The Karate Kid

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jacke Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Rongguang Yu
Directed by: Harald Zwart
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Drama
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young boy (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) move from Detroit to China. There, he is bullied by local kung fu students. This all changes when he befriends Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who begins to tutor him in the art of kung fu.

Review:

Tim: I am not one of the people that believe 1984's The Karate Kid needed a remake. That was a great, iconic movie. I was not overly excited about this film. And yet, I ended up pleasantly surprised. This movie still does not compare to the original, but it is an entertaining, uplifting film. I enjoyed it.

One of my favorite aspects of the film is that it changed up the storyline from the original. I am always a fan when remakes depart from their original source, and I appreciated the ways this film did that. I liked changing the setting to China. That gave the film a different, exotic feel. I also like changing the age of our protagonist. While I believe it makes the story less exciting (a preadolescent getting picked on isn't the same as high school bullying), it also serves to differentiate the two films. I was very glad the film didn't try to copy many of the most iconic scenes. Thankfully, there's no "Wax on, wax off" - that would have been sacreligious. Many other aspects of the film are similar, but these different aspects are welcome.

I was not a huge fan of Jaden Smith here. I certainly was wowed by his physical condition, and I have no doubt he went through an impressive regime to prepare for this film. I can't shake the belief though, that he doesn't win this part if he wasn't Will Smith's son. I thought he was decent, but at this stage in his young career, he's not exactly an impressive actor. I will say that he was better here than in The Day the Earth Stood Still, so maybe there's hope for him yet- he's at least going in the right direction.

One of the reasons I didn't want a remake is because you simply can't replace Pat Morita. His Mr. Miyagi is one of the most terrific characters to ever grace the screen. He's simply irreplaceable. However, if you have to get another actor to step into a similar role, you simply can't get any better than Jackie Chan. Chan's casting was brilliant, and saved the entire film. I was glad that he didn't try to be Mr. Miyagi. His Mr. Han is different (he makes the part his own, and wisely doesn't try to copy Morita). I thought Chan gave a remarkable performance- funny, sad, emotional, and inspiring. This role was the critical one for the film, and this movie doesn't work without Chan. I really, really enjoyed him.

There are a number of problems with the movie, though. Despite any strengths, this is a movie that didn't need to be made. You can't fully shake that. I thought the beginning was extremely weak. It takes a good 40 minutes for this film to really hit its stride. Taraji P. Henson was awful as Dre's mom. I know Henson is a good actress, but she was just trying way, way too hard. She really needed to tone it down. She has almost no chemistry with Smith. I didn't buy these two as mother-son for a single second. This is the most forced relationship in the film, and greatly hurts the end result. I also have to complain that this movie goes on and on for just under two and a half hours. That is unforgivable. This movie needed to be just under two hours. I was impressed with how much was crammed into it, but there's just no reason for that length.

I predicted that I was going to strongly dislike this movie. However, the changes to the story and characters, while retaining the best parts of the original mean that this remake is at least an entertaining, good movie. I still believe there's no doubt between the two- the original is far better. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, and I will always enjoy Chan's performance here. I'm still not sold on the idea of the film in the first place, but I didn't mind watching it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Karate Kid (1984), The Pursuit of Happyness, The Day the Earth Stood Still