The Karate Kid [Blu-ray]

The Karate Kid [Blu-ray] Review

OK, I haven't seen the original since it came out in theaters, way back when. That said, this stays reasonably true to its origin (as I recall it), but still offers enough newness to make remaking worthwhile.

Jaden Smith makes an exceptionally handsome young lead. Jackie Chan takes the role of Mr. Miyagi (sorry - Mr. Han) in a more serious manner than his past films might lead you to believe, and does a more than fair job of it. (He does get one lovely bit of comedic choreography, though.) Jaden's girlfriends is, of course, tweenage cuteness incarnate. China is China - majestic at times, crowded, isolated, commercial, spiritual, and all its other selves, a highly adaptable backdrop to any mood the movie might need. It's no spoiler to say that the bullied new kid wins out gloriously in the end.

My one complaint is the way he wins out. Where the heck did that move come from? No matter, it was a good one. A complaint that I expect to hear but don't share is, why was his mother just sitting there while her son was getting whomped into floorboards? If you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer. Mothers of sons know that their sons are going to do things that get them hurt - better they get hurt under adult supervision, with a medic close at hand. And, since he's going to do wild and life-threatening things anyway, a mentor you more-or-less approve of lets you keep an eye on the craziness. In the alternative, he does crazy stuff anyway but does it with worse people and hides it from you. I don't call that bad mothering - quite the opposite. It's hard to keep rapport with tween- and teen-aged kids; you take what rapport there is where you find it.

A bit more brutal than the original, it's a product of a different decade. It's just as much of a feel-good flick or date movie as the original, though. I enjoyed The Karate Kid, again.

-- wiredweird

The Karate Kid [Blu-ray] Overview

A remake of the 1984 film of the same name, The Karate Kid well exceeds expectations, delivering a powerful viewing experience filled with action-packed martial arts scenes, great footage of China and its many wonders, and an absorbing story of a preadolescent boy's struggle to find his own inner strength. The title Karate Kid is really a misnomer as it is the art of kung fu that is practiced in this remake, not karate, and other details, including the film's setting in China, also differ from the original film. What remains the same, and just as powerful, is the underlying story: a young boy moves to a new place where he feels isolated and is bullied by his peers. Through an unlikely relationship with an adult, the boy not only learns to protect himself through martial arts, but develops the much more important qualities of respect and the mastery of one's own mind and body. Relative newcomer Jaden Smith (son of actors and producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) is excellent as the main character Drek Parker; Jackie Chan gives a restrained and highly effective performance as his mentor Mr. Han; and Zhenwei Wang is eerily believable as the bully Chen. This is an intense and often violent film that fully engulfs its viewers--be prepared to gasp and cheer out loud, and know that you may never look at the act of putting on and taking off a jacket in the same way again. (Ages 8 and older with parental guidance) --Tami Horiuchi

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