Jaden Smith has true talent. It's in his genes; there's no denying it. Regardless of how you feel about a Karate Kid remake, between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, the movie is fun and enjoyable.
Honestly, it failed to do anything the original didn't, except to showcase Jaden's skills at whining, loathing, and being an average 9 or 10 year old boy (at the time of filming). But don't take that to mean his performance isn't enjoyable because it is, unless you're on adolescent-boy-overload, in which case you probably aren't interested in seeing this movie in the first place.
My whole crew went to see this one, and the overall opinion was favorable. The story is updated well enough to present a passable scenario whereby the main elements are introduced and used. All that having been said, I would have liked a bit more martial arts in this flick, as what was exhibited was precious little, and pretty lame.
I found it a bit implausible that Jaden's character could even come close to doing what it did in the end, because we never saw him do anything even remotely close to that, throughout the movie. And changing the venue from that of Japanese Karate to Chinese Kung Fu...okay, I had no problem with that, but why insist on the title of Karate Kid? This should have had a different name. Kung Fu Kid? Right, that sounds like a lame spoof of Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda, so call it Karate Kid: the Remake, and don't use karate? It made the whole movie seem off, to me. Fun and enjoyable, but off.
All in all? Because of the lack of progression, I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be, but that was in no way the fault of Jaden Smith or Jackie Chan, whose performances were stellar. This one may not be destined for Friday/Saturday night viewing, but fun and enjoyable, nonetheless. Just stick your thinking cap in your pocket and have some fun.
It rates a 7.1/10 from...
the Fiend :.
Honestly, it failed to do anything the original didn't, except to showcase Jaden's skills at whining, loathing, and being an average 9 or 10 year old boy (at the time of filming). But don't take that to mean his performance isn't enjoyable because it is, unless you're on adolescent-boy-overload, in which case you probably aren't interested in seeing this movie in the first place.
My whole crew went to see this one, and the overall opinion was favorable. The story is updated well enough to present a passable scenario whereby the main elements are introduced and used. All that having been said, I would have liked a bit more martial arts in this flick, as what was exhibited was precious little, and pretty lame.
I found it a bit implausible that Jaden's character could even come close to doing what it did in the end, because we never saw him do anything even remotely close to that, throughout the movie. And changing the venue from that of Japanese Karate to Chinese Kung Fu...okay, I had no problem with that, but why insist on the title of Karate Kid? This should have had a different name. Kung Fu Kid? Right, that sounds like a lame spoof of Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda, so call it Karate Kid: the Remake, and don't use karate? It made the whole movie seem off, to me. Fun and enjoyable, but off.
All in all? Because of the lack of progression, I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be, but that was in no way the fault of Jaden Smith or Jackie Chan, whose performances were stellar. This one may not be destined for Friday/Saturday night viewing, but fun and enjoyable, nonetheless. Just stick your thinking cap in your pocket and have some fun.
It rates a 7.1/10 from...
the Fiend :.