Wax On – Wax Off; Recycling Movies & Nepotism - by Rahoul Duke

With the “Going Green” movement hitting full stride, or at least the appearance of such as our government and industry continue to pay it lip service; I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that Hollywood is preparing to release yet another remake of a late 20th century blockbuster.  The thought of another remake did invoke a rueful groan when I heard the announcement that a recycled version of 1984’s The Karate Kid was scheduled to be released in theaters June 11th, but I was at least able to find some solace knowing that Tim Burton didn’t direct it.

For those of you who are just waking up from a 30 year coma and never saw the original, the 1984 coming of age drama directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue is a martial arts film and an underdog story in the mold of Avildsen’s previous blockbuster, the 1976 boxing film Rocky. It did well at the box office, and it had favorable critical attention enough so to earn Morita an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The Karate Kid 2010 builds on strengths of the original, puts the story in a more contemporary setting, and overall it’s a good remake. Borrowing mostly from the original plot, the only significant changes that viewers who adored the original from the 80's can expect are that the story shifts its setting from the US to China (a move that embraces a 21st Century globalized view of the world as a shrinking village), and the New Karate Kid learns Kung Fu (not Karate).

The film belongs to Jaden Smith, the charismatic son of super star Will Smith and part of the growing Hollywood Aristocracy who got famous by riding their parents coat tails. Jaden’s previous foray into acting includes working alongside his father in the touching Pursuit of Happiness. In the new film, he dominates the screen, not only getting first billing but also nearly all of the 140 minute screen time.

Smith portrays the character Dre Parker, a 12-year-old living in Detroit when his mother Sherry (Taraji Henson) gets a job in China. After moving to China, Dre soon finds himself victimized by a local bully and his prepubescent fellow thugs after becoming smitten with a pretty girl classmate. The rest of the setup is as familiar as it is iconic - Dre is helped by the neighborhood maintenance man, Han (Jackie Chan, who drops his usual goofy screen persona to play a more serious role) who saves him from being beaten up but also signs him up for a local Kung Fu tournament where Dre will have to take on the bullies in a final confrontation.

Like the 1984 film, the best part of the remake is the story of the growing friendship between Han and Dre as they train for the big tournament in which the boy will face his tormentors. The training takes Dre and Han to the Great Wall of China, which features a cheesy but undeniably gorgeous sequence in which the duo workout on the iconic structure. Adults and more sophisticated younger viewers will defiantly need a robust “suspension of disbelief” to ignore the fact that there isn’t a tourist in sight as Dre and Han have the Great Wall all to themselves during their training.

Aside from changing locations, the remake also features much more violent fight scenes, especially when you consider the competitors are all 11- and 12-year-olds. There’s a lot of bunch-crunching hits that will make parents cringe.

Unfortunately, the film’s nearly 2 1/2-hour running time drags a bit at times — especially during the film’s opening scene. Still, though, the 21st-century version of “The Karate Kid” is worth seeing, even though it doesn’t quite eclipse the original film.