| Review:
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"The Karate Kid" is very much a worthy counterpart
to the 1984 film on which it's based, not only in terms
of story, but also in terms of quality; the excitement,
humor, warmth, and themes of friendship, maturity, and overcoming
adversity have been left intact, and better still, there's
no sense that any of it has been cheapened or simplified
to the sake of appealing to a mass audience. The only exception,
and I'm really just nitpicking here, is a glorious but contrived
aerial shot of martial arts training directly on the Great
Wall of China, the helicopter camera zooming around Jackie
Chan and Jaden Smith as they pose dramatically. If there
was ever an image that belonged in a Chinese tourism commercial,
this would be it.***
A more substantial criticism is that, because this
is such a faithful remake, there isn't much it can do to
surprise us. Anyone familiar with the 1984 film will know
exactly how this new version will play out, from the main
character's awkward arrival at the start to the climactic
tournament at the end. There is a bit of an inconsistency;
because it takes place in China, the featured martial art
is kung fu, not karate, so the title is technically inaccurate.
There's also the convenience of all the important characters
being able to speak English, if not fluently, then just
enough to get their point across. But it's all done so well
that we may find ourselves suppressing the desire to look
for flaws and make comparisons. What would be the point?
Remake or not, this movie stands entirely on its own as
a great entertainment, not just as a sports drama and a
spectacle but also as a coming-of-age story, which is just
as charming and insightful as it was twenty-six years ago.***
Smith plays twelve-year-old Dre Parker, who's forced
to move from Detroit to Beijing with his mother (Taraji
P. Henson). He doesn't much care for it, although he does
immediately develop a crush on a good-natured girl named
Mei Ying (Han Wenwen), a violin prodigy. Unfortunately,
this introduces him to the sadistic school bully, Cheng
(Wang Zhenwei), who quickly and brutally takes him down
in full view of the other kids. How did he become so aggressive?
A visit to a local kung fu class explains everything: Cheng's
teacher, Master Li (Rongguang Yu), has taught him to be
merciless when fighting his enemies. Mercy, he says, is
for the weak. Dre, both small-statured and a foreigner,
is considered a weakling. The idea that the underdog is
separated by culture as well as by status is something the
original film never had the chance to explore. It's a welcome
addition.***
So is Jackie Chan, who takes the reins from the late
Pat Morita and transforms Mr. Miyagi into Mr. Han, a reclusive
janitor who agrees to train Dre for an upcoming kung fu
tournament. After his disastrous starring role in "The Spy
Next Door," I had my doubts that Chan would be able to pull
this off. I was happily proven wrong; this is his most mature
and compelling performance to date, having been given the
opportunity to genuinely act and not merely be a goofy action
star. We see range. We see depth. We can conceivably feel
something for his character. And for once, the kung fu moves
he built his reputation on are actually in service of the
story. He's not a stuntman showing off - he's a wise elder
trying to make a point, and just like with Pat Morita's
character, it involves a menial task that must be done repeatedly,
almost to the point of a compulsion.***
Some may object to the puppy love between Dre and Mei
Ying, paling in comparison to the original film's teenage
love between Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue. While I agree
that there's no such thing as romance before puberty, I
am aware that those tween years see the emergence of hormones,
and I can certainly believe that Dre and Mei Ying would
have their first kiss by the light of a rear-screen projector.
There's no sense believing that they're falling in love,
because they're not. If anything, they form a sweet and
innocent friendship, one made stronger by the fact that
both are being tested by their own life circumstances. And
much like the divide between Dre and Cheng, both are threatened
by cultural differences, Mei Ying's parents fearful that
a musically uninspired American boy will be a bad influence
on her. Like all good boys, he just wants make a fine first
impression.***
A stretch in the middle of the film reveals views of
mist-shrouded mountains and tours of ancient temples, where
kung fu students practice rigorously. This is perhaps a
bit conventional, but it's also undeniably breathtaking.
I'm addressing that last observation to those who can't
bring themselves to see this movie for its story or its
characters - maybe the visuals will win them over. Still,
don't be so quick to dismiss everything else it has to offer.
***
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