Film: The Karate Kid
Release date: 28th July 2010
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 140 mins
Director: Harald Zwart
Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Rongguang Yu
Genre: Action/Drama/Family/Martial Arts
Studio: Columbia/Sony
Format: DVD
Country: USA/China
This is an English-language release.
The classic 1984 underdog story gets an aesthetic makeover for the 21st century. Will “Pick up your jacket!” become the new “Wax on, wax off”?
With work scarce in America, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Smith) is forced to move to Beijing with his mother Sherry (Henson), who seeks to grasp opportunities in the ever expanding Chinese economy.
On his first day, Dre falls foul of local boys who belong to an elite kung-fu academy run by the strict, drill sergeant-like Sifu Li (Yu), who encourages a ruthless approach to combat.
Struggling to adapt to his new environment and culture, Dre’s problems worsen until he is saved from a severe beating by the unlikeliest of sources - the enigmatic maintenance man, Mr Han (Chan), who reveals a martial arts mastery Dre never expected.
With an invitational tournament looming, Han agrees to teach Dre the true meaning of kung-fu, so that he can stand up for himself without fear…
With Rocky director John G. Avildsen’s seminal 80s classic being somewhat dated but fondly remembered, there’s little sense of cinematic ‘sacrilege’ with this remake, and not once will an audience ponder what ‘need’ there could be for a new version of The Karate Kid. The original script by Robert Mark Kamen (who is given a thoroughly deserved ‘story by’ credit here) remains one of Hollywood’s most spiritually sound examinations of the values of martial arts - values that should absolutely be promoted in popular culture. To this end, an updating of the story for young 21st century audiences not only makes perfect sense, but is entirely welcome.
The differences between the two films are merely aesthetic: the protagonist is 12 rather than 17; he is uprooted to a whole new country rather than a different coast; and he studies not karate, but kung-fu (the title being a distracting misnomer). Despite all this, this remake sticks almost religiously faithful to its source material, even down to its bloated running time and almost superfluous romantic subplot. Running through the same beat-for-beat narrative, with many an amusing tribute to the original, 2010’s The Karate Kid should delight and inspire a whole new generation of young moviegoers. The classic underdog story is never revised nor radicalised. Instead, this is a purely traditional narrative, perfectly executed - proof that formulas can still thrill an audience if mixed the right way. What worked for the children of 1984 will work for their children in 2010.
Indeed, in this new version, the plight of young Dre is arguably one deserving of more sympathy than that of Daniel, the older teenager played in the original by Ralph Macchio. Where Daniel was a sullen, petulant, somewhat melodramatic character, Dre - as played with natural charm by Jaden Smith - is an instantly likeable boy with little hope of adapting easily to his new surroundings, thus earning an audience’s goodwill from the off. Unlike the original, the protagonist’s arguing with his mother is understandable rather than irritating, his alienation affecting. It helps that Smith - whose comic timing and easy charisma is highly reminiscent of his father Will in his Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air days - has not only the acting ability that Macchio lacked, but also a credible athleticism when it comes to the training and fighting sequences.
Smith is one half of a destined-to-be-classic double act with the venerable Jackie Chan, who shows a determination to grow old as gracefully as possible, bringing to his Mr Han a quiet intensity that differentiates him from the jovial, twinkly-eyed Mr Miyagi played so memorably in the original by the Oscar-nominated Pat Morita. Come ‘awards season’, Chan’s work may be forgotten by academies and critics groups, but that should not detract from his performance here, which is hands-down the best he has given in an English-language film. Building on the sombre weariness exhibited in recent Asian films like The Shinjuku Incident, Chan plays his age, with his body of work and reputation lending a Master’s credibility to his character. If some actors are described as being “born for” certain roles, then Mr Han is surely the role that Jackie Chan has lived for.
This unlikely dream pairing of Smith and Chan is given feisty back-up by Taraji P. Henson as Dre’s mother Sherry, who brings the same matriarchal warmth to this role as she brought to her turn as Brad Pitt’s adoptive mother in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, spiked with an appealing dose of sass and spirit. As Sifu Li, Yu Rwong-kwong might not end up on as many nostalgic T-shirts as Martin Kove’s Sensei John Kreese, but there are few actors in the world who could convince an audience of their martial arts mastery in a role that requires almost no fighting, and Yu is never less than a thoroughly menacing presence.
On the subject of fighting, the action sequences - coordinated by the Jackie Chan stunt players - might not match the creative ingenuity of his best Hong Kong work, but are certainly on a par with Chan’s Hollywood output. With the man himself having only the one fight sequence, it falls to the younger actors to thrill an audience with their martial arts prowess. Though the characters are blessed with exaggerated physical capabilities - a combination of wire, trampoline and computer effects gives the Chinese bullies preternatural grace and agility - that could undermine believability, the fights are perfectly staged, and the stakes of each fight perfectly raised. And if the action is more bone-crunching and hard-hitting than the original - early scenes feature Dre getting hit with kicks and punches that should, by rights, put him in hospital - the aforementioned stylised approach tempers any sense of gratuitousness or sadism.
This is a bona-fide American/Chinese co-production, as evidenced by not only the dual-language closing credits, but also the filmmakers’ commitment to showing off the cultural and architectural wonders of contemporary Beijing, and the natural scenic beauty of China in general. It is a testament to the engrossing nature of the story that director Harald Zwart can pad a training montage with shots of Mr Han and Dre training on a Great Wall of China curiously devoid of tourists and not leave his audience alienated with eye-rolling incredulity. That said, a sequence with Dre’s class on a field trip to The Forbidden City (making this, after The Last Emperor, only the second international production to be granted permission to film there) adds nothing to the narrative, and is symptomatic of what is really the only flaw in an otherwise fine, classy production - running time.
During a scene involving violin prodigy Mei Ying - the object of Dre’s chaste affections, their mild flirting being what attracts the bullies to Dre in the first place - practising for an all-important audition, she is told by her stern tutor that she should “play the pauses.” This is a motto Zwart and screenwriter Christopher Murphey seemed to have taken to heart, regularly putting the brakes on a narrative that should, when aimed at a young audience, be fast and energetic. While the sojourns to mystical temples and mountains are pleasing on the eye, and the subtle (if slightly clichéd) master-student/father-son relationship between Dre and Han is packed with moments of genuine emotional power, Dre’s courting of Mei Ying feels like needless padding. Indeed, it is questionable how invested this film’s intended audience - ‘tween’ boys - will be in a gentle romance that seems to delay the action scenes rather than add weight to them. Among the many virtues Mr Han teaches Dre is the importance of focus - it is ironic that the filmmakers don’t seemed to have taken this on board themselves.
But this is a minor notch against a well-made, well-intentioned film that is not only uplifting, exciting and inspiring, but also shows a cultural sensitivity uncommon to Western films taking place abroad. It may not have quite the same impact on popular culture as its source material, and it may not spawn as many sequels, but The Karate Kid is one of the better summer event movies to come out of Hollywood in 2010.
A very pleasant surprise, and a near-perfect underdog story for children who will surely cherish it and compare it favourably to the inevitable remake in 2034 - even if its title makes no sense at all. JN
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