The Karate Kid (2010)

Number Rolled: 89

Movie Name/Year: The Karate Kid (2010)

Genre: Family Drama

Length: 140 minutes

Rating: PG

Director: Harald Zwart

Writer: Christopher Murphy, Robert Mark Kamen

Actors: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Rongguang Yu, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, Zhenwei Wang, Shijia Lu, Youyi (there’s some discrepancies between my sources on the spelling of this name, it might be Yi) Zhao

This, actually, wasn’t the first time I had seen this movie. As a bona-fide child of the 80’s, I was in love with the old Karate Kid movies. First Daniel Larusso moved and found a buddy and karate sensei in Mr. Miyagi, then they took the trip to Okinawa, followed by Daniel buying the Bonsai shop for him and finally, Mr. Miyagi found a new student in Julie Pierce – I was there for it all. Needless to say, I went to see this one in the theater when it came out.

I was nervous as all hell though. I both dreaded the remake and wished I would see the old “wax on, wax off” scene and the final uber kick from when Daniel hurt his knee. Why did I dread it? Because if they had been there, it would have been the same movie and, there-fore, there would be no point for it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the plot was the same thing, just with a different script and different actors. With a younger main character, you also find it hitting a younger demographic. If I were thirteen though? I’d be pretending to be a kung-fu master all over my school halls because of this movie. However, there was plenty in there for those of us coming in from the old movies, enough to keep us entertained. The signature scenes were there, but they had different content which made them seem a bit fresher without losing the message for those new to the story.

I’m a huge fan of Jackie Chan. I love him in just about everything he does, even if I’m not so fond of the movie. This movie was no exception. He fit into that part so easily I almost wondered if he just goes around in his off time helping out bullied little kids and teaching them kung-fu.

As for Jaden Smith, this was the first movie I saw him in and, I have to say it, I can see his father in him. I hope he doesn’t just get labeled as some kid riding on his father’s coat-tail though, because he’s got some serious talent.

There were some minor issues I had with the movie, nothing really worth mentioning here – except one. It seems so minor and stupid, but I can’t seem to get over it. For a movie called “The Karate Kid” there was a distinct and total lack of karate. It was Kung-fu. There’s a difference. I shall here-after refer to this movie as “The Kung-fu Kid.”

Overall Opinion – 4/5