The Karate Kid (2010) – Theatrical Review

Distributor: Sony Pictures

UK Release Date: 28th July 2010

Certificate: PG

Running Time: 140 Minutes

Director: Harald Zwart

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan. Taraji P Henson

Well everyone knows this story… mother and child move to foreign land, kid gets bullied old handy man saves kid from uber beating.  Tries to do the right thing and ends up entering a martial arts tournament. with the clock ticking the boy must become the student and learn the ways of Kung Fu.

Colour me jaded but when the Will Smith power couple are producers on a film that stars their son Jaden Smith, you gotta cry foul of the casting in this film.  Although the boy shows talent he failed to impress me although, the boy can move and yes you may call me racist once again but never once did the original Karate Kid pop n lock to impress a girl.  I mean come on…

However, this remake of an 80′s classic goes to show what can be done when a good writer and a rather good director can do to bring an ageing tale and relate it to present day.

Don’t get me wrong I’ll choose the original over the remake any day of the week but from the score to the direction, you can clearly see the care that’s gone into the making of this film.  Mr Miyagi is now Mr Han and although I thought it would be a mistake to change his name, the name change actually allows Jackie Chan to take the role of mentor and teacher on and make it his own.

From little ticks to some clever dialogue, Chan takes on his role, remembering how iconic it became for Pat Morika who made a name for himself in the original films.  Perhaps Chan is hoping that magic will rub off on him for a new generation.

The other star of the show was Taraji P Henson who plays mother to Dre (Smith), her comedy timing and role as the mother who’s trying to understand what her boy is going through is just heart warming.

Then we have Director Harald Zwart who does such a fantastic job at portraying the moving stories of each character that you just can’t help but take note.  It’s not just the words moving the story along but the direction of the action and the rather brutal fight choreography make for some amazingly put together sequences.  Totally enjoyed the fight scenes, the man took a risk by not opting for the usual MTV close cuts.

Zwart saw he had the fighting talent and made sure he showed it off to its full extent.  WHO KNEW… Child abuse could be so much fun!!!

I really enjoyed it and finally we have a remake that pisses over any of the horror remakes out there… Zwart took the material and brought it into the present without massacring the original premise.  Well done!!

Highly recommended!

Be warned though it is a long film…

Also since everyone expects me to be a little bit racist… We now have a black Karate Kid who pops n locks yet he didn’t steal one car or offer performance enhancing drugs to the other competitors.  Way to destroy a stereotype!