The 1984 coming-of-age film comes of age with a modest makeover with solid characters and fluid performances that exceed your expectations. The Karate Kid, also known as The Kung Fu Dream in China, and Best Kid in Japan and South Korea, is a 2010 martial arts remake of the 1984 film of the same name.
Although Karate Kid has numerous differences to the original (for example the chief location is now china instead of Los Angeles and the lead protagonist is much younger and also an Afro-American). The significant core values and the spirit of the original plot remain. A bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor and through the discipline of martial arts learns the value of respect, honour, friendship and love.
The film was directed by Harald Zwart and produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and stars none other than his son Jaden Smith as the lead character Dre Parker. Jaden Smith looks good, moves like magic on the screen and strikes just the right amount of balance between inquisitiveness and annoyance. Moving from Detroit to china with his mother Dre finds himself out of his depth and struggling with issues of acceptance he falls foul of the school bully; an encounter that will change his life forever.
Jackie Chan plays Mr. Han, the apartment’s maintenance man with hidden skills in kung fu who takes a curious interest in Dre and then takes him under his wing. Chan is exceptional as usual; if memory serves me correctly I don’t think I have witnessed such a martial arts master who has appealed so much to as many generations as himself. I believe at one stage he even had a cartoon series, so just knowledge of his track record makes him immediately likeable and credible in his part. There is some on screen chemistry between Dre and Han that creates expected warm fuzzy feelings and it serves its purpose in driving the story forward. Whilst the movie goes a long way to developing the characters it is perhaps not as impressive or immersive as some other films of this genre yet it does meet its objective.
Filmed in china the film makers wisely decided to cash in on the rich history of the geographical location. There are some lovely shots of mountains, monks training and great walls of china and often lots of history is revealed to the audience as well as the relevant discipline there to be learned by Dre.
One of the core strengths of this film is the characterisation. Being a remake this film could easily fail short in viewer’s expectations by allowing itself to be compared too easily to what is now regarded as a masterpiece. However watching this film you get the feeling that what they tried to do was compliment the original film rather than replace it. As such it stands up as a feel good fight movie in its own right. The fight sequences are well choreographed and much grittier than the original. You can visualise Will Smith wanting to be there in person to support his son through the rough and tumble parts of the filmmaking process because there are some solid blows in the fight sequences that make you wince. And there is something that has to be said for a 12 year old that can make a Kung Fu combat sequence believable. You have to admire the child’s flexibility and courage and if anything you feel more on his side because you know what he is up against. There are also some nice nods to the original film for example in one scene Dre walks in on Mr. Han trying to catch a fly with chopsticks which after a few attempts Chan’s character ends up swatting it against a wall with a modern fly swatter.
In conclusion fantastic performances and a strong script bring this rendition of Karate Kid bang up to date. Lets face it this is the kind of films that you need in the summer season, it has good values and is great fun for all the family.