies is Jackie Chan playing the Mr. Miyagi character renamed Mr. Han. In so many of his previous roles Chan provides a film with a mixture of levity and fight sequences; surprisingly, he plays this version of the character straight. So much of what made Mr. Miyagi a memorable character and earned Pat Morita the Oscar nomination was the quirkiness he added to the character. Morita had a distinct sense of humor but delivered all of his lines straight laced, Chan's character doesn't show nearly as much humor which is how the character was originally intended. There is nothing wrong with the portayal, in fact it is some of the better acting Chan has done in his career. This rendering provides the same strong bond between sensei and student, it just gets there in a different way.