The Karate Kid is a classic movie from the 80s that had one decent sequel and two mildly entertaining follow ups. With the resurgence of 80s properties the last few years (Transformers, GI Joe) I was actually pretty excited to hear that one of my favorite underdog tales was to be remade and looked to be taken in a different direction. Did the Karate Kid (or Kung Fu Kid) live up to my expectations though?
It's inevitable that I'm going to be asked whether I enjoyed the original more or preferred the remake but in both films defenses I don't really think that it's fair to compare the two side by side. Granted they share the same name and similar premise, the differences are pretty strong and evident from the opening scene. For one, Jaden Smith is much more younger then Ralph Macchio's character in the 80s film and the remake is set in China. Secondly, Smith is taught Kung Fu from Jackie Chan and to be perfectly honest, the kid really does look like he can fight and is learning actual martial arts. No disrespect to Pat Morita, but Jackie Chan actually knows his Kung Fu whereas Morita was a comedian. Not once in the original trilogy (not including The Next Karate Kid starring Hillary Swank) did I ever believe that Macchio could hold his own. Whereas Smith's character (Dre) truly looked like he could fight, Macchio (Daniel) was content with just constantly getting bailed out by Morita (Miyagi). So before I continue, I don't want to compare the two films anymore because to be perfectly honest, I might actually prefer the remake.
(Very Mild Spoilers) The story is basic 80s fodder that we've all watched before with a main character that gets bullied (Dre), who finds a way to overcome his adversities in the unlikeliest place (Mr. Han), and proves himself in a grand fashion (Kung Fu Tournament). In the Karate Kid Dre and his mother move to China due to her career. Dre goes to a park near his new apartment and a girl (Mei Ying) catches his eye. This causes one of the local bullies (Cheng) to become angry and beat Dre up. Dre, Cheng, and Mei all go to the same school and this obviously causes conflict. Dre becomes interested when he happens upon a school teaching martial arts when he sees that Cheng is one of the students there. After a school trip, Dre decides to fight back against the bullies. A chase ensues until the bullies finally catch him in a corner. As they begin to beat him up, Dre is saved by his maintenance man Mr. Han. Dre asks Han to teach him Kung Fu to help solve his problems, but Han suggests to just go to the school that Cheng is taught at and attempt to solve things peacefully. Like the original film, Cheng is taught by a ruthless master and in order to prevent Dre from continuously getting beat up, Han enters him in a Kung Fu tournament.
The acting in the movie is actually better then one would expect. I enjoyed Smith's performance although some parts seemed artificial (unsurprising given his age). He reminded me of Will Smith's younger acting roles and given time, I can see him becoming a budding young actor. What was more enjoyable was seeing Chan and Smith's interactions. Their chemistry was great and I enjoyed thier training together. The supporting cast was decent in their own right too having Taraji Henson playing a supporting mother. The other characters were pretty one-dimensional and could easily be cast as "love interest", "bully", and "Bad Guy".
SUMMARY
Overall I'd say that I enjoyed this movie. At a little under two and a half hours, I was surprised that it didn't feel like it dragged. The movie had parts that made me laugh, parts that literally had the crowd (myself not included) cheering, and an overall feel good story. The scenery was gorgeous, the story was entertaining, and the action/training scenes were enjoyable. Even if you feel that the original couldn't be topped (probably more because Nostalgia) or you're just looking for a good movie I'd say that it's worth checking out.
FINAL GRADE : B+
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