Synopsis: Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son (Jaden Smith). In his new home the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a reluctant master (Jackie Chan).From the moment I heard they were remaking this I thought it would be total suckage, but actually I found it passably entertaining. It actually may even be better than the original, which I watched earlier this year again and frankly it's really not that great of a film.
It's not a shot-by-shot remake nor is it even close and in fact while the central story runs right along with the original, it differs in enough areas to make it seem new. A new cultural barrier for the new Karate Kid isn't just that he's being uprooted and planted across the country, but this time across the ocean in a whole other world. He's truly a vunerable outsider who stands out like a sore thumb and has a hard time adjusting.
And while our new "hero" seems a bit on the cocky side and brings on some of the pain with his stupid actions, overall he's a pretty likable kid that I didn't find it hard to root for. The new version of Mr. Miyagi that Jackie Chan plays is likewise easy to pull for and his quirky training techniques are fun to watch unfold. Chan has some good dramtic scenes in addition to his usual comical bits. It's never a full-on comedy, but there are plenty of laughs and smiles as the younger version of Will Smith has good comedic timing already and plays well with Chan.
By the end it's the same old hero vs villian showdown, feeling a bit cliched and very predictable. The only other real negative for me was that I felt it ran a bit long and got a little slow and wordy.
Still, it's an enjoyable remake that's definitely better than I expected.
6.5/10
