Directed by Harald Zwart
Having grown up with the original film The Karate Kid, I don't think there was a kid out there who didn't want Mr. Miyagi as a cool recluse of an uncle, who could teach them badass moves. When I heard that this film was being remade, I wasn't all that happy. I mean, aren't there some films that are better left un-remade? Take the Back to the Future for example. If anyone decides to remake that trilogy, I may have to stuff them inside a Mr. Fusion. With Plutonium as a chaser. Just leave it alone. Walk away. Slowly. Right now. This was my fear with The Karate Kid. But I couldn't have been more wrong.
I found this film incredibly enjoyable. Jaden Smith was awesome. And I've said this before, but movies are best when when they are their own movie. Don't use too many throwbacks...and don't pay homage to shit if you're a remake. BE your own movie! Overall, the stories between the original 'Kid' and this one are similar, but this film really was its own movie. Jackie Chan was neat to watch too. I'm not typically a fan of his swashbuckling martial arts, but his role was made out to be a very serious one in this film. All I need is a good story and compassion for the characters in a film for me to be happy. If I can connect with what's going on in some way, I'm diggin' it. If I can't, well, your film might not make my 20 minute rule.
Our film starts out in rural Detroit where Jaden's mother gets a job offer in China. In a few short scenes, they're relocating and their lives are about to change. Jaden is enrolled in school and immediately starts getting bullied by other students because of his ethnic background and interest in another female student. Not really that dissimilar from the original film. Jaden meets Chan, who is their apartment's maintenance man. The two develop a strange relationship and Chan winds up teaching Jaden Kung Fu. And for the record, Chan does not play Mr. Miyagi. But he's in the same role, essentially. The plot and overall endgame are similar to the original, but the journey in how that takes place made it fun to watch. It made me think, hey, I could learn that shit.
So, if you have time to squeeze in 1.21 gigawatts of entertainment into your day, watch The Karate Kid. In the meantime, I'm gonna make like a tree, and get outta here.
1 comments:
mmmk....When you are home sick you watch some questionable movies. Sounds like this is exactly the same movie, but with a black kid instead of an Italian kid! Maybe your fever got the better of you with this one. I can't believe that this made the 20 minute rule when great movies like Bubba-Ho-Tep did not!!
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