The Karate Kid (2010)
12-year-old Dre Parker could have been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.
"Although I disapprove of exploitation and violence in movies marketed to families, I have to make an exception. Anybody who walks into this movie, deserves what they get. It's Jackie Chan, who really is a dynamic individual with raw talent, taking it a step further by challenging your intellect."Being a massive Jackie Chan Fan since watching 'Project A' from 1982, I went to see this film with a certain amount of anticipation and trepidation. Firstly I loved the original Karate Kid, and although I understood this was not a carbon copy of the original I still didn't want to see it fail or tar the good name of the 'franchise'. Jackie Chan as the wise old 'Mr Han' went brilliantly and even though he doesn't give off quite the same aura as the original 'Mr Miyagi' he still does a damn good job, he pulls off the lonely maintenance man come martial arts expert to perfection and you can feel the empathy and father like qualities oozing from 'Chan' towards 'Jaden Smith's' character 'Dre Parker'. Jaden is obviously from the 'Smith' gene pool and will no doubt go very far in the world of film, and considering this is one of his first steps on the ladder he is definately a very talented youngster with many of his fathers qualities.
Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Zhenwei Wang, Yu Rongguang, Wen Wen Han
Story: Robert Mark Kamen
Screenplay: Christopher Murphey
Casting: Poping Auyeung
Released: June 11, 2010
review by Shivam Sharma
To contact him go to shivamsharmacricketfan@facebook.com in facebook,www.shivamsharma27.hpage.com or www.shivamsharma27.weebly.com
This movie is awesome and cute. It was really really good. Really enjoyed it.
Jaden is so adorable and Jackie Chan is perfect as his master.
Simply Amazing.. An Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Superb Remake. No Doubt Jaden would turn out to be a better actor than his father.
Being a massive Jackie Chan Fan since watching 'Project A' from 1982, I went to see this film with a certain amount of anticipation and trepidation. Firstly I loved the original Karate Kid, and although I understood this was not a carbon copy of the original I still didn't want to see it fail or tar the good name of the 'franchise'. Jackie Chan as the wise old 'Mr Han' went brilliantly and even though he doesn't give off quite the same aura as the original 'Mr Miyagi' he still does a damn good job, he pulls off the lonely maintenance man come martial arts expert to perfection and you can feel the empathy and father like qualities oozing from 'Chan' towards 'Jaden Smith's' character 'Dre Parker'. Jaden is obviously from the 'Smith' gene pool and will no doubt go very far in the world of film, and considering this is one of his first steps on the ladder he is definately a very talented youngster with many of his fathers qualities. Role on 'The Karate Kid 2 and 3, I for one can't wait.
Karate Kid: I love this movie! I have always been a Fan of Jackie Chan and I still think he looks pretty dang good. Jackie you go boy. He really stepped up his acting game. I was amazed, I knew that Jackie was a great actor, but now everyone else will too. I can�t say enough great things about him so let�s go to Jaden Smith. WOW. Little Will you did your thing. �Awesome� is the word that come to mind. This little man is up there with the big boys, but what should we expect when he has to great parents. I loved every minute of this movie and my kids did too. They left the movie punching and kicking the air and wanting me to buy it. If you were not planning on seeing this movie (Change your plans) and go see it.
Controversies over ‘Karate Kid’
-by BEV QUESTAD-
Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan get a big YES for their work on this film, but at least three controversies swirl over this re-make of the 1984 Macchio version of “The Karate Kid.”
First of all, the casting director, Poping Auyeung, flopped when it came to casting the Asians. Though Taraji P. Henson, the mom, is really sweet – the rest of this cast and the script are not up to the caliber of the film or its stars.
Auyeung is noted as a Canadian casting director who has been working from China for the last five years casting English-speaking Asians for international film and TV roles. How much she had to do with casting Smith’s girlfriend and the blond boy who could speak Chinese is not known, but these uncomfortable choices lent an unprofessional quality to the production.
Sometimes there are competing interests in casting, and in order to showcase one lead the director wants to make sure there is no competition from the minor players. But there was no need for anxiety in this area. Smith handles this film all by himself just fine. But he must only play opposite the best so that the quality of the total film can shine forth. When he was in a scene with Jackie Chan there was magic! Casting him against kids who obviously feel awkward delivering lines only lets the audience notice that the script just isn’t too good.
Though credit is given for the story to Robert Kamen, who wrote the original version, Christopher Murphey wrote this weak screenplay. There are so many loose ends. How does a an American mom from Detroit get transferred to Beijing to work in an auto factory? What car company does this? If kung fu is not about having no mercy, then why does the Asian (he doesn’t look Chinese) teach his boys that way? Does the girl make the violin selection or not?
Beside the blatant casting gaffes and mundane script, there is the title problem.
Why call the film “Karate Kid”? Couldn’t they come up with some other name since the production neither used the same script nor karate?
“Karate Kid Goes Fung Fu,” “Karate Kid Re-Play,” “Karate Kid – Chinese Version.” Or how about putting Ralph Macchio in it and having him pass a torch, calling Smith the “Kung-Fu Kid?”
Karate was developed on Okinawa and is Japanese in origin. Kung fu, of course, is a national Chinese martial art. Accusations of cultural insensitivity, ignorance, bias and even racism have been leveled against the film.
Jerry Weintraub, the producer of the Macchio versions, did not want to do this film. Will Smith came to him with the idea as a great project to cement his son as a star. However, using his famously instinctive good sense, Weintraub declined. So Smith sent his people to Weintraub’s every day for months until Weintraub relented. But then Weintraub insisted, despite Smith’s idea to call it “Kung Fu Kid,” to keep the original name, because he saw it as a brand – a recognizable marketing ploy.
However, one compromise was made. Weintraub allowed “Kung Fu Kid” as the film title in the People’s Republic of China, Japan and South Korean.
Was it a mistake not to give it that name everywhere?
The Chinese scenery was majestic, the acting of Smith and Chan was superb and the conveyance of the message brought tears to my eyes, but the script, casting of the other kids and film title were unfortunate.
This film gets a 2 out of 5. As Anderson Cooper would say, “Keeping it honest.”
Director: Harald Zwart
Producers: Jerry Weintraub, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Zhenwei Wang, Yu Rongguang, Wen Wen Han
Story: Robert Mark Kamen
Screenplay: Christopher Murphey
Casting: Poping Auyeung
Released: June 11, 2010
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Although I disapprove of exploitation and violence in movies marketed to families, I have to make an exception. Anybody who walks into this movie, deserves what they get. It's Jackie Chan, who really is a dynamic individual with raw talent, taking it a step further by challenging your intellect.
Although bullying is a part of the movie, bullying is also a fact of life. And wouldn't it be wonderful, if we could all kick the living daylights out the bullys in our lives, without being arrested?
I would sign up for karate lessons tomorrow if I could kick the living daylights out of the bullies in my life, and go around protecting the innocent, for lack of a protective order. In this case, patience is not a virtue. Some people deserve exactly what is coming to them.
I thought it was highly subjective and stimulated the cortex of the human brain beyond it's normal thought process.
good movie
Why "Karate" kid? Why not "Kung Fu" kid? Or Will Smith's kid?
Well, I was in Jr.High back in the 80's when Pat and Ralph first "waxed-on, waxed-off" and I've been a fan ever since...so please understand that I went to this film with the attitude of, "They'd better make this good, or someone's gonna get some Crane Technique all over themselves!!!"
Also, after what I felt was a lack-luster performance from Jaden Smith in "The Day the Earth Stood Still", again I was ready to be disappointed.
That said, I was actually refreshingly surprised. I thought this Karate Kid had an honest, believable story. Characters that and made the audience interested and made us care. All of this and a beautiful backdrop of seldom seen China to top it off.
Now for the question of the hour. "Karate!!! It was Kung-Fu. What gives?"
Ok, well fundamentally, this is the same story that we all fell in love with back in the 80's. Teen angst, immeasurable odds to confront, a huge move to a foreign country (and yes, Jersey to California should require a passport). So it's a remake, it gets the same name.
Ok, now...to get a little Kung-Fu-y on you:
A common theme of Jackie Chan movies is the whole "can't fill a filled cup" idea. This is actually bulwark of Kung-Fu teachings where you must let go of what you know (or think you know) to gain new knowledge.
At one point in this remake, (and here's the "spoiler") Tre (Smith, "The Kid") is trying to get some fighting skills by watching a weak Karate "how to" on television. He had taken some Karate back in the states before his big move to China and he thought that would hold water to the Kung-Fu being used to kick his butt. When Jackie Chan agreed to take on the role of Smith's teacher, he let him know that he would have to unlearn whatever he had learned...which at that point had only been Karate, hense, "Karate Kid."
A stretch, but go with the "remake" explanation. Easier to stomach. All in all, my wife, a couple of friends we went with, and I all give the film (from 1 to 10) a 9.
I was pleasantly surprised by this remake. I love the real Karate Kid, but Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan did a good job in this one. I also loved the beautiful Chinese landscape. Yes, it was more Kung Fu than Karate, but it just a movie. I do think it would have been better to give a it a different name.
