The original Karate Kid was released in 1984, and was welcomed by a four-star review by Roger Ebert, an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor to Pat Morita, and a HUGE embrace by the culture of yesterday and today. It was responsible for getting me into a karate dojo. Twenty years later, I have my own…with my own students.
Strangely enough, I am the new version’s most skeptical enemy and also it’s biggest supporter. It doesn’t succeed on a few of the levels that the original did, but it made some small improvements to a couple of my complaints after many viewings over the years.
The success of the new film lies with its purpose, cinematography and influence. It honors the original enough, while being its own film. It was tastefully done, and didn’t succumb to most of the Hollywood stupidity of today’s films for young people. One of The Karate Kid’s strongest themes was having a father-figure in our lives. As a middle-school teacher, I see many of my students without fathers or students who SHOULD be without their fathers. In his book, Wild At Heart, John Eldridge talks about the necessity of caring for the “father-wound” we all have from birth, and how our fathers are to be loving stewards of our personhood prior to adulthood. Too often, we see the negligence of that guidance in our children. I really connected with both Daniel (from the original) and Dre, who both lost their fathers and became vulnerable after moving to a strange place. The relationship between Dre/Daniel and Mr. Han/Miyagi was crucial, and I believe that this film will show young people the importance of having those relationships, and to foster them…same as it did 26 years ago. The movie “Up” also had a similar message, telling young people that even if our parents don’t/can’t care about us, we can find strength in those who would teach us and care for us.
The other success of this film is its influence on modern martial arts. If you ask most people about the arts, you’ll hear about either the UFC or a violent revenge film. I enjoy both of these, because I enjoy watching others get hurt (that’s besides the point). While entertaining, these fights and films can take away from the underlying purpose of where it all comes…because they are, too often, the spokesmen of the arts in our culture. This film shows kung-fu as a defensive art, not an offensive sport. Jackie Chan does a good job as Mr. Han, and provides a relevant line that “Kung-Fu lives in your whole person, and shows up in how you treat other people.” I really liked the direction of how he used teaching Dre respect for his mother and for others as the “wax-on/wax-off” training catalyst. Dre never picked his jacket up off the floor for his mother, so Mr. Han used the movements of hanging the coat, putting it on, taking it off, and laying it on the floor as the movement training. It was creative, and it took the concept of the original further. My favorite improvement was in Dre’s abilities during and after training. In the original, let’s be honest, Daniel was kind of a sissy…and had no business beating those Cobra Kai students. The whole tournament was Daniel getting his ass kicked, then getting lucky and pulling out a win. The tournament in the remake was very satisfying, and the choreography was very entertaining to watch. Dre felt like a worthy opponent the whole time, and Jaden Smith’s athletic ability was evident.
My complaints lie in the relationship between Dre and Mr. Han…..i kinda didn’t buy it at times. Not to say it wasn’t effective, but it was nowhere near the rapport between the two of the original. Also, I think they cast a little too young for the main role. While Jaden Smith did a great job, it’s difficult to have coming-of-age themes and love interests for an 11-year old. Blame it on the “tween” marketing America is caught up in. The movie was 2 and a half hours long….and took awhile to build up steam. I think it could have been edited down to a more enjoyable 2 hrs.
Overall, I think the film is worth seeing. It will give casual fans of the original a nostalgic trip, while adding some creative spins on some plot points of the original. Young, aspiring martial artists will take away some important messages, and hopefully be pointed in the direction of a good dojo….hopefully mine. The flaws are outweighed by a tastefully done remake that tries to honor the greatness of the original, which can be obviously remade…..but never REPLACED.
