Karate Kid 2010 - My Review and Your Thoughts

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I saw Karate Kid 2010 a while ago and saw it again recently, I talked about it with some friends and ultimately decided to make an online review of it. You can comment on my review, give your own view, give a random compliment or whatever else. I will be referring to some parts of the movie but I'll give as little detail as possible so it doesn't become a spoiler. Keep in mind, I'm comparing this movie to the Karate Kid movies with Mr. Myagi (Pat Morita) and Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio). Overall, I give Karate Kid 2010 a 5.5/10 rating and I'll explain why in my review below.

Karate Kid 2010 has the same general storyline as the 1984 Karate Kid movies, namely, a teenager is thrown into a society with a foreign culture he has to assimilate with. He's bullied emotionally and physically often by a group of kids around his age but gets rescued by the "hero" Mr. Myagi and Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). He's from a low socioeconomic background and the "hero" is from an even lower socioeconomic background but unlike Daniel or Dre (Jaden Smith), the hero is able to cope with his poor income. Daniel or Dre find a popular girl who they befriend as boyfriend-girlfriend and she is of a much higher socioeconomic background.

The most obvious flaw of Karate Kid 2010 is the absolute lack of any karate, as it's all kung-fu set in China. In the unedited version, the bullies refer to Dre as "karate kid", as an insult or mockery because karate is a Japanese art and not done in China. Since this isn't in the edited released version, the movie becomes confusing.

In terms of acting, there are surprises and let-downs. Jaden Smith is a horrible actor in this movie, he gives very little tonal expression as though he were reading from the script uninterested in the movie. This becomes a massive let-down since he is one of the main characters. His character, Dre, is always confused and often self-righteous, impatient, baby-ish and snobby, so at times it actually seemed understandable why he was getting the shit kicked out of him. The big dramatic moment where Dre is meant to shine is when Mr. Han is telling Dre why he is smashing up the car he finished re-building. Dre doesn't do much comforting so his presence seems awkward, as he just asks questions, gives long pauses then a small amount of comforting but the scene ends. In the 1984 Karate Kid, Daniel is also confused why Mr. Myagi is shit-faced but eventually comforts and cares for him, such as tucking him in bed, cleaning up the room and changing his attitude.

In the 1984 Karate Kid, Daniel is sometimes impatient and a whiner but overall he is a lot more thoughtful and gives better vocal intonation. Dre's mother, Sherry (Taraji Henson) is also a let-down as she provides some background information on their situation (i.e. why they moved to China from Detroit) but she never fully answers any questions, so they are some holes in the plot that don't get filled. To my surprise, Jackie Chan was an amazing actor in terms of his dramatic performance because usually, as a main character, he does the kick-ass kung-fu with little dialogue but in this movie, it's quite believable he is Dre's father. In the 1984 Karate Kid, Mr. Myagi attempts to take on the role as Daniel's father but isn't as effective as Jackie Chan.

Dre's girlfriend, Meiying (Wenwen Han) rescues some of the pitiful dramatic acting despite not being a great actress. She adds some dramatic conflict, such as when her parents forbid her from seeing Dre, it brings a new spin from the 1984 version and gets rid of some of the boredom. Unfortunately, some of her behaviour and events concerning her are kind of sporadic, I think if she got even just a bit more air-time, she would fit much better in the movie.

In terms of fighting, Karate Kid 2010 kicks the 1984 Karate Kid's ass all around the dojo. The fighting is more brutal especially during the tournament and it creates a better sense that the moves are really causing pain to Dre. The let-down is for Mr. Han's fighting scene; although he does a whole lot of kung-fu ass-kickery, it seems unnecessary because the bullies are pip-squeak kids. In the 1984 version, Mr. Myagi was much shorter and seemed physically weaker than all the bullies, so there's a better sense of danger and makes the fight scene all that better. In Mr. Han's scene, you can tell the bullies are little kids because he easily catches one of their kicks with his hand as he examines Dre's wounds. Some of the kids seem tall but the fact he can knock them over by simply having them run into him is pretty sad.

In terms of Dre's training, much of it gets boring because Dre is doing a meaningless task that takes no effort. In Daniel's training, the tasks seemed meaningless but they took effort and he was tired by the end of each day. Also, the tasks were more believable to help with combat, whereas Dre's training magically is able to do so many things, it seemed too fantasy-like. Later on, Dre's training doesn't get more exciting but the change in scenery gives a big up-lift.

In terms of scenery, Karate Kid 2010 had wonderful scenery of China's landscape. When the film was dwindling down, these scenery shots gave it huge boosts and the scenery was hundred times better than in the 1984 version. I don't want to give too many examples as it'll be a spoiler. Unfortunately, this scenery somewhat worked against the movie because the focus on the scenery made some parts seem like tourist advertisements for China. Despite that, I still loved the scenery.

Overall, I think one major source of problems for me was Jaden Smith's pathetic acting. He is always confused, uninterested and doesn't bond well with anyone, so he never really fits in at any scene. Jackie Chan's acting makes it very believable he's Smith's father but it's a one-way relationship. In the 1984 version, Daniel and Mr. Myagi had problems they dealt with individually and together, as well as having conflicts with each other and leaning on each other for support. Dre is begging for support but cannot bond well at all so he never receives support. I truly think if he were replaced, chances are the movie would be much, much better.

[Beetbox]

Tbh I did find this movie to be quite overrated. Then again a lot of people like it so who am I to judge. While I like your review I have mostly decided over the last while to not suggest things to people as often as I used to unless they ask me. I have a very strange taste in films. I like where you took this review though. Keep posting.

[✖Ice✖]

I only saw it because Jackie Chan was going to star in the movie!
He of course was not a let down..

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

True, Jackie Chan was not a let-down, otherwise the movie would have been real crap.

[TheWhiteTornado]

In short:
Hated Jaden Smith and the cliche of smartass-toddlers-turned-hero in general,

Jackie Chan did a pretty good job as the Myagi character, much more dramatic in my opinion and made for a very interesting sub-plot,

The martial arts were too overdone, the original reveled in relative simplicity that made the fact that it was a bunch of testosterone-fueled teenagers doing martial arts, not individual child prodigies,

The last kick (that backflip thing on one foot) was ridiculous and made me just about facepalm in the theater,

You're exactly right with the training, it was a senseless task that mimicked a motion, nothing more,

And on a side note, that thing he did where he set his hands on fire seemed a bit much.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by TheWhiteTornado

In short:
Hated Jaden Smith and the cliche of smartass-toddlers-turned-hero in general

Agreed.

Originally Posted by TheWhiteTornado

Jackie Chan did a pretty good job as the Myagi character, much more dramatic in my opinion and made for a very interesting sub-plot

Agreed.

Originally Posted by TheWhiteTornado

The martial arts were too overdone, the original reveled in relative simplicity that made the fact that it was a bunch of testosterone-fueled teenagers doing martial arts, not individual child prodigies

Agreed. The fighting for much of it went so fast, you didn't see what was really happening. Only during the slow-motion bits and certain moves could you see what was happening but even then, it was silly. The fast bits often had the fighting seem like an epileptic dance. Although I'm not well-versed in kung-fu, I'm pretty sure Dre's guitar-slide isn't part of kung-fu (from 0:41 to 0:44) in below link. So many of the moves seemed as though they weren't for combat, rather they were for show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3__0p0EJDc

Originally Posted by TheWhiteTornado

The last kick (that backflip thing on one foot) was ridiculous and made me just about facepalm in the theater

I was thinking to myself, "if your leg is that badly hurt, how can you land on it with all your weight and do a tiny limp?". Besides, you've hit the guy however many times at the head, somehow this random kick works wonders. In the original ones, Daniel usually did a part of a kata then waited for the guy to attack him.

Originally Posted by TheWhiteTornado

You're exactly right with the training, it was a senseless task that mimicked a motion, nothing more,

And on a side note, that thing he did where he set his hands on fire seemed a bit much.

Some forms of kung-fu (i.e. Fu Jow Pai) supposedly use heat to desensitize their hands, although I suspect it's more of a myth than anything else. Either way, it was a fairly silly thing to do.