The Karate Kid (Special Edition) (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Karate Kid is not what you may think it is. The premise of a young fatherless boy trying to survive a completely new environment is how this movie gets its humanity. For anyone who has ever had to move to a new town, be raised by only one parent, or face overwhelming odds, and almost everyone has done at least one of these, this movie can be related to on many levels. Ralph Macchio plays Daniel, a teenager from New Jersey who is forced to move across the country with his mother and start a new life in a foreign place, California. Setting aside the differences between East & West coast alone, there is plenty for him to realize. When faced with bullies that he doesn't understand, he finds a friend in an unlikely place; Mr. Miagi, a Japanese handyman, played by Pat Morita, who's hides many talents. To say Karate Kid is a story about over coming your fear is to say that life is just a thing we do everyday. This movie mixes a friendship, a romance, a coming of age story, gaining self confidence and learning to appreciate that which you may not understand right away. After getting sufficiently beat up by the bullies more than once, Daniel enlists the help of Miagi and soon finds himself training for a tournament. This may seem outrageous, but Miagi knows it is a much safer place and a more controlled environment for Daniel to defend himself and gain respect. Miagi's training techniques are unique to say the least, and just as Daniel begins to question what is going on, he realizes that Migai really does know what he is doing. The story is good and solid and allows sympathy for both sides of the characters. They fill a void for each other, an obvious father/son, mentor/student relationship. The chemistry between them is very solid. Elizabeth Shue is good in her first major role, playing the sweet rich girl who sees Daniel for the person he is and not for his social status. Although sounding clichéd on the surface, this movie is well done and not superficial. The characters are very real, the emotions are deep and the fear of growing up with bullies hits home for many of us. The ending will have you cheering as Daniel moves his way through the tournament to the final climatic ending. Highly recommended and highly entertaining.

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A fatherless teenager faces his moment of truth in The Karate Kid. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) arrives in Los Angeles from the east coast and faces the difficult task of making new friends. However, he becomes the object of bullying by the Cobras, a menacing gang of karate students, when he strikes up a relationship with Ali (Elisabeth Shue), the Cobra leader's ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend but afraid to confront the dangerous gang, Danielasks his handyman Miyagi (Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita), whom he learns is a master of the martial arts, to teach him karate. Miyagi teaches Daniel that karate is a mastery over the self, mind, and body and that fighting is always the last answer to a problem. Under Miyagi's guidance, Daniel develops not only physical skills but also the faith and self-confidence to compete despite tremendous odds as he encounters the fight of his life in the exciting finale to this entertaining film.

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The Karate Kid (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Karate Kid" is very much a worthy counterpart to the 1984 film on which it's based, not only in terms of story, but also in terms of quality; the excitement, humor, warmth, and themes of friendship, maturity, and overcoming adversity have been left intact, and better still, there's no sense that any of it has been cheapened or simplified to the sake of appealing to a mass audience. The only exception, and I'm really just nitpicking here, is a glorious but contrived aerial shot of martial arts training directly on the Great Wall of China, the helicopter camera zooming around Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith as they pose dramatically. If there was ever an image that belonged in a Chinese tourism commercial, this would be it.
A more substantial criticism is that, because this is such a faithful remake, there isn't much it can do to surprise us. Anyone familiar with the 1984 film will know exactly how this new version will play out, from the main character's awkward arrival at the start to the climactic tournament at the end. There is a bit of an inconsistency; because it takes place in China, the featured martial art is kung fu, not karate, so the title is technically inaccurate. There's also the convenience of all the important characters being able to speak English, if not fluently, then just enough to get their point across. But it's all done so well that we may find ourselves suppressing the desire to look for flaws and make comparisons. What would be the point? Remake or not, this movie stands entirely on its own as a great entertainment, not just as a sports drama and a spectacle but also as a coming-of-age story, which is just as charming and insightful as it was twenty-six years ago.
Smith plays twelve-year-old Dre Parker, who's forced to move from Detroit to Beijing with his mother (Taraji P. Henson). He doesn't much care for it, although he does immediately develop a crush on a good-natured girl named Mei Ying (Han Wenwen), a violin prodigy. Unfortunately, this introduces him to the sadistic school bully, Cheng (Wang Zhenwei), who quickly and brutally takes him down in full view of the other kids. How did he become so aggressive? A visit to a local kung fu class explains everything: Cheng's teacher, Master Li (Rongguang Yu), has taught him to be merciless when fighting his enemies. Mercy, he says, is for the weak. Dre, both small-statured and a foreigner, is considered a weakling. The idea that the underdog is separated by culture as well as by status is something the original film never had the chance to explore. It's a welcome addition.
So is Jackie Chan, who takes the reins from the late Pat Morita and transforms Mr. Miyagi into Mr. Han, a reclusive janitor who agrees to train Dre for an upcoming kung fu tournament. After his disastrous starring role in "The Spy Next Door," I had my doubts that Chan would be able to pull this off. I was happily proven wrong; this is his most mature and compelling performance to date, having been given the opportunity to genuinely act and not merely be a goofy action star. We see range. We see depth. We can conceivably feel something for his character. And for once, the kung fu moves he built his reputation on are actually in service of the story. He's not a stuntman showing off - he's a wise elder trying to make a point, and just like with Pat Morita's character, it involves a menial task that must be done repeatedly, almost to the point of a compulsion.
Some may object to the puppy love between Dre and Mei Ying, paling in comparison to the original film's teenage love between Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue. While I agree that there's no such thing as romance before puberty, I am aware that those tween years see the emergence of hormones, and I can certainly believe that Dre and Mei Ying would have their first kiss by the light of a rear-screen projector. There's no sense believing that they're falling in love, because they're not. If anything, they form a sweet and innocent friendship, one made stronger by the fact that both are being tested by their own life circumstances. And much like the divide between Dre and Cheng, both are threatened by cultural differences, Mei Ying's parents fearful that a musically uninspired American boy will be a bad influence on her. Like all good boys, he just wants make a fine first impression.
A stretch in the middle of the film reveals views of mist-shrouded mountains and tours of ancient temples, where kung fu students practice rigorously. This is perhaps a bit conventional, but it's also undeniably breathtaking. I'm addressing that last observation to those who can't bring themselves to see this movie for its story or its characters - maybe the visuals will win them over. Still, don't be so quick to dismiss everything else it has to offer. Yes, "The Karate Kid" is yet another Hollywood remake, but that doesn't change the fact that it tells an engaging story with interesting characters and features good performances. I greatly enjoyed this movie, and if you go into it with an open mind, I think you will too.

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KARATE KID - DVD Movie

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