A re-make of the 1984 classic, this time starring Jaden 'Son of Will' Smith as the kid and Jackie Chan as the Mr Miyagi equivalent.
12-year-old Dre (Smith) could have 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, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre's battle skills are severly lacking and Cheng puts 'the karate kid' on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre turns to maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu...
Karate Kid mark 2010 (Smith) is suffering an almighty identity crisis. His mom’s (Henson) moved from Detroit to Beijing, his best mate’s a crazy janitor (Chan) and he’s the centre of a nostalgia-based fish-out-of-water tale which doesn’t seem to care very much about either the fish, the water or the nostalgia. Oh yeah, and they teach kung-fu in China, not karate.
Although the ever-reliable Chan’s on hand to dispense hard-won wushu wisdom, raise a cheeky eyebrow and beat up 12-year-olds, Harold Zwart’s awkward update brings little else to the ring. Smith’s romance with a pre- pubescent chum (Han) borders on the creepy, James Horner’s swaddling score is like being cuddled by a fat aunt, and China’s a picture postcard confection (yes, Smith and Chan do practise on the Great Wall and no, this makes no narrative sense); a mythical place the filmmakers can attempt to convince people magic still exists. It doesn’t.
Awkward references to the wax on/wax off scene aside, what adult wants to watch children beat the hell out of each other? And what child wants to sit through 140 minutes of coming-of-age obnoxiousness? While nobody’s going to blame the failure of a major Hollywood movie on a pre-teen, there’s no denying Smith’s character could use a bit of a smack. Sulky, spoilt and frighteningly self-possessed, he’s the picture of American arrogance, parlaying the international language of crassness and expecting to be listened to before defaulting, finally, to fisticuffs. Ultimately this is a case of too much kid, not enough karate. Or should that be kung fu?
By Matt Glasby, Flicks.co.nz
Bring back Mr Miyagi!!!!! 'Nough said!
New version of The Karate Kid. Acting was alright. Was more Kung-Fu than Karate. Ending was great and you almost jump to your feet.
Decent film that could have easily been an hour shorter. Great supprorting cast; nice change to see Chan getting more dramatic and leaving the cliched funny guy role behind. Smith was good enough, but lacked much of the sympathy that Macchio previously created, instead replacing it with a much more smug personality.
I have nothing against it but the title should be Kung Fu Kid instead of Karate....just useless info
I totally loved it. Im such a big fan of Jaden Smith and he acted good in the movie. I wish i could see it over and over again. You should hear the song Never say Never by Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith it is really good.
If you've seen “The Karate Kid” (1984), the memories will come back during this 2010 remake. That's a compliment.
Smith might be the focus, but while he’s got the charisma and the moves, it’s Chan who makes it punch above its weight. Nice scenery too.
It's a measure of the times that the new version of The Karate Kid manages to be longer and bigger-budgeted than the original while having lesser impact.
A kung fu kick of a film that hits more than it misses.
Is this Karate Kid as good as the original? No, although it is better than the sequels. But why bother with nostalgia? It’s probably good enough.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Jul 2010.
Release date: July 8th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
