The Karate Kid

So I had family in town over the weekend that prevented me from working on "the list" as much as I had hoped, but I did get a fluff movie in thanks to my brothers persistence.

Now I am not one that has particularly fond memories of the original "The Karate Kid", but I at least remember the ending and the general premise of the movie. This remake version does the core of the movie the same, while of course freshening it up for a newer audience.

Jayden smith is the main attraction of the movie, if you don't already know he is Will Smiths son, and he is in nearly every scene of this 2 hour plus movie. I found it very interesting to see a few of the same facial expressions and attitudes of his father coming out in his acting, which is fun to watch for Wills fans, and shows that for a youngin this kid has at least been taught well.

Basic premise, kid and now single mother move to China, and he gets picked on for being new, and different. But I do not just mean pushed and made fun of, I mean full on fist to face, roundhouse kick beat up. It took me aback a little because I thought this movie was made for kids, and popular because of that. It shows struggles that I know many kids face, but I found it to be a little violent for small children. What probably saved it form a higher than PG rating was the lack of blood during those scenes.

Clearly the other name drawing people to this movie is Jackie Chan. I have seen many, many of his films, even going back to his Chinese "classic", "Drunken Master" I half expected to see the same goofy, trick laden performance that I have grown accustomed to. Again to my pleasant surprise, that is not what he gives. He gives a worn down old man, that has all but given up on himself and the people around him. It is a very deep performance given his few words, and fewer lines throughout the film.

Now even given the good acting performances by the main characters, and the great scenery from around China used in the film, it is by no means great. It drags on a little, due to its 140 minute run time, and there were a couple opportunities for character involvement that were left out. Mainly the first kid Dre, Jayden, meets in China. The next 10-15 minutes play out like they are going to be friends and be seen together throughout the film. I don't even know if the character shows up on screen more than two times, at most, and just in passing. Lastly romance between 12 year-olds is a little weird, and without the kissing scene halfway through the movie it wouldn't have bothered me.

Overall to say it was good, and watchable is fair, given it finished in the top ten of last years ticket sales, and many people took their families to see it last year. In the grand scheme of movies it won't be on any ones "top" lists, but for a family film and occasional fluff, not bad.

Score: 6.5 If you have not seen it, and you are interested, it is worth your time. If not, you won't miss out on watercooler talk about it.

Lastly anything rating above a 5 in my eyes means its a movie that if you have the time, get around to watching it. 5 of course doesn't mean you get Heath Ledger acting perfomances, but it won't create a hole of wasted time in your life. Next the review of "Die Hard"

I'm just sayin...