The Karate Kid

In our ongoing attempt to keep cool during this oppressive weather, Laura and I made it out to a late showing of Karate Kid last night. We had a choice between seeing that one, but we were 10 minutes into it already (no previews!) or waiting around 40 minutes to see Iron Man 2, which we also have not seen. We went with the Karate Kid. Boy, was that a great decision.

We walked in and the movie had already started, but it was all just the introduction stuff. We got to see them rolling the stars of the film too, so I'm sure we didn't miss much (though I did notice Jaden Smith got the lead billing over Jackie Chan... interesting).

I'll start out talking about Jaden, since from what I've read, there's been a lot of complaints about how he only got the movie because of his parents, or that he's pretty egotistical or what have you already. He's riding his father's coattails to get where he is or whatever. Let me tell you, the kid did very well in this movie. He played the frightened kid being hounded by bullies, the awkward kid trying to flirt with a cute girl, the angry kid who just had to move away from all his friends, the desperate kid trying to find something to call his own, the mischivous kid, the frustrated kid and the determined kid all convincingly. I have a healthy amount of respect for the range he showed in this movie. It's not often I see a movie staring a child that I don't cringe at the kid's acting, but this one was just fine.

Second, I'll address the whole kung-fu/karate issue. My thought is 'who cares'? The story was essentially the same, and the fighting style was largely irrelevent to the main plot. It could have been kick-boxing or judo (maybe not sumo) and would have been fine. Actually, listening to Jackie Chan talk about Kung-Fu as an aspect of all life tied a lot of the story back to the differing philosophies between Jaden and the roving gang of bullies.

The movie was really top notch, actually surpassing the original in many ways. I'd have to say the only thing that did not top the original was actually Jackie Chan, and that's no fault of his - he did a stellar job. I just don't see how anyone could top Mr. Miagi. Fortunately, Jackie Chan did not try to mimic Mr. Miagi's performance - he took the character and made it his own.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie to just about anyone out there. Unless you didn't like the original story. If that's the case, this one, which follows essentially the same plot, won't do you many favors.