The Karate Kid (1984)- ***** vs The Karate Kid (2010)- *1/2

     When I heard a couple of years ago that The Karate Kid was being remade, it struck a nerve with me. I had gotten to the point where I was really tired of Hollywood remaking so many classic movies. I think the apex of this trend was when Psycho was remade by Gus Van Sant. There are certain movies that you just don't mess with and Psycho is one of them. A true classic in every sense of the word. This trend continues to this day as now The Bodyguard is rumored to be getting the remake treatment, a film that isn't even 20 years old. It is really sad, the lack of imagination and unique ideas coming from Hollywood studios these days. But The Karate Kid, like Psycho, really bothered me because I think the original is such a great movie and a remake was completely unnecessary. I made a vow that I would not see the remake just out of principle, and I managed to hold out for a year, but I finally broke down and decided to give it a shot. It was staring at me in my Netflix queue for too long so I decided to take the plunge.
     While I do not like the fact that this film was made, I wanted to be true to my values and approach the movie with an open mind and I honestly believe I did that. I was hoping for a nice surprise, and while the movie has it's moments and isn't a complete failure, unfortunately it does not hold up to the standards of the original and isn't even in the same league really. It is a true remake for sure as the story, and much of the dialogue, is pulled directly from the 1984 version. I found myself predicting what some of the upcoming lines would be and many times, I wouldn't be far off. There are some notable changes, the most obvious being that the remake takes place in China rather than California as the original did. And to me, this was one of the things I did sort of enjoy about this picture. Some of the scenery and settings are great to look at and it definitely adds an authentic feel to the movie. Most of the actors are Chinese and this helps as well. With this though, comes one of the things I didn't like about this movie. Even though it takes place in China, anybody that "needs" to speak English can. Even the young actor who plays the primary antagonist in the movie. While American audiences aren't usually big on reading subtitles, I believe it would have worked better here and added to the authenticity.
     Another positive that I can find in this remake is the actual fighting. The choreography of the fighting scenes is simply amazing, especially the scene where Jackie Chan's character fights all the members of the bully gang. This coincides with the scene in the original where the Kobra Kai attack Daniel during the Halloween party in their skeleton outfits and Mr. Miyagi saves the day. That original scene only lasted a few seconds. The remake scene runs probably two minutes and is Jackie Chan at his best. It's really well done. There are also great visuals during the tournament fighting scenes at the end. No complaints there.
     Unfortunately, that's where the positives stop for me. I could go on for quite awhile on the things that I didn't like but I will concentrate on just a couple. First, the acting in the remake is a HUGE step down. Jaden Smith will one day probably be a fine enough actor and I actually enjoyed him next to his father Will Smith in a film I really enjoyed, The Pursuit of Happyness. But here, I just didn't like him at all. There was just no charisma and I didn't like the slight cockiness that he has in this picture. While Ralph Macchio's Daniel could be quite a bit whiny at times, he was much more believable in the title role. Elizabeth Shue sometimes gets a bad rap for her role as Daniel's love interest, Ali, in the original, but I think it's unjustified. She is beautiful and plays the role perfectly fine I feel. Here that role is played by Wenwen Han as Meiying. She is a beautiful young actress and does okay I guess, but there's just nothing special about it to me. That actually may be a little unfair because in the remake the kids are a bit younger than the high school aged students of the original, so the romance angle isn't played in the same way. It's a bit more innocent, but still, it just didn't connect with me as much. The biggest difference though is between the teachers. Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi is one of the enduring characters of 80's films. Jackie Chan's Mr. Han, other than the fighting scene he has, is a complete letdown for me. I think the movie would have benefited by having a lesser known actor in the role. Something I don't think many people realize is that Morita was nominated for both a Golden Globe award and an Oscar for his Supporting role in the original. The acting was that highly thought of and it was much deserved. Chan doesn't bring the same magic and it really hurts the film.
     Something else that I want to bring up are the "bullies" in the two films. In the remake, these kids are pure evil and other than the primary kid Cheng, played by Zhenwei Wang, none of them get developed as characters. This is a contrast from the Kobra Kai who were all developed even if it is done subtly. Go back and watch the original film one time and really focus on the Kobra Kai characters. There are 4 primary members: Johnny, Bobby, Tommy and Dutch. (There is a fifth that hangs around with these 4 but he is never given a name on screen and doesn't fit the bill as these four do) If you watch, you will see distinct personality differences among these four. Johnny is the typical leader of the group. Very cool, good-looking, athletic....and also a true bully, thinking everyone should do what he says. Tommy is the loud mouth annoying member of the group. Dutch is the member who is most likely to do jail time in the future. Very cocky and just cold-blooded. Bobby is the member who seems to have some morals and feels some guilt about the things his group does. Watch the movie and pay close attention and you will see these differences. All of this is missing in the remake and while it is really a small thing, it's things like this can take a movie from just average or bad and make it great.
     The biggest thing missing from the remake is the heart that the original has. The training that Mr. Miyagi provides is so much more effective with this than Mr. Han's training. Miyagi and Daniel develop a personal relationship over the course of the film that comes to a head in two scenes in the final third of the movie. The first is when Daniel comes to Miyagi's house and finds him drunk and mourning the anniversary of the loss of his wife and unborn child. This is such a powerful scene and ends with Daniel giving the ultimate respect to his trainer by bowing to him as he leaves the room. It is very touching. A little later it is Daniel's birthday and Miyagi gives Daniel one of the cars he owns and gives Daniel a speech about being responsible. He encourages Daniel to make up with Ali who has broken up with him earlier in the film. As Daniel goes to leave, he looks at Mr. Miyagi and tells him that he is the best friend he has ever had. Once again, a simple yet very effective scene that shines the light on the relationship these two have come to develop. All of this heart is missing in the remake. We get the same scenes but Smith and Chan just cannot pull them off to the same degree as Macchio and Morita and that ultimately is the biggest downfall of this film.
     In closing, there are some things I enjoyed about the remake but it is not a movie I will ever watch again willingly. That's not the same with the original which is a film I will watch almost every time if I catch it on. The original was made by Director John G. Avildsen who is best known for the great film Rocky. There are a lot of comparisons between Rocky and The Karate Kid (1984) that can be made. They have a lot of the same feel and both are great movies. Unfortunately, The Karate Kid (2010) isn't in the same class.