The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid (2010) – on rental. I wasn’t much of a film buff 25 years ago in the 80’s, what with the fact that TV access at our old family home in Sembawang was strictly controlled by parents, and also that I was still a student and whatever spare money I had – if I wanted to catch films – was in the unreachable POSB Savings Account. My parents did bring us to catch the really big films like Star Wars, but for most other films, it wasn’t till I was in University when I started going to the theaters with any sort of regularity.

So, one of the well-known film franchises that I completely missed out on then was the Karate Kid series of films. I did have an idea of what it was supposedly about though: a bullied kid is taught by an ancient Asian martial arts grandmaster, and who by the film’s end, succeeds in defeating his tormentors in a one on one competition.

Fast forward 25 years to today, and we get a remake of the original 1984 classic. The original very Caucasian young adult is also now an 12 year old African-American named Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) who moves from Detroit to Beijing with his mom Sherry (Taraji P. Henson) who is starting a new career there. It doesn’t take long for Dre to get set upon by his new school’s resident bully, and the martial arts master who takes him into tutelage is his residence’s maintenance man, a Mr. Han.

The actor for Miyagi – the old martial arts grandmaster from the original film – Pat Morita has since passed on. So, in his stead is wizened looking Jackie Chan, who seems to either have aged quite a bit since the last time I saw him on screen in Rush Hour 3, or only looks that way from make-up. Either way, Chan’s Mr. Han on the surface seems aloof and disconnected but is internally very damaged and dealing with a horrible tragedy.

The remake of the classic is an interesting one: while the story elements in the new film closely mirror the original, the tone and setting has all changed. The new film is for one a lot darker and serious in tone compared to the almost light-heart and comedic original. While the story thematically mirrors the original, there are several near-adult situations and scenes that might actually make you squirm a little especially when you walk into the theatre thinking you’re in for kid-centric fare.

An example is in the early scene where Dre is first beaten up by the school yard bullies. It’s a pretty brutal scene, and for Jaden Smith to be willing as an actor to do this scene deserves recognition. There’s even a tender make-out scene midway in the film that in itself should had been no biggie – until you find out that the make-out scene is between Jaden Smith, who’s again all of 12, and a girl who’s also of the same age. Yep, you’ve got that right: a makeout scene involving 12 year olds!

Funnily, I thought the changed tone worked well in the context of this remake. It’s no longer just fun n’games, and there’s a noticeable level of seriousness to the proceedings that befits the story. The film was shot largely on location in Beijing and Detroit for the film’s early scenes, and making use of local Chinese talent that adds to the film’s authenticity. Yep, no American-Chinese pretending to speak Mandarin and trying to pass off fake accents here. Michelle Yeoh has a cameo role in the film too, but she has no dialog lines – which is just as well if you remember that she was struggling with Mandarin in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Moreover, there’s also the obligatory Great Wall of China as the backdrop in one scene seems pretty tacky and included only to show off China’s tourist sights.

In all, a film that surprised me, the more so considering that I thought the last film I saw involving Jaden Smith – The Day the Earth Stood Still – was awful and in no small part due to his acting. Worth a watch, and there apparently is a sequel to The Karate Kid in planning too.