the karate kid

[3LB]

redux - with jackie chan

and some kid with cornrows (he looks like that kid Riley from The Boondocks)

I thought karate was Japanese, but in the movie trailer, they're talking about kung fu, and Chan is Chinese, which makes sense he'd talk of kung fu, but the title is Karate Kid?

just sayin

[Hyfi]

good catch. I just tried to find any correlation between Kung Fu and Karate but could not find anything.

Hmmm, the remake should have been called "Kung Fu Kid".

[Kam]

because "The Karate Kid" is a brand that will resonate to a lot of people and the execs in charge could care less about anything but the revenue that title will help generate.

and yes, it has nothing to do with Karate. It's Kung Fu. and very little to do with the original, other than the most basic of plot rips. it's the Ice Ice Baby to Under Pressure.

[3LB]

I have a very low tolerence for Jackie Chan

[rob_a]

Good lord, they’re still talking about making this movie. I thought it was shelved years ago.

[Worf101]

Good lord, they’re still talking about making this movie. I thought it was shelved years ago.

Shelved??? It's about to be released. Saw previews at "Death at a Funeral", which was far funnier than the original if you ask me.

Worf

[Smokey]

..and yes, it has nothing to do with Karate. It's Kung Fu. and very little to do with the original, other than the most basic of plot rips. it's the Ice Ice Baby to Under Pressure.

I imagine it will be very difficult to fill Pat Morita's shoes as he did in the original Karate Kid. Wax on, wax off

[recoveryone]

The timing of this release will give it legs and the appeal of Will Smith son will give it street cred and bring those tween and minority dollars in.

[poppachubby]

All I have to say about this is that I am the man who will fight for your honour.

[Troy]

I saw that kid in the (truly awful) remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still and he was one of the most wooden child actors I've ever seen. Seriously, the kid can't act.

This movie's gonna suck hippo balls.

[3LB]

calling this movie Karate Kid is insulting in so many ways

[recoveryone]

I see some of us are fixed on the merit of the work and others are looking at the box office dollars. I have never been a fan of the series, due to the actors that were picked (Ralph M) I put him right up there with Robbie Benson, just suck on screen. Jaden Smith is only getting by the family name, but when does that make a difference in Hollywood, its all about the box office dollars. The Movie has always done well in theaters and double up in VHS and DVD rentals and sales. So, if you look at the release date and the other films that are out at the same time, don"t be surprise if its in the top 3-5 for the opening weekend and its being release around the same time many schools are out for the summer. I'm sure it will beat the A-Team (ughhh)

[3LB]

I have never been a fan of the series, due to the actors that were picked (Ralph M) I put him right up there with Robbie Benson, just suck on screen.

you haven't missed much. Make sure to miss Machio as blues guitar prodigy in Crossroads (same plot as Karate Kid)

I'm sure it will beat the A-Team (ughhh)

Looks like I'm saving some money this summer. I bet if this gets distributed in China, it won't be called Karate Kid.

No, its not like these summer movies are attempting to remake Citizen Kane, but most of us here are commenting on the dearth of originality, which isn't new, but these last few years in particular, its pandemic.

[rob_a]

Shelved??? It's about to be released. Saw previews at "Death at a Funeral", which was far funnier than the original if you ask me.

Worf

This movie has been on and off for the last 10 years. I just can't believe they actually made it. But new generation and new fans

[Woochifer]

This looks like the worst kind of vanity project for producer Will Smith -- one that he's not even starring in! This is nothing more than a starmaking vehicle for his kid, and it's sad/infuriating to see a self-made superstar like Jackie Chan, who paid his dues and learned his crafts (stunts, martial arts, acting, directing, writing, producing, and singing) by busting his tail literally, get roped into this nepotism venture.

Looks like I'm saving some money this summer. I bet if this gets distributed in China, it won't be called Karate Kid.

Right you are. In Asia (where the audience actually cares about distinctions between martial arts disciplines), the movie is called The Kung Fu Kid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kar...282010_film%29

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

The timing of this release will give it legs and the appeal of Will Smith son will give it street cred and bring those tween and minority dollars in.

Thank you for pointing out that the "kid with corn rolls" isn't just some kid with corn rolls. This also is not his first big movie either. The Day the Earth Stood Still was his first movie.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

This looks like the worst kind of vanity project for producer Will Smith -- one that he's not even starring in! This is nothing more than a starmaking vehicle for his kid, and it's sad/infuriating to see a self-made superstar like Jackie Chan, who paid his dues and learned his crafts (stunts, martial arts, acting, directing, writing, producing, and singing) by busting his tail literally, get roped into this nepotism venture.



Right you are. In Asia (where the audience actually cares about distinctions between martial arts disciplines), the movie is called The Kung Fu Kid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kar...282010_film%29

Personally I look at it as an interesting twist on the original film. Having a young black kid going to China is totally original, as I have never seen a movie that put a AA within the Chinese culture. There aren't that many black kids learning Karate as well, as least not at the place my boys went, and not when I have been to competitions.

Jackie has made over 100 films, has been working in the business since 1970, and has won many many awards for his work. He is going to be 56 y/o this year. The last interview I saw him do, he stated that he is getting to old to do the things that he used to do, and wanted to do movies with less action and intensity. I don't think he was roped into this, I think he really wanted to do it. The Spy Next Door(The Pacifier Clone) is pretty much like this film, and I thought it was pretty good but not his best. I liked the preview, and will be checking this film out when released.

I don't mind admitting it, I dig Jackie Chan's movies...all of them!

[3LB]

just because "the kid in cornrows" is Will Smith's son doesn't make this any more than what it is (or less I guess). I don't doubt it'll make money and Will Smith will continue his streak of summer blockbusters. I really have no problem with Smith and have liked most of his movies, but producing his own kid in a movie is a very uncompelling reason to get me to pay money for a remake of an OK movie that spawned some really bad sequels.

and yeah Wooch, it isn't just in China that where the public cares to differentiate Chinese from Japanese culture. I'm friends with a Japanese-American who feels slighted that we now have a movie that reminds him of how insistant western culture is on homogenizing all the different Asian cultures into one convenient lump. I've also heard a couple of Chinese college students express as much. To an extent, its a slight towards the American movie audience because it suggests we're too stupid to know its a remake of an older movie and that we need brand recognition to figure it out.

[canuckle]

I'll play devil's advocate for a moment. I loved the original movie and continue to feel it was one of the best films of the 80s as well as one of the best coming-of-age movies ever. That said, the new one, on its face, offers the following potential upgrades from the original:

1) Jaden Smith - he's got some mean wushu skills, something Ralph Macchio never did. He's a billion times cuter than Ralph ever was. He's at least as good an actor as Ralph. He's a bit more age appropriate an actor to pick for the role than 23-year-old Ralph playing a 16-year-old. There's no reason why Jaden can't pull the role off.

2) Jackie Chan - he actually is a martial arts master so it'd be hard for him to not fit into the role exceedingly well. He's got the same light-hearted, fun demeanour as Pat Morita.

3) China - for a fish-out-of-water story, an American in China certainly sets the scene a lot more profoundly and offers a lot more opportunities on the theme than a kid from Newark moving to Reseda. China is also a great deal more cinematographic than the San Fernando Valley. It looks like it will actually be a very pretty film to look at.

4) You know that the martial arts choreography is going to be superior in the remake.

This whole "Karate Kid" vs. "Kung Fu Kid" thing is stupid. Pretend that it's titled "The Blue Balloon" and evaluate something that matters like the movie.

I fully expect that the remake will be a big disappointment. I'm just saying, a lot of the pieces are actually of a high quality regardless of how the whole turns out. There could be a surprise or two regarding its quality.

[nicolaxs]

All karate movies i like to watch especially jet Lee Movie

Watch Movies

[3LB]

All karate movies i like to watch especially jet Lee Movie

Watch Movies

wha..? you butt into a discussion thread with a link and it isn't even porn

ya squeeb...go spam somebody elses thread and quit wasting my time

[3LB]

I'll play devil's advocate for a moment. I loved the original movie and continue to feel it was one of the best films of the 80s as well as one of the best coming-of-age movies ever

I might agree w/ that, if it was a stand-alone movie, and I hadn't seen the crappy sequel

1) Jaden Smith - he's got some mean wushu skills, something Ralph Macchio never did. He's a billion times cuter than Ralph ever was. He's at least as good an actor as Ralph. He's a bit more age appropriate an actor to pick for the role than 23-year-old Ralph playing a 16-year-old. There's no reason why Jaden can't pull the role off.

the whole point of the first one was that Machio's character was an awkward kid learning martial arts in an unconventional way - cuter? I could care less - better actor? who ain't? - Machio looked 14 in that movie :L

2) Jackie Chan - he actually is a martial arts master so it'd be hard for him to not fit into the role exceedingly well. He's got the same light-hearted, fun demeanour as Pat Morita.

but Morita as a martial artist was an unknown comodity and the movie was a comeback of sorts for him; again part of the original flick's charm. Chan as a martial arts expert is what, the thousanth time we seen him in that role? Di'nt Chan just play this same role in another "must teach the gung fu to young western stranger" movie with Jet Li (Forbidden Kingdom)? Chan's Number One Son-meets-Buster Keaton act ceased being entertaining to me long ago.

3) China - for a fish-out-of-water story, an American in China certainly sets the scene a lot more profoundly and offers a lot more opportunities on the theme than a kid from Newark moving to Reseda. China is also a great deal more cinematographic than the San Fernando Valley. It looks like it will actually be a very pretty film to look at.

again with aesthetics? yes, the locale change is more the extreme and more compelling, like the Kung Fu TV series, so I'll give ya that, but on the other hand, its been done before.

4) You know that the martial arts choreography is going to be superior in the remake.

which is one of the reasons why these movies fall flat for me, because I can't suspend disbelief enough to accept the matrix-like acrobatics that permiate modern martial art films. Presenting middle-schoolers doing it won't make it better

This whole "Karate Kid" vs. "Kung Fu Kid" thing is stupid.

not so much that they won't change the title for distribution outside of the US

Pretend that it's titled "The Blue Balloon" and evaluate something that matters like the movie.

no

I fully expect that the remake will be a big disappointment. I'm just saying, a lot of the pieces are actually of a high quality regardless of how the whole turns out. There could be a surprise or two regarding its quality.

disappointment? you talkin boxoffice or personally?

[TheHills44060]

calling this movie Karate Kid is insulting in so many ways

pretty much says everything that needs to be said

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I'll play devil's advocate for a moment. I loved the original movie and continue to feel it was one of the best films of the 80s as well as one of the best coming-of-age movies ever. That said, the new one, on its face, offers the following potential upgrades from the original:

1) Jaden Smith - he's got some mean wushu skills, something Ralph Macchio never did. He's a billion times cuter than Ralph ever was. He's at least as good an actor as Ralph. He's a bit more age appropriate an actor to pick for the role than 23-year-old Ralph playing a 16-year-old. There's no reason why Jaden can't pull the role off.

2) Jackie Chan - he actually is a martial arts master so it'd be hard for him to not fit into the role exceedingly well. He's got the same light-hearted, fun demeanour as Pat Morita.

3) China - for a fish-out-of-water story, an American in China certainly sets the scene a lot more profoundly and offers a lot more opportunities on the theme than a kid from Newark moving to Reseda. China is also a great deal more cinematographic than the San Fernando Valley. It looks like it will actually be a very pretty film to look at.

4) You know that the martial arts choreography is going to be superior in the remake.

This whole "Karate Kid" vs. "Kung Fu Kid" thing is stupid. Pretend that it's titled "The Blue Balloon" and evaluate something that matters like the movie.

I fully expect that the remake will be a big disappointment. I'm just saying, a lot of the pieces are actually of a high quality regardless of how the whole turns out. There could be a surprise or two regarding its quality.

I actually agree with this pre-analysis. Good show!

Folks are just so negative these days.....