who demonstarted the better training in karate kid ?
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I haven't seen the new one, but just from what I have seen of the trailers, Jayden looks more polished.
However, I'll take the original over the remake sight unseen.
No way to make a kid look polished and sharp in such a short amount of time (assuming that the new movie's time line of events is the same as the old), so Ralph was more believable.
Also, standards of martial arts in non MA movies today are drastically different (Keep in mind that the original Karate Kid was a drama, not a martial arts movie). Look at the first three Star Wars movies. Not MA movies, but space opera. Star Wars lightsaber fights in the original movies ranged from highly conservative (Guinness and Prowse) to downright uncoordinated (every time Mark Hamill did anything weapons related he looked uncoordinated), and by contrast, Neeson and Ray Park put on one of the best movie sword fights of all time. Even Hayden and Ewan looked far more capable than their pre-1985 counterparts.
Another example is Taken, with Liam Neeson. It wasn't an MA movie with a martial arts star. However, he would have looked right at home in the title role of a Seagal movie. Neeson came off looking every bit as deadly as any of the big action stars of the eighties and he is far from in his prime.
The fact is that standards of movie martial arts are very different now. The original Karate Kid was a standout movie and Morita looked excellent in the part. Machio looked like an uncoordinated kid with less than a year of MA training by the end of the movie. The story was wonderfully told and is a timeless one.
The Karate Kid was designed to tell the story of a mentor and a student and the bond that developed between them. It was not intended as vehicle for Ralph Machio to step into MA/action roles.
Hopefully, the new movie will have retained the elements that made the original movie a great movie. Somehow, though I doubt it.
Daniel
However, I'll take the original over the remake sight unseen.
No way to make a kid look polished and sharp in such a short amount of time (assuming that the new movie's time line of events is the same as the old), so Ralph was more believable.
Also, standards of martial arts in non MA movies today are drastically different (Keep in mind that the original Karate Kid was a drama, not a martial arts movie). Look at the first three Star Wars movies. Not MA movies, but space opera. Star Wars lightsaber fights in the original movies ranged from highly conservative (Guinness and Prowse) to downright uncoordinated (every time Mark Hamill did anything weapons related he looked uncoordinated), and by contrast, Neeson and Ray Park put on one of the best movie sword fights of all time. Even Hayden and Ewan looked far more capable than their pre-1985 counterparts.
Another example is Taken, with Liam Neeson. It wasn't an MA movie with a martial arts star. However, he would have looked right at home in the title role of a Seagal movie. Neeson came off looking every bit as deadly as any of the big action stars of the eighties and he is far from in his prime.
The fact is that standards of movie martial arts are very different now. The original Karate Kid was a standout movie and Morita looked excellent in the part. Machio looked like an uncoordinated kid with less than a year of MA training by the end of the movie. The story was wonderfully told and is a timeless one.
The Karate Kid was designed to tell the story of a mentor and a student and the bond that developed between them. It was not intended as vehicle for Ralph Machio to step into MA/action roles.
Hopefully, the new movie will have retained the elements that made the original movie a great movie. Somehow, though I doubt it.
Daniel
You're right it didn't and has nothing on the original.
Yea Will Smiths lad does look like he trained longer but like mentioned before the original was never about turning a kid in to a martial arts super fighter... it was just about that bond and friendship from teacher - student, standing up for yourself without the need to prove anything and dealing with bullies.
Yea Will Smiths lad does look like he trained longer but like mentioned before the original was never about turning a kid in to a martial arts super fighter... it was just about that bond and friendship from teacher - student, standing up for yourself without the need to prove anything and dealing with bullies.
I enjoyed the remake tremendously, although I still prefer the original. As has been discussed, Daniel-san had only a few months of training and looked like it in the end.
Cha-Dre only had a few months of training and he turned into a super-uber ninja with a chinese shirt.
I still enjoyed it.
Cha-Dre only had a few months of training and he turned into a super-uber ninja with a chinese shirt.
I still enjoyed it.
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I just don't like remakes for the most part, especially the classics that can't be out done (an example: who is going to outdo Arnold in a remake of Conan?)
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[FONT="]空手[/FONT] Empty hand versus hard work. Hmmmm.I just don't like remakes for the most part, especially the classics that can't be out done (an example: who is going to outdo Arnold in a remake of Conan?)
But let's get to the real crux of the matter! This is really a 'round-a-bout' question about KARATE VS. KUNG FU! Who's better? Let's get into it!
I do hard work with empty hands on a daily basis. Since I cannot do the hard work without my empty hands, I'll vote for empty hands.
or...
唐手 China hand versus hard work. Hmmmm.
Well, working hard is productive and good for society, something that many Chinese with hands do on a daily basis. Since most Chinese citizens need their hands to perform their hard work, again, China hand wins.
Daniel
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Tighties??
ap Oweyn
Brown Belt
Man, that's a whole new, big kettle of fish. As a big fan of the original stories (as well as the Arnie movie), I'd like to see 300-style Gerard Butler play Conan as King of Aquilonia.
Just about any Mr. Universe will do.
Sean
I agree; 99.9% of the time, the classics really can't be outdone. Kind of what makes them classics.
If tastefully done with an eye towards bringing the story to a new generation, it can be good, but for some reason, it rarely is. The remake of Clash of the Titans is a good example. With all of the powerful visual effects at their disposal and a powerful performance from Liam Neeson, the movie was, frankly, terrible (my opinion) and Sam Worthington was absolutely wrong for the part. The drastic changes in the story that studios just can't seem to resist killed the movie the rest of the way.
As for who could outdo Arnold in Conan, it would have to be a very different movie. The Conan movies were made around Schwarzenegger to such an extent that Arnold's Conan is really a very different Conan than the one in the books. Who else can deliver the line, "To crush the enemy, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women" better than Arnold?
Daniel
The remake isn't bad, but I think they ought to have waited a few years. The basic story line; the romance, saving him from the other kids, all that, works better with 16-18 year olds than with a bunch of 12 year olds.
I lost all respect for this movie when I saw the preview where Jackie Chan is mixing it up and doing all those cool moves with 'whoosh' sound effects.... fighting twelve year olds.
At least Johny and the other Cobra Kai black belts were six to ten inches taller than Pat Morita in the original. Of course, they were all eighteen too. Watching a senior citizen whoop a bunch of eighteen year old karate black belts who train in a 'no mercy' school told the viewer that that senior citizen was not to be trifled with. Chan fending off twelve year olds is just pathetic.
Daniel
Hey, don't underestimate those 12-year olds! That scene reminds me of a typical Saturday afternoon in my back yard when my 12-year-old son and all his buddies attack me with their nerf-swords.
BTW my son and I enjoyed the new movie. For what it's worth, I never really liked Ralph Macchio as Daniel-san in the original. On the other hand, the original character of Mr. Miyagi was classic... what all of us were looking for in a Sensei or Sifu.
I was never overly crazy about Ralph either, but he fit the part of the awkward tormented kid quite well.
Morita was indeed classic.
Daniel
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Both were excellent movies, despite the differences in skills, etc.
On a skill level, there's absolutely no question, that the combination of Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith has a much better skill set than the combination of Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. On the matter of athleticism, there's once again, no comparison. From a pure display of skills, the new tandem displays a much higher level.
Still, most of us could probably more easily relate to Ralph Macchio's character of Daniel LaRusso, since most of us probably didn't have nearly the same level of athleticism that Jaden Smith has. Also, by keeping the story in the USA, and not dealing with other cultures, one could focus on the development of Daniel LaRusso as a Karate-ka, and a student, and not as someone adjusting to a country's new culture.
If anything, this gave Karate Kid II a good storyline, that can't really be re-hashed if / when the team of Smith and Chan make a sequel.
On a skill level, there's absolutely no question, that the combination of Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith has a much better skill set than the combination of Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. On the matter of athleticism, there's once again, no comparison. From a pure display of skills, the new tandem displays a much higher level.
Still, most of us could probably more easily relate to Ralph Macchio's character of Daniel LaRusso, since most of us probably didn't have nearly the same level of athleticism that Jaden Smith has. Also, by keeping the story in the USA, and not dealing with other cultures, one could focus on the development of Daniel LaRusso as a Karate-ka, and a student, and not as someone adjusting to a country's new culture.
If anything, this gave Karate Kid II a good storyline, that can't really be re-hashed if / when the team of Smith and Chan make a sequel.
