Directed by:
Harald ZwartScreenplay:
Christopher MurpheyCinematography:
Roger PrattComposer:
James HornerCast:
Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Ringo Yu, Wenwen Han, Zhensu Wu, Zhenwei Wang, Ji Wang, Xiaofei ZhouVOD (4)
Plots(1)
In Columbia Pictures' The Karate Kid, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts "the karate kid" on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
Never underestimate putting a jacket on a coatrack, putting it on, and picking it up off the ground. Too bad the guy isn't like three or four years older, it would have made his relationship look better right away. Unnecessary scenes; unnecessarily long. If Jackie had one more gray hair and less of a painful past, it would have been much better. Otherwise, a run-of-the-mill movie about fair play, friendship, and appreciation between "men", that romanticizes China. Some of the scenes smack too much of America – and that's a bummer when it's in China... :-D A weaker 3 stars.
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Full of clichés, but still very likeable. The protagonist is okay, and so are the supporting characters – very good chemistry and quality dialogue scenes. The action is solid, the fights are very well done. Jackie Chan finally is not playing an idiot, but a character deserving of his age and experience. And he still knows how to handle himself decently, so another plus for him. For kids up to 15 years old, this must be a captivating spectacle, understandably so.
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I’m not a fan of the original Karate Kid, I don’t think I ever saw it full, and I’m not intending to. I watched the remake only out of curiosity, I wasn’t interested in the film itself, but the positive reviews (70% RT) were such a surprise that I decided to sacrifice those two hours. What can I say other than it’s pretty well crafted nonsense that would likely thrill me if I were in a universe where I liked pathetically clichéd American films with kids in the leading roles. The basic problem is the fact that if there is something I am not, it’s the target viewer of a Karate Kid remake. PS: If the dialogues were uttered in a slightly more serious tone, this would be a parody, but alas, for people like me they are just unintentionally funny.
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You can't get a new classic for all children from theme like this today, but hats off for the fact that such a simple story, especially at literally deadly length, did not fall apart in the hands of the creators. However, I have to admit that after the opening classic of "moving-disappointment-bullying", this was more just ordinarily boring rather than disappointing. The surprisingly cool and totally natural Jaden Smith, the solid training, the classic editing, and the divine Jackie Chan eventually brought me so high that I couldn't believe it during the closing credits. 70% and eventually even a fourth star. Remaking a classic so that the resulting film can breathe on its own is no joke.
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Everyone, and especially the target audience of this film, must find it too long-winded, with unnecessary dramatic detours (digging into Jackie Chan’s past). And Jaden Smith would be a nice fit for the role of a young skateboarding enthusiast, but he is terribly miscast here. The fights are good and the final tournament is emotional enough, but you can say that about most of the Rocky movies, which don’t waste time with unnecessary padding.
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