THE KARATE KID movie's review
Directed By: John G. Avildsen
Columbia pictures present
The fact of the matter is it's been 26 years since the first Karate kid and given how many other movies have relied on the exact same formula, a full-fledged remake is pretty fair game. By moving things to China and casting 11-year-old Jaden Smith. It's hard to know who to credit or blame for the film, since director Harald Zwart was brought in well after things were in development, and the film's likely true authors, Will Smith and the Chinese government that authorized the on-location production, are entirely offscreen. But even though The Karate Kid is a paint-by-numbers remake that exists so Smith can make his kid a star and China can promote itself to the West, it's also exceptionally well shot, frequently funny and touching, and perhaps most importantly, a vehicle for a great Jackie Chan performance. It's not quite enough to justify a two and a half length, but it comes close.
On the film, Jaden smith called Dre and Jackie Chan called Mr. Han.
A life he never wanted.
A challenge he never imagined.
A teacher he never expected.
Dre (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) leave Detroit for brighter job prospects in Beijing, where Dre quickly tussles with the local group of thugs who also happen to be kung fu masters. Dre starts up a showy flirtation with Meiy
ing (Wenwen Han), who's spoken for by head baddie Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), and soon he's hiding from these kids every day after school. In the middle of one particularly mean fight Dre is rescued by his apartment building's reclusive handyman Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who reluctantly agrees to teach Dre kung fu but only after taking the arrogant tween down a peg or two. Lessons are learned, poses are struck, a friendship begins to blossom cue the training montage.
There's a lot to swallow with this new Karate Kid you have to accept that privileged child of Hollywood Jaden Smith is now a movie star, that a remake of a beloved 80s classic isn't automatically a travesty, and that about an hour and a half's worth of good material within a two and a half hour running time is a reasonable ratio. In any other summer, it might not be worth the trip, but summer 2010 is proving to be unusually dismal, and at this point there are worse things than sitting in the air conditioning, marveling at some beautiful cinematography and excellent fight choreography, and witnessing the acting rebirth of Jackie Chan.
This film very interesthing and I like very well. It is best suited to child and family. You certain watch it.
