Review of The Karate Kid (2010) by Joshua L — 07 Feb 2012

I dislike the idea of re-making "The Karate Kid", but grudgingly admit that it wasn't bad.

Jackie Chan was actually a lot better than I expected him to be in a quasi-dramatic role. He isn't Mr. Miyagi, which is good, but an entirely different character. Aside from the characters being different, it is almost the exact same movie as before though ... and that is a problem.

I would have had more respect for the movie if it didn't mimic the original as often as it did. It is one thing to pay homage, it is another thing to show the same movie over again. As a matter of fact, the entire tournament scene at the end of the movie is the EXACT same as the original ... right up to the dialog. Sure, he didn't use the famous Crane Kick (that would certainly be going to far!), but every other moment and scene was the same.

Either way, despite it all, it wasn't bad. I was entertained despite the movie being a little too long (2:20) and the characters being way too young for such a story. Like I said, Chan was good, and Jaden Smith wasn't bad either. The bad guys (well, bad kids ...) are despicable and easy to dislike. The Chinese scenery was good and the re-hashed story was as good as you'd expect.

10 Scale Rating: 6.5 ...