The Karate Kid (2010)

The Karate Kid (2010): Starring Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson

I saw the movie Friday night and it was fantastic. I gave a bit of a synopsis in the previous post so, I'll just give my thoughts on this post. I thought this was a very well made movie. There were quite a few kids in the audience, but honestly even if you are an adult, there are subjects in the movie that you can relate to. Being the target of a bully, is the main focus of the movie for young Dre and I have to say he did such a good job of emitting those feelings of fear and alienation. I know for most of the movie I cringed every time those bullies were around and the fight scenes were ridiculous (in a good way). The bullies also were very convincing with their incredible kung fu and parkour skills.

Jackie is known for his fighting skills and creating his own stunts, so we see that a bit in the film. I think Jaden stole the show entirely with how much he put into this role. He trained for months to play this part, and he sure played it. Learning kung fu unleashed something in Jaden that was both powerful and entrancing (especially the snake scene, you'll understand once you see). I really enjoyed the performance of the only real friend Dre made at school, and the girl he has a crush on, Meiying (played by the Wenwen Han). I thought Wenwen was fantastic and she surprised me quite a bit in her abilities muscially, and socially throughout the film. Jackie Chan was very good as Dre's Kung Fu master and he showed a vulnerable side I had never seen before. It added a new dimension to him, that I liked very much.

You really get a good sense of China, its ancient and modern beauty and the struggles for a foreigner in a new place. The movie overall is intense in its emotions, the fear, the joy, the sadness and the frustration that comes with overcoming an immense challenge. The kids in the tournament in the movie are so skilled and you won't be able to turn away. I just wanted to give you all a taste. I won't spoil the great parts of the movie but trust that this remake is moving and very fun. At the end, everyone in the audience was applauding, and I haven't been to a movie in a while that made everyone clap. Go see this!!!!

I rate this movie as a 7.2/10 Kung Fu Kicks!