To my surprise, the remake of the Karate Kid is pretty good. It’s basically a direct remake only with younger kids, an old guy who can do actual kung-fu (unlike Mr. Miyagi’s stunt double), and a change in setting (China). It’s respectful of the original – almost to the point of trying to figure out why they bothered. I’m still at a loss as to that but at least the movie has a good spirit and doesn’t AMP up a lot with too much XTREME stuff, massive overdoses of modern culture, etc.

It is a bit weird seeing these 12-year-olds kicking each other’s asses all the time. But at least Miyagi (Mr. Han/Jackie Chan) doesn’t actually beat the crap out of them so much as he defends himself and gets them to beat the crap out of each other. So that’s a bonus. Sadly, a lot of the kung-fu the kids do in this movie are over-the-top aerial moves that would seem to be illegal in a tournament or at least seriously dubious for kids to do… much less take (OUCH – they’re only 12!)

The Chinese setting kind of works in a grim way. The mom and boy (Jaden Smith) leave Detroit for work opportunities in China… and there are a bunch of shots of new buildings (including the Olympic village) and skyscrapers under constructions. It’s made in conjunction with the Chinese Film Council (which I suspect just means “the government”) and it feels like propaganda. Not in your face at least… but that did allow them to film in the Forbidden City and on the Great Wall of China (since I’m sure they close that down to let an old guy and his American student train).

Overall, it tells the same story with few changes – things like the school dance is swapped for a visit to the Forbidden City and the love interest (also 12) gets her own backstory. They change some of the wax-on/wax-off routines with decent alternatives.

The movie is worth watching… even if this nostalgic guy says the original is still a better flick. But it’s a worthy effort and Jackie Chan is always worth a watch. And Li’l Jaden Smith is charming enough (but he’s no his dad).

Score: 84