Bjorn TeoSurprisingly, a black kid living in China didn’t turn out to be the main focus of this remake of the 1984 The Karate Kid directed by Harald Zwart.
The legendary tale of a boy who relocates to an unfamiliar state, meets a kung fu master, and bonds with him through kung fu is relived with some intriguing changes. The cast of the new film, however, has been the cause of some interest to the public anticipating the release.
Jackie Chan replaces Pat Morita as Mr Han (thankfully, the Mr Miyagi name hasn’t been foisted on Asia’s kungfu superstar), the unassuming handyman who’s actually a martial arts master, while Jaden Smith, who starred in the film The Pursuit Of Happyness alongside his real-life father Will Smith, takes up the main role of Dre Parker, the out-of-place black kid who moves to Beijing unwillingly and unintentionally makes enemies with a vicious bully.
The film stays true to the storyline of the original action movie. In fact, it follows the previous script so closely that viewers who have watched Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in the past will get a sense of deja vu.
Fans of the classic will remember iconic scenes, like the one where Mr Han fights off 5 bullies to protect Dre, and when Dre uses the infamous “Crane Kick” technique to defeat his opponent.
While some may criticise the lack of creativity, it was probably a better choice to stick with the original storyline and not risk desecrating a beautifully written classic. By almost mirroring the story line by line, Harald Zwart managed to draw out the sheer tenacity it takes for one to master the delicate art of taichi.
Zwart, after all, saw his last work, The Pink Panther 2, get a 2010 nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel.
However, there are some notable differences. The most obvious and brilliant difference is that the main star is now black. However, instead of becoming a laughingstock, Jaden has proven to be a young actor with as much promise as his father, who is producer of the movie, with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. His compatibility with the role he takes on, as well as the raw emotion that he displays, shows that Jaden Smith, despite his skin colour, is as fit for the role as Ralph Macchio was. The 4 months of training sure helped.
Another difference is that Zwart decided to base the story in China. The entire essence of the story was effectively influenced, as this time, the show was able to capture the environment of Chinese people practicing kung fu, making the movie more believable. Practicing on the Great Wall of China is also an inspiring sight. In the original movie, Ralph practiced in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, so the atmosphere of kung fu and traditional Chinese martial arts couldn’t be fully expressed.
Harald Zwart remade this movie probably not with the intention of creating a new twist to a well-known legend, but to instead relive the story of the boy who beat all odds to master martial arts, and most importantly, himself.
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Title: The Karate Kid
Opens: Jun 10
Language: English
Rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Action, Drama
Director: Harald Zwart
Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson