If you can't be original, at least be awesome
This summer has seen no end of remakes and sequels; Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, The A-Team, Robin Hood, Sex in the City 2, Toy Story 3, and so on, and so forth, ad infinitum it sometimes seems. But while most of the remakes are wholly uninteresting, and many of the sequels have been disappointing to say the least, there have been some good showings. Iron Man 2 was as solid as the first, and by all accounts Toy Story 3 is the usual high quality Pixar offering.
And then, there was The Karate Kid.
Really, the film shouldn't even be considered a remake. There are at best a small handful of subtle references to the original franchise, but other than those it stands utterly on its own. In fact, everywhere outside of North America it's simply been marketted as 'The Kung-Fu Kid', which is a better title both in terms of setting it up as its own film, which it is, and in being true to the film itself, since nobody uses 'karate'. The only times it's mentioned are by a scared boy trying to talk tough, and his mother, who is quickly corrected by her exasperated son. The Karate Kid is barely even a spiritual successor, nevermind a direct remake. And that's probably why it fares so well.
And make no mistake, The Karate Kid is an excellent movie. Like all sports-themed films, it has a familiar premise; an untutored by spirited underdog, swaggering elite-level bullies, a mentor/father-figure who can harness natural skill, and a tournament-based climax in which victory is achieved by the narrowest, and therefore most dramatic, of margins. Going into a sports-themed film, everyone knows essentially what to expect, whether it's The Karate Kid, The Mighty Ducks, Men With Brooms or A League of Their Own. The only real question is how well the formula is executed, and The Kararte Kid executes it with almost flawless precision. The bullies swagger contemptibly, the hero's early ignorance is matched only by his spirit and tenacity, and the tournament-based climax is a glorious display of martial prowess, not just from the hero and the primary antagonist but from other members of the evil school, and even no-named members of other schools, just to remind viewers that there's more to all this than just the inevitable one-on-one showdown.
Along with the basic framework, The Karate Kid manages to slide in some rather nice little subplots. The chaste, childhood romance between Jaden Smith's Dre, the lead, and Meiying, a young Chinese girl, works both in terms of a personal relationship and as a metaphor for cultural relations. And Jackie Chan's mentor character, Mr. Han the maintenance man, has a backstory that's genuinely affecting when it's revealed, but isn't played for unending pathos. It's a nice piece of emotion that knows not to overstay its welcome, and in that regard is much like Dre's remoance, his butting heads with this mother and his sense of alienation in having left Detroit to come to Beijing. These things are all there, and they add a nice layer of depth to the film, but they're never allowed to overshadow the fact that at the end of the day, this movie is about Dre learning kung-fu so he can have a good, honour-satisfying fight at the end of the film.
Special mention must go to the fight choreographer for this film. Mr. Han has a fight against a half-dozen bullies to protect Dre at one point which is utterly Chan-esque in its energy and complexity, but for the most part the fights are realistically short, decisive and brutal. Every blow that connects in this film looks like it hurts, which is appropriate when you're showing children roundhousing kicking each other in the face. The early, horribly lopsided fights have a visceral quality that really make you immediately loathe the swaggering Cheng, while the tournament bouts showcase both a take-no-prisoners wildness in the young contestants and a hesitancy, appropriate given how easily it is to leave yourself open to a quick reversal. Given its name, The Karate Kid ultimately lives or dies based on its fight scenes, and I'm happy to report that it not only lives, but thrives.
Special notice should be given, however, to the boy with the mohawk in the tournament. Though he has no lines and is knocked out well short of the semi-finals, he has such a hilarious style he can't help but steal every brief scene he appears in. The way he begins each fight, reaching up to run his hands up his mohawk while the other boys bow respectfully, just works on a fundamentally enjoyable level.
If they're looking for someone to pick up the next Karate Kid remake in a decade or so, they could do worse than to track that kid and his awesome hair down.
And then, there was The Karate Kid.
Really, the film shouldn't even be considered a remake. There are at best a small handful of subtle references to the original franchise, but other than those it stands utterly on its own. In fact, everywhere outside of North America it's simply been marketted as 'The Kung-Fu Kid', which is a better title both in terms of setting it up as its own film, which it is, and in being true to the film itself, since nobody uses 'karate'. The only times it's mentioned are by a scared boy trying to talk tough, and his mother, who is quickly corrected by her exasperated son. The Karate Kid is barely even a spiritual successor, nevermind a direct remake. And that's probably why it fares so well.
And make no mistake, The Karate Kid is an excellent movie. Like all sports-themed films, it has a familiar premise; an untutored by spirited underdog, swaggering elite-level bullies, a mentor/father-figure who can harness natural skill, and a tournament-based climax in which victory is achieved by the narrowest, and therefore most dramatic, of margins. Going into a sports-themed film, everyone knows essentially what to expect, whether it's The Karate Kid, The Mighty Ducks, Men With Brooms or A League of Their Own. The only real question is how well the formula is executed, and The Kararte Kid executes it with almost flawless precision. The bullies swagger contemptibly, the hero's early ignorance is matched only by his spirit and tenacity, and the tournament-based climax is a glorious display of martial prowess, not just from the hero and the primary antagonist but from other members of the evil school, and even no-named members of other schools, just to remind viewers that there's more to all this than just the inevitable one-on-one showdown.
Along with the basic framework, The Karate Kid manages to slide in some rather nice little subplots. The chaste, childhood romance between Jaden Smith's Dre, the lead, and Meiying, a young Chinese girl, works both in terms of a personal relationship and as a metaphor for cultural relations. And Jackie Chan's mentor character, Mr. Han the maintenance man, has a backstory that's genuinely affecting when it's revealed, but isn't played for unending pathos. It's a nice piece of emotion that knows not to overstay its welcome, and in that regard is much like Dre's remoance, his butting heads with this mother and his sense of alienation in having left Detroit to come to Beijing. These things are all there, and they add a nice layer of depth to the film, but they're never allowed to overshadow the fact that at the end of the day, this movie is about Dre learning kung-fu so he can have a good, honour-satisfying fight at the end of the film.
Special mention must go to the fight choreographer for this film. Mr. Han has a fight against a half-dozen bullies to protect Dre at one point which is utterly Chan-esque in its energy and complexity, but for the most part the fights are realistically short, decisive and brutal. Every blow that connects in this film looks like it hurts, which is appropriate when you're showing children roundhousing kicking each other in the face. The early, horribly lopsided fights have a visceral quality that really make you immediately loathe the swaggering Cheng, while the tournament bouts showcase both a take-no-prisoners wildness in the young contestants and a hesitancy, appropriate given how easily it is to leave yourself open to a quick reversal. Given its name, The Karate Kid ultimately lives or dies based on its fight scenes, and I'm happy to report that it not only lives, but thrives.
Special notice should be given, however, to the boy with the mohawk in the tournament. Though he has no lines and is knocked out well short of the semi-finals, he has such a hilarious style he can't help but steal every brief scene he appears in. The way he begins each fight, reaching up to run his hands up his mohawk while the other boys bow respectfully, just works on a fundamentally enjoyable level.
If they're looking for someone to pick up the next Karate Kid remake in a decade or so, they could do worse than to track that kid and his awesome hair down.