Movie Review: "The Karate Kid"

Seen on: June 13, 2010

The players: Director: Harald Zwart, Writer: Christopher Murphey, Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson

Facts of interest: Zwart also helmed "One Night at McCool's."

The plot: Dre and his mom move to China, where is beaten to the ground and ends up learning kung fu to fight back once and for all.

Our thoughts: In the mood to watch some kids beating the hell out of each other? Then Harald Zwart’s remake of “The Karate Kid” is just the right movie for you. There is indeed a solid dose of hardcore punching and kicking in this family film, and yet viewers young and old keep clapping until the last kid on the big screen is knocked to the ground hard. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Anyway, Zwart’s “Karate Kid” is by no means a terrible experience, but I have two main problems with this reboot. First, it’s way too long. The movie runs about 140 minutes, and that’s both ridiculous and unnecessary. “Kid” is not a massive bore, but the plot suffers from multiple dragging sections that could’ve been chopped very easily. Watching the same stuff does get tiring and monotonous after a while.

This leads me to my second complaint: the film’s lack of variety. I understand that movies aimed at children are often plagued by predictability, but in my book, there really isn’t anything intriguing about watching Jaden Smith prepping for that one big final fight. The script of “The Karate Kid” lacks some punch, even though I admit it’s stuffed enough to keep the youngster’s eyes focused on the screen.

Smith jumps into the role of Dre, a smart kid who dreads moving from Detroit to China. His mom (Taraji P. Henson) has been relocated, and there is no way they can stay in America. Of course, adapting to a new environment and lifestyle is tough for Dre, and it doesn’t take long until he’s bullied and beaten by some young and ruthless Chinese kung fu masters.

Luckily for Dre, there’s that weird maintenance guy (Jackie Chan) who decides to become the kid’s mentor and teach him all about kung fu so he can face his new enemies in a big tournament. That’s about all that’s happening in the movie and it’s not hard to imagine where the story is going from here. Oh, and before I forget, Dre also encounters a love interest, which further complicates things.

Yes, the kids at my screening cheered and clapped, and that’s certainly one of the reasons “The Karate Kid” is so successful at the box office. Children want to see a hero their age kicking butt on the big screen, and in this sense, the filmmakers successfully completed their mission: develop a remake that doesn’t show us anything new but still manages to seduce the young cinema audience.

Lots of love from children and their happy parents doesn’t mean this is a classic though. As uplifting as it may be, it’s hardly innovative, and I couldn’t help but laugh at times because most of what we see on the screen is just beyond over-the-top. That said, the film’s visual style works well, and so do all of the locations. This is definitely better than Zwart’s “The Pink Panther 2” disaster.

Freaky quote: "You focus needs more focus." - Jackie Chan

The final word: Jaden Smith manages his role pretty well, but Chan lacks the opportunities to shine. Some of the fighting sequences look impressive, but none of the battling is memorable, really. “The Karate Kid” is partially entertaining, and for the younger ones, it may just be the cool movie they’ve been waiting for. I, for one, could’ve done without it.

Article by Franck Tabouring