After the premiere in London on the 15th of July, The Karate Kid has finally arrived on the screens of England. Will Smith was in Leicester Square along with his son Jaden Smith promoting their new effort, Will as a producer, while Jaden as the protagonist of this new remake/reboot/re-imagining, call it what you will, of the 1984 classic starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Once again, like it happens with almost every remake, this film do not end up being fully convincing, but it is not totally a waste of time and money either.
The young Dre Parker must move from Detroit to Beijing to follow his mother, a widow eager to start a new life thanks to a great job opportunity. In Beijing he will be harassed by local bullies and eventually he will have to challenge them in a kung fu tournament. Thanks to the help of Mr.Han Dre will realize that the real strength comes from within.
Jaden Smith is the absolute protagonist of the movie and every single scene is centered on his character. Beyond the non-existent originality of the script, the biggest surprise comes from the little kid’s performance, who is becoming more and more like his dad: with a malleable and swift body, an expressive face, an immediate way of delivering lines, and with the family ears! Thanks to his qualities, we forget about the script gaps – there is no karate at all, for instance – but there is always the feeling that the whole project has been a little rushed. In 1984 Ralph Macchio, or better his character Daniel Larusso, was in high school and the bullies he had to face were big and tough. Here everybody is clearly younger and smaller, and this makes everything more childish, sometimes even a little sweet: when Mr.Han saves Dre from the bullies attack, he fights with them, but there is absolutely no match and he always tries to pinch them and not to punch them. However, the movie goes on along the road of obviousness, with a love story, with a showing of China’s most famous places as if it were a promo for a travel agency, with references to the original movie – wax-on, wax-off becomes take-the-jacket-off, put-the-jacket-on, and Dre’s final move is quite similar to Daniel’s – with training sequences that give Jaden the chance to show off his abilities, and with a reference to Back to the Future when Dre is riding his skateboard attached to bikes and carts.
There was really no point in doing another karate kid, but thanks to the freshness and professionalism of the young protagonist, the movie ends up being quite entertaining. Do not expect twists, harsh fights or breathtaking choreography, you already know the story, you already know how it ends, but like Marty McFly says…your kids are gonna love it!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155076/
