When scrolling through my film reviews they tend to be in order by release date. However, sometimes I don’t get around to seeing one for a while. The Karate Kid is one of those instances. It’s not that the trailers didn’t look entertaining; it’s just something about a two and a half hour children’s movie that is a completely altered version of a cult classic. I guess since the first incarnation was not incredibly original the studio thought it acceptable to change things.
The 2010 version follows Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mom Sherry (Taraji P. Henson) as they move from Detroit to Beijing after she gets transferred. Dre then encounters some overly vindictive children who continually beat him up. With the help of maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), he learns kung fu in order to gain the respect of his peers and fight in a tournament.
On the surface the plot is pretty straight forward, except for the fact that some aspects just don’t add up. First, take the bullies. They are twelve year olds who brutally abuse Dre because he is different. This might be my ignorant, middle class upbringing here but children do not beat the shit out of each other just for the hell of it. In reality, I could understand some pushing and shoving or name calling but kicks to the face hurt. Adults would notice. The next problem is the kung fu instructor of the bad kids. He tells them to show no mercy in life and condones the pre-pubescent violence. This guy would not have hundreds of students because their parents would notice that little Johnny has been kicking the cat across the room ever since he began these lessons.
The last problem I will mention is the constant flip flop between touching realism and over the top video game style. A children’s kung fu tournament would not have a jumbo-tron projecting professional promo photos of the competitors. This isn’t Major League Baseball. As tough of a transition as this may be, I will now try to comment on the positives. Jackie Chan gave a strong performance for the majority of the film highlighted by a compelling scene in which he confides a past tragedy with Dre. Plus, he probably looks better than he actually is next to Smith’s forced attempts at humor and whiny brat personality. It’s hard to feel bad for a kid who constantly acts like a jerk.
The overall adaption addressed some of the flaws in the 1984 release and using China as the backdrop produced some great looking scenes. Chan and Henson did well to carry the cast of mostly children. Plus, I think it would be tough to find someone who questions Jackie Chan’s ability as a martial artist. I was very impressed when he fought… a group of five middle school kids… well at least he didn’t try to act ghetto like in the Rush Hour trilogy. (6.6 out of 10)
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