In 1984, the world saw a coming-of-age movie that would inspire many jokes. The story was one that was being told a lot. Either through another movie of the same kind or through another genre, this is the story about a boy becoming a man. Whilst the movie did give us many memorable moments, we all remember these movies for the great Pat Morita as mister Myagi, who will forever be our number one mentor.
Back in 2008, Variety then suddenly reported that a remake of the movie was in the works, making it the fifth movie in the franchise. Albeit a brand, spanking new design. It was told that the movie would borrow elements from the first game but that it would be a whole new story. People were wary.
The story is of a twelve year old boy named Dre Parker who moves to Beverly Hills with his mother. Beverly Hills Hotel in Beijing. Bit further than Beverly Hills from Detroit. Young Dre wanted to get to know the other kids around the hotel and went to a nearby park. There he gets to meet the rival of the movie who, for all intents and purposes, kicks the shit out of him. Their rivalry grows and Dre’s life takes a turn for the worse every day, only having a girl named Mei as a shining light.
Meanwhile, Dre has met the caretaker of the hotel. His name is Han and he is more than meets the eye. One day, when Dre is getting his ass kicked again, Han saves him from the bullies and heals him up as good as he could. Dre and Han grew closer, to the point where Dre manages to get Han to come with him to the Dojo … I mean Kung Fu teaching place where the maniacal master named John Kreese … I MEAN MASTER LI, honest mistake I swear.
I’m getting my movies mixed up here. This movie really is the original Karate Kid movie but set in China. Nothing more, nothing less. What they did do was change a few things up from how they did it in the original movie.
STILL, as far as remakes go, this is actually a very faithful adaptation. Other than it being set in China. And honestly, just that fact alone is enough to make the story fresh again and just different enough to enjoy the experience all over again.
One thing I did find absolutely stupid was how Han started Dre’s training. In the original movie, Myagi had Danny do all sorts of chores in a specific way. Wax the car, paint the fence and so on. And they did it so that it was believable. It could be done in reality if you do it right. It’s setting the basis, of course, but … yeah. Well, in this movie Dre has to take his jacket off, on, put it on a coat rack, take it off and drop it on the ground. And for days he keeps on doing that. Problem is, he does it like a sack o’ potatoes. Nobody could have been trained from how tamely he did it. It’s like someone being thought how to paint by just randomly going over the canvas a few times. And then, when it’s time to explain to Dre why he’s doing that, he suddenly knows Kung-Fu!
Whoa …
Even if the story isn’t much, you can still count on the actors to keep you going.
Jackie Chan as mister Han is absolutely brilliant. Without a doubt, this is his best performance in an american movie, ever. This is why you go see Jackie Chan movies. You can only hope that he will act this great in an American made movie again. Great part is that he isn’t trying to be Mister Myagi. He is Mister Han, a completely different person.
Jaden Smith plays Dre Parker. I was honestly surprised by this performance. Expecting a run of the mill performance of any given actor of his age, Smith managed to give a great run of the character. I wasn’t planning on doing this comparison, but now I see I was going to have to anyways. Because Jaden here reminds me a lot of his father, Will Smith. Jaden’s performance feels like Will’s on many occasions, but it’s so unique that he makes it his own. If he continues like this, he’ll defitely by as big as his father. Only not in his shadows, but right there next to him to cast a shadow on some other shmuck.
There is only one other noteworthy performance and that is the one from Taraji P. Henson who played Sherry Parker, Dre’s mother. They really picked her out well as she manages to stand out even with Jackie Chan right next to her. She’s got quite an expressive performance as well.
For the rest, the performances are what you might have expected. Not one really stands out if they aren’t doing absolutely insane kung-fu stuff that I wouldn’t be able to do even if I had trained for it all my life.
In the sound department all things are good. The music selected is exactly what you would expect from an American movie in China. And for those of you wary about Justin Bieber, I only noticed it was him when the ending credits started. Or it might have been the only time you actually heard that song. I honestly have no idea. That’s what I hate about movies. The music usually doesn’t stand out at all unless it’s a theme song that gets repeated all the time.
The one thing I absolutely loved about this remake is how they switched it from Karate to Kung-Fu. Yes, that totally and utterly destroys the accuracy of the title, but that is one very tiny problem that is very easy to overcome. The people performing these Kung-Fu moves are absolutely awesome at what they do and manage to impress me every time something new happens on screen. At one point, Dre is taken to a temple and the things seen there are pretty cool to behold.
When it was time for Jackie Chan to show his moves, he proves to us that he can still fight like Jackie Chan but remain to be believable as a serious character like Han. Jackie is the master of Comedic Martial Arts that is best compared to the Charlie Chaplin routine in Shangai Knights. You’ll be amazed at the stunts he performes and the moves he can pull off whilst at the same time you’ll be laughing with what he does.
Unfortunately all this awesomeness is held back by a very questionable camera sometimes. Especially during the tournament do you get some very shaky camerawork, alongside some quick editing. And that gets annoying really quick because you feel like you’re missing the good parts.
The Karate Kid is a great remake of the original movie. It’s an honest retelling of the first movie’s story in a whole new setting and with a new cast of characters. The acting is done remarkably well by the main cast and the action is good to say the least. It might have its flaws, but it’s still a great movie. Here’s to hoping that it isn’t Jaden Smith’s last.
9/10
Back in 2008, Variety then suddenly reported that a remake of the movie was in the works, making it the fifth movie in the franchise. Albeit a brand, spanking new design. It was told that the movie would borrow elements from the first game but that it would be a whole new story. People were wary.
The story is of a twelve year old boy named Dre Parker who moves to Beverly Hills with his mother. Beverly Hills Hotel in Beijing. Bit further than Beverly Hills from Detroit. Young Dre wanted to get to know the other kids around the hotel and went to a nearby park. There he gets to meet the rival of the movie who, for all intents and purposes, kicks the shit out of him. Their rivalry grows and Dre’s life takes a turn for the worse every day, only having a girl named Mei as a shining light.
Meanwhile, Dre has met the caretaker of the hotel. His name is Han and he is more than meets the eye. One day, when Dre is getting his ass kicked again, Han saves him from the bullies and heals him up as good as he could. Dre and Han grew closer, to the point where Dre manages to get Han to come with him to the Dojo … I mean Kung Fu teaching place where the maniacal master named John Kreese … I MEAN MASTER LI, honest mistake I swear.
I’m getting my movies mixed up here. This movie really is the original Karate Kid movie but set in China. Nothing more, nothing less. What they did do was change a few things up from how they did it in the original movie.
STILL, as far as remakes go, this is actually a very faithful adaptation. Other than it being set in China. And honestly, just that fact alone is enough to make the story fresh again and just different enough to enjoy the experience all over again.
One thing I did find absolutely stupid was how Han started Dre’s training. In the original movie, Myagi had Danny do all sorts of chores in a specific way. Wax the car, paint the fence and so on. And they did it so that it was believable. It could be done in reality if you do it right. It’s setting the basis, of course, but … yeah. Well, in this movie Dre has to take his jacket off, on, put it on a coat rack, take it off and drop it on the ground. And for days he keeps on doing that. Problem is, he does it like a sack o’ potatoes. Nobody could have been trained from how tamely he did it. It’s like someone being thought how to paint by just randomly going over the canvas a few times. And then, when it’s time to explain to Dre why he’s doing that, he suddenly knows Kung-Fu!
Whoa …
Even if the story isn’t much, you can still count on the actors to keep you going.
Jackie Chan as mister Han is absolutely brilliant. Without a doubt, this is his best performance in an american movie, ever. This is why you go see Jackie Chan movies. You can only hope that he will act this great in an American made movie again. Great part is that he isn’t trying to be Mister Myagi. He is Mister Han, a completely different person.
Jaden Smith plays Dre Parker. I was honestly surprised by this performance. Expecting a run of the mill performance of any given actor of his age, Smith managed to give a great run of the character. I wasn’t planning on doing this comparison, but now I see I was going to have to anyways. Because Jaden here reminds me a lot of his father, Will Smith. Jaden’s performance feels like Will’s on many occasions, but it’s so unique that he makes it his own. If he continues like this, he’ll defitely by as big as his father. Only not in his shadows, but right there next to him to cast a shadow on some other shmuck.
There is only one other noteworthy performance and that is the one from Taraji P. Henson who played Sherry Parker, Dre’s mother. They really picked her out well as she manages to stand out even with Jackie Chan right next to her. She’s got quite an expressive performance as well.
For the rest, the performances are what you might have expected. Not one really stands out if they aren’t doing absolutely insane kung-fu stuff that I wouldn’t be able to do even if I had trained for it all my life.
In the sound department all things are good. The music selected is exactly what you would expect from an American movie in China. And for those of you wary about Justin Bieber, I only noticed it was him when the ending credits started. Or it might have been the only time you actually heard that song. I honestly have no idea. That’s what I hate about movies. The music usually doesn’t stand out at all unless it’s a theme song that gets repeated all the time.
The one thing I absolutely loved about this remake is how they switched it from Karate to Kung-Fu. Yes, that totally and utterly destroys the accuracy of the title, but that is one very tiny problem that is very easy to overcome. The people performing these Kung-Fu moves are absolutely awesome at what they do and manage to impress me every time something new happens on screen. At one point, Dre is taken to a temple and the things seen there are pretty cool to behold.
When it was time for Jackie Chan to show his moves, he proves to us that he can still fight like Jackie Chan but remain to be believable as a serious character like Han. Jackie is the master of Comedic Martial Arts that is best compared to the Charlie Chaplin routine in Shangai Knights. You’ll be amazed at the stunts he performes and the moves he can pull off whilst at the same time you’ll be laughing with what he does.
Unfortunately all this awesomeness is held back by a very questionable camera sometimes. Especially during the tournament do you get some very shaky camerawork, alongside some quick editing. And that gets annoying really quick because you feel like you’re missing the good parts.
The Karate Kid is a great remake of the original movie. It’s an honest retelling of the first movie’s story in a whole new setting and with a new cast of characters. The acting is done remarkably well by the main cast and the action is good to say the least. It might have its flaws, but it’s still a great movie. Here’s to hoping that it isn’t Jaden Smith’s last.
9/10
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