The Karate Kid

“Everything… is kung fu.”

Forget Daniel. Forget “wax on, wax off”. Don’t forget Pat Morita as Mr Miyagi (because he was awesome). Welcome Jaden Smith to the canon of incredibly gifted young actors.

This is the perfect “reimagining” of a film that so many of us remember from the 1980′s. What was past is past. The basic premise has bee taken, tweaked, mildly parodied and built on. The cast as superb (this is the best Jackie Chan film in 15 years and certainly his best acting in as long) and the story is a well-crafted take on the original.

Jackie Chan has spent the last 10 years or so trying to recapture his youth when he was, without a doubt, one of the most athletic martial arts stars of all time. However, over the last 10 years or so he’s pumped out comedies and incredibly poor action films using wirework and CGI. The Tuxedo was a complete nadir in his career and should have been buried at the ideas stage. The Karate Kid makes up for this. Instead of pretending not to be old, Chan’s character is based very much on being old.

Jaden Smith, also, is gobsmackingly good. OK, so he comes from good stock. Say what you like about him but his father, Will Smith, can act. And sing. And dance. Jaden’s got the good genes. He’s dedicated, hard-working, emotional, emotive and ridiculously talented. For a child that age to be performing as well as he is both athletically and artistically is, frankly, amazing.

OK, the story. Dre (Jaden) and his mother (Tariji P. Henson) move to Beijing in search of work. Dre finds a girl and a lot of trouble from local bullies. Who happen to know kung fu (note – not karate, this is China!). After one particularly severe beating, Mr Han (Chan) comes to his rescue and agrees to train him in preparation for a tournament.

The plotline is very similar to the 1980′s version, but is definitely up to date. The bad guys are as mean and malicious as the original, but there are some subtle changes. Fans of Morita’s classic will enjoy the hints while not feeling cheated by what could have been a simple remake. Simple things like “cobra” instead of “crane” made it for me. And the fly/chopsticks scene was hilarious.

Watching in a Vietnamese cinema with a crowd who were applauding the competitors in the final competition was a very surreal experience, but it worked well. The simple fact was that the audience were utterly involved in the film. I almost joined them in cheering Dre on in the final.

Do not miss this film. Smith is a revelation. Chan has finally found a niche that suits his post-action star age band. The story is well told. The fight scenes are superb. The side plots are emotional and not overdone.

I loved The A-Team but this is a very different 80′s remake. Hannibal’s company make for silliness. This is just a great story, very well told.

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Karate Kid