In the Theatre with Kevin Murphy - The Karate Kid - Columbia Pitcures

In 1984 the Karate Kid was released and proved to be a great film that I my self hold very true to but many people thought that it ran a bit too long at 2 hours and it could have cut out at least ten to fifteen minuets. Well now its 2010 and we've got a new batter stepping up to plate, thats right after all the horrible unspeakable sequels that were released following 1984 are make has come out and this is at almost two and a half hours. I can say that this Kid might as well pack his GI bag cause thats how I felt waiting from this dragging movie to end.

Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother have moved from Detroit to Beijing so his mother can find better work. His mothers actions have indirectly ruined the boys' life as he is constantly picked on by a neighbour hood bully who is a Kung Fu prodigy who see's him trying to make friends with a beautiful chinese girl who Dra develops feelings for. The bully eventually gangs up on him but is saved by a maintenance man Mr. Han (JackieChan) who decides to teach Dre how to do Kung Fu the proper way so they can both develop peace of mind over their problems.

First off this movie is obviously not as good as the original for a few reasons. The first one is very obvious: In the original film the main character Daniel LeRusso (Ralph Macchio) is learning real Karate (Goju-ryu to be specific) yet in this remake the main character is learning Kung Fu and the title is still the Karate Kid, the reason; Kung Fu is in and Karate is out yet the name is still popular enough to attract attention and as my Sensai told me only 1% of people practice real martial arts so it really doesn't matter to the 99% of people who don't take it anddon't care as long as it kicks but.

A major issue with this film is that its too much like the original Karate Kid. In almost every scene there is something that is just too similar to what the original was and all I can do is sit back and expect what I've already seen before only slower and more dragging in this movie. We all know that a remake mimics its source material more than half the time ratio of the film. Five years ago Tim Burton remade Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and while most of the plot remained the same their were a few touch ins that weren't in the original but I still thought they were good, but in this film they just drag on and replace what made the original film great with a continuous loop thatI don't think can really help the main character like in the original film.

The acting in this film is ok but I dint think it was that great. I thought Taraji J. Henson was just as obnoxious and annoying towards her son in the original as she was in this movie. We all know what she does is out of love for her son but the problem is she doesn't really know too much about letting the Kid think his problems through before she starts talking and because she does this it really gets on the audience's nerve as the main characteris trying to evolve and you would rather watch Jaden take his jacket off a thousand times before she starts talking. Jackie Chan was good but I thought he was a bitter piece of cardboard and doesn't really shape himself very well between being a handyman and kung fu teacher. However there is one scene in the movie where he really opens up and starts acting a bit more real but after that he's still cardboard and I really like Chans' work when he is more at ease with himself and serious at the same time like Rush Hour (1998) or Shanghi Noon (2000).

Jaden Smith, the new fresh prince was good in this movie but I've two major problems with him. One; He is too much like Will Smith. Whenever I see Jaden acting I really just see Will Smith and because of this its really hard for me to see Jaden stand out as his own actor instead of being in his dads shadow. If Jaden was a bit older and develop a bit more mature personality than I think he could have handled this on his own terms. My second problem is that the main character is too young to be facing the warrior like troubles of a boy. Because of this its not very realistic when it should be someone who's around sixteen facing these problems in the movie.

The two things I liked best in this movie was the cinematography and choreography. Many of the shots of China in the movie were just breath taking and you can tell the crew on the film really did their homework on where the best places are to shoot film in China such as the Great Wall for a training session. The choreography on the film was great because every fight scene felt real and looked like real Kung – Fu. With the title being a weak link the movie has to focus even more on its Kung – fu aspects and philosophies which the film does good in showcasing.

Running at more than two hours their really isnt much more to talk about with the new Karate Kid because if its running too long than people will start to get bored and even with this good information their will be people who are getting impatient with the fight sequences while others just want it to end. But at least this ones better than the sequels. If you wanna see the real Karate Kid go see the original because you will love it.

My Rating: 1/4 Shamrocks