How did you like the new karate kid?

[Master Dan]

I finally just watched the movie with some students. I loved it good production, sound track and cinematogrophy. I thought Jakie Chan was awsome. Did it mix rules and other things yest but overall great movie.

20 years ago could we have filmed a movie like this in China?

Great fight seens with the kids and Will Smiths kid really looks alot and acts like him dad must have been proud.

 

[Blade96]

I didnt see it.

I didnt see the need for a remake tbh. I like the old one quite nicely.

 

[girlbug2]

At first I was against the whole idea of this movie, but it turned out to be better than I expected it to be. Different characters and setting made this film its own story; my only remaining objection is that they called it Karate Kid when really it should have kept the original title, Kung Fu Kid.

 

[Benevolentbob]

Honestly, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Jackie Chan was awesome, i would really like to see him in more roles like this. My only real complaints are that I didn't like the actor who played the main character or the woman who played his mother, and the fact that the movie is called "The Karate Kid" but is about Kung Fu kind of pissed me off. All in all it's worth seeing though.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I really enjoyed it, it was a bit slow to get going but I thought it was good. Jackie Chan was great as were the fight scenes. I watched the original again recently (Im a karate kid tragic) and the fight scenes really seem slow and awkward after watching the new one. I love them all though.

 

[Cirdan]

Haven`t seen it yet. The title bugs me a bit and Jaden (that is his name right?) was very annoying in another movie I saw. I guess I`ll buy the DVD as a christmas gift for someone in the family so I can watch it for free.

The original was great of course.

 

[Balrog]

I went to it under protest, prepared to be disappointed. I walked out quite pleasantly surprised. It was a good movie: good acting, good martial arts. They retold the story from a different point of view and handled it quite well. I found myself nodding and saying, "Okay, there's the drunk scene....okay, there's the crane scene..." all through it.

I'm going to buy both on DVD and spend an afternoon watching them back-to-back.

 

[Talon]

I didnt see it.

I didnt see the need for a remake tbh. I like the old one quite nicely.

Amen! If all hollywood can do is keep reinventing the wheel, its time for them to close up shop!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I have not seen it yet, though I have seen enough clips of it to tell me the following:

Jackie Chan in a sound effects laiden fight with 10-14 year olds is pointless.

Jayden Smith looked way too polished and crisp to have gone from essentially zero training to looking like he did in those clips in the span of time in which the story takes place.

Its not karate, so it should have been called something else in the States just as it was elsewhere (Kung Fu kid in China, Best kid in Korea, etc.).

I will probably see it at some point, but honestly, I would much rather have seen the story brought full circle with a grown up Daniel Laruso played by a highly skilled karateka married to the Okinawan girl from KKII (lets just ignore that KKIII movie, shall we) assuming the role of teacher to bullied teen or tween (not as if there is any shortage of bullied teens & tweens) who certainly could have been played by Jayden Smith if the movie makers just had to have him.

Then we'd see how the character incorporated the lessons he learned from his teacher into his life as he aged and how he would then impart those lessons to a future student. Did he go on to become a world champion? Or did he open his own school? Or did he go on to pursue a different carreer entirely but continued to practice and maintain his skills? Did the new 'kid' encounter him by happenstance as Laruso did Mr. Miyagi, or did the kid seek out the now forty something karate teacher?

Daniel

 

[dancingalone]

Jackie Chan in a sound effects laiden fight with 10-14 year olds is pointless.

I have seen the movie and I generally liked it, but I did think Jaden Smith's age was a bit young for the story to pass the disbelief barrier.

I will probably see it at some point, but honestly, I would much rather have seen the story brought full circle with a grown up Daniel Laruso played by a highly skilled karateka married to the Okinawan girl from KKII (lets just ignore that KKIII movie, shall we) assuming the role of teacher to bullied teen or tween (not as if there is any shortage of bullied teens & tweens) who certainly could have been played by Jayden Smith if the movie makers just had to have him.

Then we'd see how the character incorporated the lessons he learned from his teacher into his life as he aged and how he would then impart those lessons to a future student. Did he go on to become a world champion? Or did he open his own school? Or did he go on to pursue a different carreer entirely but continued to practice and maintain his skills? Did the new 'kid' encounter him by happenstance as Laruso did Mr. Miyagi, or did the kid seek out the now forty something karate teacher?

Nice idea. You ought to be in Hollywood, Daniel!

I could see Daniel LaRusso ultimately being a school teacher for his career. One that just happens to take a vulnerable kid under his wing...

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I have seen the movie and I generally liked it, but I did think Jaden Smith's age was a bit young for the story to pass the disbelief barrier.

That was my thought. Pat Morita, an aging actor with no MA credit playing an older 'everyman' looking character convincingly whooping up on athletic seventeen to eighteen year olds who could obviously fight really made the audience take notice. By using Jayden Smith, the bullying kids were now much younger making Jackie Chan's intervetion rather silly; any adult male could have intervened, no sound effects needed.

Also, I suspect that Chan's acting ability, which is fine for his ususal fare, is far below that of the late Pat Morita.

Nice idea. You ought to be in Hollywood, Daniel!

Thanks!

I could see Daniel LaRusso ultimately being a school teacher for his career. One that just happens to take a vulnerable kid under his wing...

I could definitely go with that.

Daniel

 

[chrispillertkd]

I will probably see it at some point, but honestly, I would much rather have seen the story brought full circle with a grown up Daniel Laruso played by a highly skilled karateka married to the Okinawan girl from KKII (lets just ignore that KKIII movie, shall we) assuming the role of teacher to bullied teen or tween (not as if there is any shortage of bullied teens & tweens) who certainly could have been played by Jayden Smith if the movie makers just had to have him.

Now this is a movie I'd definitely go see.

Well, maybe not definitely as Karate Kid III really turned me off on the franchise and the previews I saw for the movie with Hilary Swank ("The Next Karate Kid," or something) looked abyssmal. But if I read a review or the trailers were good enough I'd probably end up seeing your version.

Hey, if the Hulk could reboot why not the Karate Kid?

Pax,

Chris

 

[d1jinx]

i wasn't thinking it would be too good. then I went and saw it. IT WAS GREAT.

if you put this one next to the original at the same point in time, this one was a much better movie.

Completey happy with the remake. great job.

 

[Noah_Legel]

I was pleasantly surprised--I also would have liked to see it called "Kung Fu Kid" and the ages of the kids in the story were too young to make the story really work, but it was still a good movie. I was impressed with Jackie Chan's acting, as well as Jaden Smith's, and the martial arts were pretty good. The fact that there was some comedy thrown in did help, and they didn't completely copy the storyline.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I didnt see it.

I didnt see the need for a remake tbh. I like the old one quite nicely.

You don't have to weat dirt to know it doesn't taste good. LOL
Sean

 

[Touch Of Death]

I went to it under protest, prepared to be disappointed. I walked out quite pleasantly surprised. It was a good movie: good acting, good martial arts. They retold the story from a different point of view and handled it quite well. I found myself nodding and saying, "Okay, there's the drunk scene....okay, there's the crane scene..." all through it.

I'm going to buy both on DVD and spend an afternoon watching them back-to-back.

I thought the movie was awesome! I was hoping for a bit of a story line change, but they stayed quite true to the original movie. I think it was better than the first, hands down.
Sean

 

[Touch Of Death]

Amen! If all hollywood can do is keep reinventing the wheel, its time for them to close up shop!

Since every story line can be traced to some shakespearinan play, Hollywood should never have existed. There is nothing new under the sun, or that sign on the hill.
Sean

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

i wasn't thinking it would be too good.

My expectation is not that it wouldn't be good so much as that it wouldn't be as believable.

then I went and saw it. IT WAS GREAT.

I expect, from what I have seen in trailers, that the complexity and execution level of the stunts is far and above that of the original movie, but then the standards are much different now than they were then. I will go so far as to say, sight unseen, that the complexity and execution level of the stunts is far and above that of all of Bruce Lee's movies as well. I saw a kid doing vertical 360 jumps in the trailers, certainly not something that I saw in older MA movies and definitely not in the original K-kid.

But when Laruso performed his karate, he looked like a kid with little training who had been trained in a lot of basics, with only one 'advanced' technique up his sleave, which is about what one would expect from a kid with less than a year of training. Mr. Miyagi looked like he was actually fighting rather than doing Matrix-like stunt choreography. So while I am sure that the new film will be more visually exciting, though not necesarilly more believable.

I do expect that Jayden Smith's acting chops are probably better than Ralph Machio's, though I also am fairly sure that Morita's acting chops far exceeded Chan's.

Cinematography has certainly improved substantially since 1985 and shifting the locale to China certainly adds a more exotic flavor.

Whether or not all of that translates into a better movie overall remains for me to be seen.

if you put this one next to the original at the same point in time, this one was a much better movie.

Better? In what way? Execution of technique? I'm not sure that better technique in the main character makes it a better movie, as it is not as believable.

If the main character whines less than Laruso did, however, I would consider that a huge improvement, as his incessant whining was the one thing that really bugged me in the original. I kept waiting for him to say, 'but Mr. Miyagi, I was gonna go to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!'

Completey happy with the remake. great job.

Glad to hear! I look forward to seeing it.

Daniel

 

[Touch Of Death]

I have not seen it yet, though I have seen enough clips of it to tell me the following:

Jackie Chan in a sound effects laiden fight with 10-14 year olds is pointless.

Jayden Smith looked way too polished and crisp to have gone from essentially zero training to looking like he did in those clips in the span of time in which the story takes place.

Its not karate, so it should have been called something else in the States just as it was elsewhere (Kung Fu kid in China, Best kid in Korea, etc.).

I will probably see it at some point, but honestly, I would much rather have seen the story brought full circle with a grown up Daniel Laruso played by a highly skilled karateka married to the Okinawan girl from KKII (lets just ignore that KKIII movie, shall we) assuming the role of teacher to bullied teen or tween (not as if there is any shortage of bullied teens & tweens) who certainly could have been played by Jayden Smith if the movie makers just had to have him.

Then we'd see how the character incorporated the lessons he learned from his teacher into his life as he aged and how he would then impart those lessons to a future student. Did he go on to become a world champion? Or did he open his own school? Or did he go on to pursue a different carreer entirely but continued to practice and maintain his skills? Did the new 'kid' encounter him by happenstance as Laruso did Mr. Miyagi, or did the kid seek out the now forty something karate teacher?

Daniel

I think that controling a violent situation without causing harm to the children in question, makes a very strong point! He is just that good and showing some compassion is not a bad thing. :soapbox:
Sean

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Now this is a movie I'd definitely go see.

Well, maybe not definitely as Karate Kid III really turned me off on the franchise and the previews I saw for the movie with Hilary Swank ("The Next Karate Kid," or something) looked abyssmal.

Next karate kid was indeed the title of the Swank movie, which was much 'swankier' than K-Kid 3. Next K-Kid was not so much abysmal as it was an obvious attempt to keep the franchise going, and maybe make up for the abomination that was Karate Kid III. Been years since I saw it, but I don't remember it being completely horrible though it was certainly not horrible-free, and that which wasn't horrible was mediocre at best.

But if I read a review or the trailers were good enough I'd probably end up seeing your version.

Hey, if the Hulk could reboot why not the Karate Kid?

Absolutelyl!

Though ignoring 3 is just fine with me. That would be more akin to a partial reboot, a-la Superman Returns, which picked up from Supey II and ignores III, IV, and Supergirl, and was probably not as good a movie as the new Karate Kid.

Daniel