Don’t bring out the pitchforks and torches, but I’ve never seen the original Karate Kid movie. Therefore, I don’t consider myself a good judge on whether the old or the new film is better. However, I will say the new one had some awesome moves and a great cast to arm itself for battle against the original in the fight for ticket sales. 

The two stars, played by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, are what will bring the large audiences to the theatres. Chan is synonymous with great martial arts action and Smith is the precious little offspring of Will Smith, a great actor in his own right.  

Dre Parker, portrayed by Smith, is forced to move with his mother to China after his mom’s job in Detroit was shipped overseas. He doesn’t know the language, has no friends and goes to a school full of kids who bully him. Dre is a whiny little snot for the first half of the movie–and unnecessarily so. I get that you hate China, but suck it up and learn some kung fu already! All the crying and screaming at mommy simply reminds me of a toddler in the grocery store who has been refused cookies.  

The fact that the moves featured in the film are not karate, but kung fu, may not bother some people, but it certainly bothers me. It just screams the fact that filmmakers wanted the brand recognition that comes with the original film, which is a cop out from my perspective.

It’s also amazing how all the Chinese people in the movie speak English around their Chinese counterparts, simply because there’s one American in the scene too. I’ve never been to China, but I’m pretty sure their school classes are taught in Chinese, not English.  

On the other hand, I’d say about 75 percent of the Chinese spoken in the movie did not have English subtitles to accompany it. Congratulations on committing to a language, but I wanted to know what the antagonists were saying!   

The writers and directors did do a good job when including fun for everyone, with sharp kung fu moves for the action lovers, a little romance for the ladies in the audience, and middle school-aged kids for the PG-13 crowd.  

If you like to watch short kids beat the sense out of one another, then this movie is for you! Personally, I love a good action movie where things are blowing up and people are trying out their mad ninja skills, but for some reason watching Smith’s character get beaten up multiple times by another kid unsettled me a bit. 

Middle school romance brings back such fond memories–not–but the romance between Dre and Mei Ying in the film was thoroughly botched up. The flirtation at the beginning was cute when Dre was showing off his (lack of) athletic skills, but then he got beat up for it, effectively killing the mood. Also, the only physical interaction between the two was a kiss that happened in the middle of the movie. Their relationship did not evolve after that, leaving me disappointed with that part of the plot.  

The iconic “wax on, wax off”  method of teaching kung fu Mr. Han uses in the original film is replaced by “jacket on, jacket off” in the new. Spending 20 minutes watching Smith’s character toss around a jacket was interesting for a while, but soon got old. It became worth it once both Dre and the audience saw how the motions became kung fu blocks and hits.  

The final showdown between Dre and the school bully, Cheng, was probably the best part of the entire film. Rapid-fire moves, breaking of bones and intense stare downs brought the plot to its long awaited climax.   

Overall, the movie wasn’t a complete waste of $8. The plot was good, the kung fu moves stellar and the acting high-quality, but that’s just it. Mediocre, not blockbuster material, made for a good film instead of a fantastic film. My prediction is the hype created by the idea of a remake will soon peter out to modest public ratings.