MyRating: YYY1/2Director: Harald Zwart
Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Zhenwei Wang, Rongguang Yu
MPAA: Rated PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
This is one of the movie that bears many burdens in its soulders before its release. A movie that was seen with 'one eye' by many people for its existence and was anticipated to be a 'flop' (some people worried it will be a 'big flop' and some were happy to see it 'flop'). The first reason is, this is a remake from a very popular film franchise of the 1980s that has lots of fans, about a kid who learns martial arts to fight for his dignity. I (only) watched The Karate Kid, Part II (1986) from the series and I 'loved it to death'. For me, it was one of the greatest and enjoyable movies of the 1980s. A great feel good underdog story.
The second reason is about the casts. Many people doubted Jaden Smith as soon as he was announced for the main role as the kid. In the original movie, everybody knows that the main role was a white American kid (Ralph Macchio), but in this remake, the role is changed to an African American kid. It is understandable though, because people like to compare. If it happened the other way around, I believe people will compare and complain the same. They just don't want their good memories for the original movies and casts being ruined by an unfit remake. And being Will Smith's son doesn't make it easier for Jaden. Yes, Jaden is definitely one of the luckiest kid on earth because of his father (who is also the producer of this movie and the reason why Jaden got his role in the first place), but in the eyes of the audiences, he has hell a lot of expectations (and cynicism) to prove. Jaden also has received mix feelings for his earlier appearances, as Will Smith's son in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), a great movie because of Will Smith and its touching story, and in The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), a terrible movie where Jaden played a role that many people hated. Because everybody loves Will Smith, it doesn't mean that everybody has to love his son.
Another doubt was Jackie Chan, since he has to stand in Mr. Miyagi's shoes, which in the original movies was played well and memorably by Pat Morita. Besides the Rush Hour series, Jackie Chan did not really shine with his other roles in Hollywood and many of his Hollywood movies were unsuccessful. However, I was excited when hearing Jackie Chan was chosen for Mr. Miyagi's role. I think he is the most perfect cast, as the story of this remake is set in China. Jackie Chan is definitely the greatest Chinese movie star alive, because of his popularity, influences, and dedication to the movie industry for over three decades, not mentioning his charity and philanlanthropy activities. He is a multitalented actor, as he is also a filmmaker, a producer, a screenwiter, a stunt performer, an action choreographer, a martial artist, a comedian, an entrepreneur and a singer. I read a survey once that he is the most recognizable face in China, more than any other actors, artists or even political figures. That means, everybody in China (and Asia) knows Jackie Chan. And if there is any person says that he cannot act, that person must definitely have not seen many of his great Hong Kong action movies before he went to Hollywood. In the past, people in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South East Asia (I believe in Japan and South Korea too) used to cherish and flock to see his movies every year (usually one or two movies a year, mostly released near the Chinese New Year). He made many great and memorable action movies with unbelievable and dangerous stunts of his own, which almost killed him several times. And, he CAN act very well. I think his biggest barriers in Hollywood is the language and the limited great roles for Asian actors.
Despite many doubts, somehow this new The Karate Kid works! The story is about a 12-year-old Dre Parker (Smith), who has to move to China with his mother (Henson) because of her work. He soon finds out that the culture differences give him a hard time in his new neighborhood. He falls in love with Mei Ying (Han), his Chinese schoolmate, and bonds a friendship with her. But this also puts him in trouble, as he is becoming the target of the school bully, Cheng (Wang), and his gang, who possess real kung fu skills, as they are the students of Master Li (Yu), a kung fu teacher, who teaches his students to have no mercies with their enemies. Seeing that Dre is badly bullied and beaten by Cheng and his gang, Mr. Han (Chan), the mysterious maintenance guy of Dre's apartment complex, helps the kid to stand on his feet by teaching him kung fu and the essence of kung fu, as Dre not only has to fight back to stop all the bullying, but he also has to fight Cheng and his friends in a tournament.
This is a nice and enjoyable movie. It works because the story works. The characters work. And the aura as a martial arts movie works. It did bring back some old glory of The Karate Kid, in its own way. The new setting in China gave an interesting background to the story (it was nice to see The Great Wall and The Forbidden City). The fight scenes were exciting and very well choreographed. And most of all, the chemistry between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan worked and bonded strongly with a teacher and student relationship, which gave a nice touch and heart to the movie.
Jaden Smith proves that he can utilize all the easiness that his father has given him. He acted well as the stubborn Dre Parker. He was also funny, cute and has the charm as a star. And he was definitely trained hard enough, as he could perform good kung fu moves for the kid of his age. With this movie, he has marked himself as a new promising (child) star. Jackie Chan also gave a good performance in his role as Mr. Han. He appeared differently from his usual comedic performances. Here, his character is more serious, solitary and retrospective. I know people will compare him with Pat Morita while watching this movie (like I did), why he is less like Mr. Miyagi. However, I don't think this was a right approach. He is Mr. Han, not Mr. Miyagi, therefore, we should see him as a new character, with his own flesh and blood.
Many people said that this film should be titled as "The Kung Fu Kid". Yes, it was all about kung fu, not karate as in the original movies. But I think it was a wise decision from the producer to keep the title as The Karate Kid, as the purpose was to draw as many old fans as possible to the big screens in order to revive the glory of the original series. It was definitely better than to let "The Kung Fu Kid" to stand alone as a movie and face a riskier box office success.
I believe this will be the beginning of a new franchise. It definitely worth a sequel (and I bet it will be a sequel). Jaden Smith will be much older and mature by then. By that time, the filmmaker will give him a teenage story, with a teenage problem and a teenage enemy. It will be interesting to see how the story continues. I also hope that they will explore more of the character of Mr. Han and give Jackie Chan more good fights. (MJ)
