Sunday, June 6, 2010

Movie Review: The Karate Kid(2010)

As a child, I grew up with the iconic characters of the 80's and Daniel Larusso and Mr. Miyagi. When I watched it again recently, I didn't have that interest anymore since I outgrew that from my childhood because it was so simple. But Mr. Miyagi,played by Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was the only reason to watch it since he looks tougher than Larusso. When news spread out that there's going to have a remake, I kept critical. I have nothing against Jacky Chan since I am a fan but Karate and Jacky Chan can't mix. They should have titled the movie Kung Fu Kid instead which is what they did in China.

But I was wrong about the movie. It was more than that. Jacky played very well as the teacher of the young Dre. Even though this version was a somehow a carbon copy, it was still different in a lot of ways. It has more drama and more competitive than the original, though the fights are more extreme than the original, it was not fully bloody violent but I advise the parents who are watching with their kids to supervise about it. It was also a good family film. It even has more drama than the original. It appeals more to the audience today because it make them feel what the characters are feeling.

Though it was a production of the Smith family, Jaden was right for the title role, choosing the age of a twelve year old was the right thing to do so it won't be a total copy of the original which was like teen movie. The movie also added a cross-cultural experience as one of the struggles for Jaden's character, Dre. Jacky Chan proves also that he pull off the role of the teacher as Pat Morita did. There's no comparison because both of them were good. Jacky Chan proved to be just as wise sage-like character like Miyagi did. There were many wisdoms from his character,Mr. Han. There were also family values in the content of the movie. I highly recommend this movie for everyone. The Karate Kid opens in theatres June 11, 2010. 

Photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures

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