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Monday reviews aren't on Monday. It's old school, trust me.

OK, so I've been and editor for a while now. I probably should fill this part in a bit more fully.

I've been here a while. In most all likelihood longer than you. I was here when the first cblog post went up, and before. I like to believe I rep Dtoid old school. I fell in love with this community the second the cblogs opened up and posted all that I could as Cowzilla3 (you may remember him as an angry banana). I fell off the radar a bit as I started working for other sites and my time got stretched, but I never left Dtoid and finally, one day, my dreams came true.

Now I'm the Weekend Editor at Dtoid (and sometimes a game reviewer). If you didn't know me before as Cowzilla3, then "Hi! I'm Matt Razak. They let me out of the cage on weekends." I feel I should put the customary Dtoid rocks things here, but you already know that. I'd put my regular posts up below, but I don't have any (yet). Needless to say, I love Destructoid and everyone here.

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Monday Review: The Karate Kid
Matthew Razak | 8:32 AM on 06.11.2010 27 comments




'The Karate Kid' comes kicking back

The Karate Kid just won the award for surprise of the year. It's good. No, like actually bona-fide good. While remakes of 80s films might be in vogue it's been tough going, but Karate Kid nails it. I might even go so far as to say that it actually nails it as well as the original. Big claim, yes, but when a film has this much fun and then throws in kung fu it's easy to understand why the entire theater was cheering by the end of it.

If you have seen the original The Karate Kid then you know the gist of this movie (and if you haven't you're a 80s movie sinner). A young child, in this case Dre Parker (Jaden Smith), is outcast and picked on until he befriends a kindly karate kung fu teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). The latter helps him learn kung fu in time for the big kung fu tournament against the kids who keep picking on him. Original? No. Cheer worthy sports movie? Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

It's the differences from the original, however, that really elevate The Karate Kid to greatness. Possibly most important is the "karate kid" himself. Smith is fantastic on screen and absolutely oozes the charm and screen presences of his father, Will Smith. In fact there are times when you would be tempted to believe that the younger Smith is actually his father as a child. Whomever he is, he's great on screen and while still a little rough around the edges can obviously handle humor and drama quite adeptly. Thankfully, The Karate Kid allows him to do both and show off his relatively impressive kung fu skills all the while.

This leads us to the second difference: the fighting. This version of The Karate Kid is packed with surprisingly good fight scenes -- or maybe not so surprising. After all, the great Jackie Chan was on the set (he has a very cool fight himself), and much of the crew was Chinese thanks to the fact that the film was actually shot in China. This makes for kung fu fights that are not only fun to watch, but actually well directed and choreographed -- a true rarity for an American kung fu film. And this is kung fu, make no mistake. Where the original Karate Kid went for a slightly more realistic slant to its fights, this new one shoots for impressive moves over reality. That isn't to say wires are being used and people are flying through trees, because they aren't. All the fights are perfectly possible (and Smith went through extensive training to pull them off), but they're definitely not what you would see in reality.

Possibly the most surprising thing in the film is Chan. After a streak of truly bad films he absolutely nails Mr. Han. Not only is Chan's sense of humor and fighting style perfect for the role, but he's finally acting his age. More importantly he's actually acting. If you've seen the original you know that the Mr. Miyagi character has a very emotional scene and Chan handles his version of it impeccably well. It's too bad there aren't more roles for aging kung fu stars because I'm not sure I want to see Chan in anything else after this.

Seriousness aside, since it is such a small part of the film, The Karate Kid is just a blast. It does what all great sports films do and makes you cheer for the good guys and hate the bad guys (arrogant, punk kids are jerks no matter what country you're in). All the while it's paying homage to the original without copying in any straightforward manner, making it one of the few remakes that is its own movie as well. The fact that it is wonderfully shot in China is just an added bonus to a film that will have you pumping your fists in the air in triumph by the end of it. My only real complaint is that "You're the Best" wasn't played once, not even in the credits![size=24][/size]



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24 comments | showing # 1 to 24
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Stevil's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 08:55
Stevil
Chan's been acting serious for a while now, but those movies rarely come overseas and when they do it's all on DVD. The last Police Story was actually seriously downbeat and he's been making a lot of crime thrillers where he's not required to act and not jump around like a loon every ten minutes. They might not be amazing and I'm not sure if he always fits the role, but I like his attempt at going straight.

I guess Hollywood is his bread and butter though, but it killed his chances at doing something different to a wider audience much like Chow Yun Fat's decision to happily make crap English speaking movies for big dough.

I'm dreading the day Tony Leung packs his bags and decides he's going to America.
Stevil's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 08:56
Stevil
Wait, I mean 'he's required to act and NOT jump around'.

Ha!
Jamie McGinn's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 08:59
Jamie McGinn
Well well, colour me surprised.
A Very Drunk Panda's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 09:12
A Very Drunk Panda
Not what I was expecting. The trailer during splice didn't impress me, but I may see this now.
Victor Stillwater's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 09:16
Victor Stillwater
Awesome movie indeed. Props to the kung fu fighter in blue who keeps fiddling with his hair.
Handy's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:04
Handy
Chinese boy scouts are mean....
Slade23's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:23
Slade23
Great Blog and Review. I think am going to see the movie sunday or saturday. or maybe next weekend. @stevil, yeah Chan has been serious in this movie, from all of his movie he wasen't, except this one and some of them i think.
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:26
Occams electric toothbrush
If you want to see Jackie Chan in a really good dramatic role, check out the recently released Shinjuku Incident.

Also, pleasantly surprised at the review but its still no Sidekicks. Nothing will ever be Sidekicks.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/weirdposters/SJbwW8fcY4I/AAAAAAAARFY/ruP3jR_xEIY/s400/sidekicks_poster_01.jpg
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:28
Occams electric toothbrush
Oh good lord, way to ruin the fucking magic Occam.



As always, thanks for the reviews.
Stevil's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:36
Stevil
@Occams: Yeah, that was the other film I was thinking of, but the name escaped me. It's kind of weird seeing Chan waving a gun about and not doing it in a goofy way, but it works.
The Silent Protagonist's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 10:49
The Silent Protagonist
I thought it was sort of sad how people looked down on this movie before it was even out, getting hung up on stupid shit like "They should have called it The Kung Fu Kid."

It follows the theme and philosophies behind the original Karate Kid and Kung Fu just so happens to bear similar philosophies to karate. Its just a different style of fighting.

Jackie Chan is just one of those people I can't help but love to watch in actoin, even if he's aging out of the action, he's endearing. Jaden Smith actually does remind me of his dad. He's got the look and the same wit about him, so I think he'll go far.

I haven't been interested enough in going to the movies yet this summer, but I might go see this next week.
Elsa's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 11:45
Elsa
I just love Jackie Chan (in particular the humourous choreography of the Shanghai series), so this movie was a "go to" anyway! Great to know my intent was not misplaced. :)
SuperDance's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 11:48
SuperDance
I'm sorry, I cannot find any threat or danger in a movie where the main conflict is between a bunch of fourth graders.

I'll just listen to You're the Best instead.
CelicaCrazed's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 12:08
CelicaCrazed
I was sold from the trailers but you made me want to see this even more. I'll probably wait till it hits stores though.
manasteel88's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 13:02
manasteel88
why is Kung Fu now Karate? Was that explained?
DaedHead8's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 14:49
DaedHead8
I've been excited for this movie for awhile, the original is one of my all time favorites. I plan on seeing this on fathers day with my family, glad to hear it is something worth doing.

Also, as far as Chan's latest movies, I really enjoyed The Spy Next Door. I took my little sister to go see it and it was actually really enjoyable for a kids movie. Plus, she loves Jackie Chan now because of that movie so I've been recommending his classics to her lately.
DaedHead8's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 14:49
DaedHead8
I've been excited for this movie for awhile, the original is one of my all time favorites. I plan on seeing this on fathers day with my family, glad to hear it is something worth doing.

Also, as far as Chan's latest movies, I really enjoyed The Spy Next Door. I took my little sister to go see it and it was actually really enjoyable for a kids movie. Plus, she loves Jackie Chan now because of that movie so I've been recommending his classics to her lately.
EdgyDude's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 18:50
EdgyDude
@Occams electric toothbrush: hell yeah bro! *brofist*
Snaileb 's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 23:01
Snaileb
Ok I'll go see it mr zilla
Corduroy Turtle's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/11/2010 23:56
Corduroy Turtle
Man, how does Occams' brain work? It boggles me. Also, it looks like I'll be checking this movie out.
Electrium's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/12/2010 00:01
Electrium
I take and teach freestyle karate so I'm kind-of obligated to see this. As a fan of Jackie Chan and martial arts in general I assumed I would enjoy it even if it sucked, but I'm very glad it didn't! Thanks for the review.
Lazaro Cruz's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/12/2010 00:42
Lazaro Cruz
1. Good review glad you found the flick enjoyable but I am def not going to spend my time on this movie, seems like a very unnecessary remake.

2. What Stevil about Chan is right on. If you think this is one of Chan's better roles, I recommend you check out his Hong Kong catalog for some true gems. Not all of his films are campy.

3. Why the hell is it called the Karate Kid? It should be called Kung-Fu Kid. This is a huge pet peeve for me. The movie is set in Beijing where people learn Kung Fu, not Karate. Jackie Chan is traditionally portrayed a Kung-Fu master, and it seems his character in the movie is Chinese. Does anyone in this movie even use Karate!? Grrr, *tigerclaws his screen* Ok crazy rant over.
Lazaro Cruz's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/12/2010 00:49
Lazaro Cruz
@Silentprotaganist I just noticed your comment. The reason I am "hung up on stupid shit like 'They should have called it The Kung Fu Kid.'" Is because in general it's sort of disrespectful to Chinese culture, Hong-Kong cinema and to the audience that watches these type of movies. It implies that the audience is either to dumb to know the difference or to apathetic to care as long as they recognize a brand.

Its not my main reason for having no interest in the movie. But it certainly is a factor.
Kristina Pino's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/07/2010 17:39
Kristina Pino
There are several reasons why I feel "karate" kid was more appropriate than "kung fu" kid.

1. If they'd changed the title, the marketing would have probably gone through the floor. Most of the reason a lot of people bothered to talk about the movie was because of its title, and renaming the story the "kung fu kid" would have given it a more detrimental rap "oh, it's a rip-off movie" rather than "remake".

2. No matter how you look at it, when a fighting style is "empty hand", it can be technically classified as "karate". A lot of Tae Kwon Do players simply refer to their art as karate, and kung fu (along with other arts) are no different. It's easier to generalize all of these "empty hand" arts into 1 word that everyone universally accepts as "hand-to-hand martial arts combat".

3. The movie is essentially a re-imagination of the Karate Kid, so why change the title when they were obviously inspired by the great 80s film? It doesn't imply that the audience won't know the difference between karate and Kung Fu. The movie is ABOUT Kung Fu. There is nothing in that film trying to convince you that there's a fuzzy line between Kung Fu and anything else, and the title doesn't define the movie in that sense. The title defines the movie in context with the original.

Don't talk shit about a movie you haven't even taken the time to watch. If you watch the movie and still think they didn't stress enough that the kid is learning Kung Fu, then you can QQ about it.
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