Review of 'The Karate Kid'
It's a blatant and obvious remake of a corny classic, its title now makes no sense whatsoever, and it's been reconfigured as something of a 'tween scream machine.
But none of that matters.
The bottom line is "The Karate Kid" is precisely the sort of rousing, stand-up-and-cheer, feel-good entertainment movie audiences have been starved for this summer. It's a fish-out-of-water, underdog-winner that's unapologetically commercial and ready to rock.
It also offers more solid proof of genetics than any 100 textbooks ever could in the person of young Jaden Smith, son of superstar Will. Yes, this entire project was built to put Jaden in the best possible light, but there's no getting around it -- the kid is a natural born movie star.
Most importantly, though, "The Karate Kid" is "The Karate Kid" -- a classic commercial, smash hit of a movie.
Except for the Kung Fu thing. And the Chinese thing. And the black thing. And the wax on, wax off thing.
No, seriously, it really is "The Karate Kid." It's just the tweaked "Karate Kid."
This kid is 12 years old, he's black, he's from Detroit (Yo!) and his name is Dre (Smith). And right off the bat he's moving to China with his mother (Taraji P. Henson), where she's landed a job with a car company.
Once there, though, Dre runs into some middle school Kung Fu bullies who, for unspecified reasons, decide to make him their personal punching bag. Turns out tough attitude and a couple of scrawny fists aren't much good against bigger kids being coached by a fascist martial arts master, as these bullies are.
Dre has sporadic happy moments with a cute violin prodigy named Meiying (big-smiling Wenwen Han) -- this is the 'tween dream stuff -- but finds himself on the wrong end of sure annihilation when he suddenly discovers his apartment's handyman, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan, shining like he hasn't in years), is a Kung Fu master.
Hey, everybody knows where this is going. But getting there is the fun. The montage scenes. The mundane chore that becomes a hidden lesson. The mystical revelations. The road trip.
The road trip here is a bit more exotic than in the original film, obviously, this being China; although the mysticism is a bit more subdued. And Mr. Han is given a bit of tragic back story that lets both Chan and Smith stretch.
Still, you know the whole thing is building toward the Kung Fu tournament in which Dre will show his newfound skills at the end. And you can't help but roll along with it.
That said, it's a little hard to see what director Harald Zwart ("Pink Panther 2," "Agent Cody Banks") brings to the party beyond the film's somewhat dull look, and it seems as if the movie takes too long getting to Chan's character, at which point it picks up a lot of steam.
"The Karate Kid" may not be great filmmaking, but a lot of parents are going to enjoy taking their kids to see it, as well they should. And those kids are going to cheer. As well they should.
But none of that matters.
The bottom line is "The Karate Kid" is precisely the sort of rousing, stand-up-and-cheer, feel-good entertainment movie audiences have been starved for this summer. It's a fish-out-of-water, underdog-winner that's unapologetically commercial and ready to rock.
It also offers more solid proof of genetics than any 100 textbooks ever could in the person of young Jaden Smith, son of superstar Will. Yes, this entire project was built to put Jaden in the best possible light, but there's no getting around it -- the kid is a natural born movie star.
Most importantly, though, "The Karate Kid" is "The Karate Kid" -- a classic commercial, smash hit of a movie.
Except for the Kung Fu thing. And the Chinese thing. And the black thing. And the wax on, wax off thing.
No, seriously, it really is "The Karate Kid." It's just the tweaked "Karate Kid."
This kid is 12 years old, he's black, he's from Detroit (Yo!) and his name is Dre (Smith). And right off the bat he's moving to China with his mother (Taraji P. Henson), where she's landed a job with a car company.
Once there, though, Dre runs into some middle school Kung Fu bullies who, for unspecified reasons, decide to make him their personal punching bag. Turns out tough attitude and a couple of scrawny fists aren't much good against bigger kids being coached by a fascist martial arts master, as these bullies are.
Dre has sporadic happy moments with a cute violin prodigy named Meiying (big-smiling Wenwen Han) -- this is the 'tween dream stuff -- but finds himself on the wrong end of sure annihilation when he suddenly discovers his apartment's handyman, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan, shining like he hasn't in years), is a Kung Fu master.
Hey, everybody knows where this is going. But getting there is the fun. The montage scenes. The mundane chore that becomes a hidden lesson. The mystical revelations. The road trip.
The road trip here is a bit more exotic than in the original film, obviously, this being China; although the mysticism is a bit more subdued. And Mr. Han is given a bit of tragic back story that lets both Chan and Smith stretch.
Still, you know the whole thing is building toward the Kung Fu tournament in which Dre will show his newfound skills at the end. And you can't help but roll along with it.
That said, it's a little hard to see what director Harald Zwart ("Pink Panther 2," "Agent Cody Banks") brings to the party beyond the film's somewhat dull look, and it seems as if the movie takes too long getting to Chan's character, at which point it picks up a lot of steam.
"The Karate Kid" may not be great filmmaking, but a lot of parents are going to enjoy taking their kids to see it, as well they should. And those kids are going to cheer. As well they should.
Labels: library
posted by Tom at
1:33 PM
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