Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.
Review
I've reached that stage in life where the films I grew up with as a kid are now being remade.
I remember when I was a child watching films with my parents that were themselves remakes of older classics and my mum saying "Well this isn't as good as the original". My childhood intellect and defiance of everything my parents liked kicked in and I'd immediately state "Yes it is". Oh the naivety of youth.
So now I'm in a position where my parents were twenty odd years ago and I also find myself saying exactly the same thing "This isn't as good as the original". This can easily be said of The Karate Kid remake, it most defiantly isn't as good as the original ... to me. I've come to conclusion that remakes tend not to be marketed to fans of the originals but to new minds and trends. This would seem to be the reason why very little remakes are liked by those who can remember the original.
Foe me The Karate Kid is steeped in nostalgia. I have so many memories of watching the film for the first time. Running to school the next day to try and kick my mates head off with a crane kick. Offering to wash cars in the hope that I would become a black belt and master of the oriental arts. And of course, rubbing my hands together and placing them on a grazed knee in the vain hope that all pain will vanish. Oh who am I kidding, I still do that now.
So when watching the remake I needed to try and be as objective as possible. To try not to watch the film through rose tinted spectacles and judge it for what it is. Basically to give the film a chance. Doing this gave me a pleasant surprise, you know what, its not that bad at all.
As remakes go its so close to the original it could also be a shot for shot remake. Same scenes, characters, story and feel. Its almost like they tried to play it super safe and not diverse from what worked in the first film. Its a good idea, the mythology of the first remains intact and as such viewers of all ages can relate.
So we move onto the characters. A major change is that this film concentrates on younger teens than the older versions of themselves in the original. We're now looking at things through a twelve year olds eyes which again can lend to a younger audience. What it does do however is make things a little more cuter and family friendly, this isn't too much of a bad thing but you do start to wonder how kids so young can seem so disconnected and angry. Jaden Smith fills Ralph Macchio trainers perfectly well and isn't annoying in the slightest which was one of my major concerns.
So we move onto the Mr Miyagi role made famous by the late Pat Morita. Jackie Chan has been cast in this role and he's the saviour of the whole thing. By just being Jackie Chan and bringing his whole presence to the film its raised up from what it would have been without him. This is the acting Jackie Chan, not the kung fu master we've seen so many times (although he does have one fight scene - obviously), and the world heavy, weathered Mr Han he crafts is a joy to watch. Kudos for taking this role on and to the film makers for creating a much more darker and mysterious character.
Now here's a section for fans of the first film - if you want to watch the film off its own back skip this paragraph as there will be potential spoilers. So I know what your thinking, you want to know what's in this that was in the original right? Well, most of the stuff really, a training montage but without the wax on, wax off and paint the fence cheesyness. The love interest (yes even at 12 years of age they get this in). The rubbing of hands to remove pain, although this time it also involves fire. Miyagi's drunk scene and of course the 'everyone is now friends' ending. What isn't in is skeleton halloween outfits, football on the beach and most disappointingly the crane kick. The finishing move to win the tournament is a over the top, wire worked, overhead kick which looks fake. Kids in playgrounds will be safe from this one I'm sure.
So, as mentioned, this film is basically a shot for shot remake, but done in a way that could appeal to both fans of the first and newcomers. I enjoyed it and more importantly had fun with it. Sure its not the original, sure he doesn't learn Karate but rather Kung Fu, but hey it isn't the eighties anymore either kid.
0 Comments
