REVIEW: 'The Karate Kid'RSS

REVIEW: 'The Karate Kid'

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10th Jul 2010
By Matt Glasby, Flicks.co.nz

A re-make of the 1984 classic, this time starring Jaden 'Son of Will' Smith as the kid and Jackie Chan as the Mr Miyagi equivalent. Now playing nationwide.

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Karate Kid mark 2010 (Smith) is suffering an almighty identity crisis. His mom’s (Henson) moved from Detroit to Beijing, his best mate’s a crazy janitor (Chan) and he’s the centre of a nostalgia-based fish-out-of-water tale which doesn’t seem to care very much about either the fish, the water or the nostalgia. Oh yeah, and they teach kung-fu in China, not karate.

Although the ever-reliable Chan’s on hand to dispense hard-won wushu wisdom, raise a cheeky eyebrow and beat up 12-year-olds, Harold Zwart’s awkward update brings little else to the ring. Smith’s romance with a pre- pubescent chum (Han) borders on the creepy, James Horner’s swaddling score is like being cuddled by a fat aunt, and China’s a picture postcard confection (yes, Smith and Chan do practise on the Great Wall and no, this makes no narrative sense); a mythical place the filmmakers can attempt to convince people magic still exists. It doesn’t.

Awkward references to the wax on/wax off scene aside, what adult wants to watch children beat the hell out of each other? And what child wants to sit through 140 minutes of coming-of-age obnoxiousness? While nobody’s going to blame the failure of a major Hollywood movie on a pre-teen, there’s no denying Smith’s character could use a bit of a smack. Sulky, spoilt and frighteningly self-possessed, he’s the picture of American arrogance, parlaying the international language of crassness and expecting to be listened to before defaulting, finally, to fisticuffs. Ultimately this is a case of too much kid, not enough karate. Or should that be kung fu?