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MOVIE REVIEW : Karate Kid
Los Angeles Times ^ | 06/10/2010 | Betsy Sharkey

Posted on 06/10/2010 5:55:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Summary : It has kick from Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, but its running time may test its target audience's patience.

"The Karate Kid" is a kung fu kick of film that hits more than it misses, with its fresh prince of Beijing in Jaden Smith, its scene-stealing grand master flash, Jackie Chan, and a shiny-happy China travelogue thrown in for good measure, or tax incentives, one of the two.

The grit and the grime of the 1984 original are gone, swept under some Oriental rug no doubt in the spit-shine director Harald Zwart has given every nook and cranny of the production. But the bones of Robert Mark Kamen's story of a struggling, fatherless boy and the man and martial arts that help him is still very much the heart of the matter — screenwriter Christopher Murphey's just gone global with it.

Though the new job takes mom, the always sassy Taraji P. Henson, and Dre (Smith) to kung fu central, the producers have kept the "Karate" name and thrown in some bad dialogue to explain it. For the record, and for all the parents left to search for classes the kids will probably clamor for, the highly choreographed fighting style used here is wushu, a kind of power kung fu that frankly looks pretty brutal, so be prepared for kids to give and take a lot of punches.

Giving the movie even more currency today is its key dilemma of how to deal with the school bully. While cyber-bullying has become all the rage, for most kids reality is that bigger boy with a bad attitude who pushes and pummels them on the playground. For Dre, it's Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), who doesn't like the new American interloper or his interest in pretty violin prodigy Mei Ying (Wenwen Han).

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: jackiechan; jadensmith; karatekid; movereview
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1 posted on 06/10/2010 5:55:11 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ll stick with the Ralph Macchio version, thanks.


2 posted on 06/10/2010 5:59:49 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: SeekAndFind

I saw the trailer for the movie and it appeared VERY ‘pro-China’. Little concerned about taking my kid....as we both take Karate.


3 posted on 06/10/2010 5:59:51 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (I don't have a 'Cousin Pookie'.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Giving the movie even more currency today is its key dilemma of how to deal with the school bully.”

Fight him. Keep fighting him until he decides it isn’t worth taking some lumps himself. He’ll stop when he realizes you’ll get in a lick once in a while and he’ll get hurt too. And the bonus is, of course...if he doesn’t stop...you get to be stronger and learn how to fight. This is some sort of tough thing to figure out?


4 posted on 06/10/2010 6:01:25 PM PDT by jessduntno (America is now just like Easy Company in Bastogne...and Obama is Lt. Dike. God help us.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ll wait for Toy Story 3.


5 posted on 06/10/2010 6:01:31 PM PDT by psjones (u)
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear


It's more Chinese Kung Fu than Karate


6 posted on 06/10/2010 6:02:42 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m not talking particular ‘styles’ and ‘origins’. Just concerned about the ‘message’. I know what you mean, tho. :)


7 posted on 06/10/2010 6:06:16 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (I don't have a 'Cousin Pookie'.)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
I'll stick to the Elisabeth Shue version, thanks.

still think it could've worked out ...

8 posted on 06/10/2010 6:09:50 PM PDT by Tanniker Smith (Obi-Wan Palin: Strike her down and she shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.)
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To: SeekAndFind

More interested in the A-Team than this one.

SnakeDoc


9 posted on 06/10/2010 6:09:59 PM PDT by SnakeDoctor ("Shut it down" ... 00:00:03 ... 00:00:02 ... 00:00:01 ... 00:00:00.)
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To: SeekAndFind

NO thanks....The movie looks terrible and the dialogue from what I’ve seen is beyond bad....I will take Pat Morita and Ralph (Can’t spell his last name).....


10 posted on 06/10/2010 6:11:28 PM PDT by jakerobins
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To: SeekAndFind

They make a new Karate Kid movie, but don’t make it about karate...


11 posted on 06/10/2010 6:24:33 PM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s not “Karate Kid”, it’s “Kung Fu Kid”, sheesh.


12 posted on 06/10/2010 6:27:38 PM PDT by autumnraine (America how long will you be so deaf aInd dumb to the chariot wheels carrying you to the guillotine?)
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To: SeekAndFind

Does Dre have to wax an old car at some point?


13 posted on 06/10/2010 6:40:01 PM PDT by OCC
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To: SeekAndFind

Never saw the first one, have no intention of seeing this one. The charms of movies hold sway with me. I should infinitely prefer a book.


14 posted on 06/10/2010 6:43:01 PM PDT by Lobsterback (Waiting for the boom...)
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To: SeekAndFind

Not on my “to see” list. This was a film that should never have been remade. I just don’t understand why “Hollywood” can’t just be original and do something NEW. Why dredge up old flicks and remake them (usually making them more PC, less family-friendly, and a lot more repulsive in the process)?

Now - there have been some films in the past that NEED remaking - some that were so poorly executed (though they may have been based on a great book or story line) that they deserve another opportunity to right the wrong done against them with poor production/acting/budgets/whatever.

But don’t take what was a good movie just as it was and remake it just for the sake of it.


15 posted on 06/10/2010 7:04:05 PM PDT by TheBattman (They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature...)
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To: autumnraine
please color me less than intelligent on this...what is the difference between karate and kung fu?
16 posted on 06/10/2010 7:07:23 PM PDT by b cool
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To: b cool

Karate is from Japan, Kung Fu is from China, Tae Kwan Do is from Korea. While they are similiar in being martial arts, they are distinctly different fighting styles.


17 posted on 06/10/2010 7:09:56 PM PDT by autumnraine (America how long will you be so deaf aInd dumb to the chariot wheels carrying you to the guillotine?)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

2 months ago, someone uploaded the first 3 KK movies on Youtube but got pulled later. Reseda still hasn’t changed after all this time.


18 posted on 06/10/2010 7:45:27 PM PDT by max americana
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To: SeekAndFind; Clemenza; Impy; GOPsterinMA; Perdogg; darkangel82; BillyBoy

How exciting, another pointless remake — and WTF does Karate have to do with China ? The originals were clearly Japanese-oriented, as they should be. This film is top-to-bottom Chinese. Attaching a “Karate” name to it is about as absurd as having a film about bratwurst and sauerkraut set in Egypt (presumably, the filmmakers were counting on Western ignorance of Asian culture as to which customs and practices originate from which country).

I’m not sure I’m thrilled with Will Smith letting his progeny take a starring role in a film, either. The kid looks uncomfortable and sullen, and doesn’t have much presence to carry an entire movie. “C’mon, Jaden, finish this scene, and I’ll take you to Wally World to get you another X-Box game !” Oh, brother.


19 posted on 06/11/2010 6:18:51 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Amber Lamps !"~~)
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To: fieldmarshaldj
presumably, the filmmakers were counting on Western ignorance of Asian culture as to which customs and practices originate from which country

In the Age of Obama, we're basically using the "They All Look Alike To Me" excuse for racial insensitivity.

20 posted on 06/11/2010 6:23:57 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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