Screenplay Written by Christopher Murphey
Based upon "The Karate Kid" (1984) Screenplay Written by Robert Mark Kamen
Directed by Harald Zwart
** (two stars)
Forgive me for the title of this review but I could not resist.
The entire idea of remakes is a tricky one and at times, it is an idea that is difficult to defend. On one hand, it can completely illustrate the lack of originality that Hollywood has often, and rightly, been criticized of. But then, there is this following point to be made...I don’t believe that remakes, as a rule, are invalid. I mean, for an example, should Shakespeare's plays have only been performed once? Sometimes, within remakes, art is prevalent in ways that perhaps the original did not present. Or there are eternal themes within the original source material that warrant a revisiting for current generations, audiences or even differing cultures.
That said, if one were to remake a previously produced work, there is the grand matter of what exactly to remake. With regards to movies, many critics and viewers, including myself, have typically felt that perhaps the best choices one could have for remaking a film is to take a movie that wasn’t very good in the first place or at least, mediocre at best. Why for any reason at all would anyone bother to touch the greats?
In the case of this summer’s remake of “The Karate Kid,” Directed by Harald Zwart, I initially felt myself to be resistant to a vehement degree. It was a film that seemed to be completely unnecessary as the original 1984 film starring Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita as the iconic Mr. Miyagi was a massive box office hit that earned significant critical acclaim, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and even spawned three sequels (although the less said about those, the better). The point is that the original version is not an obscure feature and I could not see how they could actually improve upon something that was already so beloved. Also it is not as if the film has vanished from the face of the Earth so a new one just had to be made to take its place. I could not fathom that aside from the film studio’s bottom line, what reason there could have been to remake this film at all. Now having seen the new version, I have to admit that while Zwart did indeed craft a film that is better than it really has any right to be, this version is unfortunately an overlong, sluggishly paced affair that will do nothing to erase the vividly grand memories of the original film.
The basic plot elements from the 1984 original have carried themselves over to the 2010 remake. Jaden Smith stars as twelve-year-old Dre Parker, who moves to Beijing from Detroit with his Mother, Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson) after she has been transferred through her auto industry employment. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Dre quickly develops a crush upon Mei Ying (an absolutely adorable Wen Wen Han), a young violinist and runs afoul of her family friend, neighborhood bully and kung fu prodigy Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), who publicly beats him and continuously harasses him in school. After a moment of retaliation and a speedy foot chase through the streets, Dre is rescued from a pummeling by Cheng and his gang by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the enigmatic and quiet maintenance man of Dre’s apartment building. Once Mr. Han and Dre unsuccessfully attempt to peacefully arrange a truce with Cheng and his sadistic kung fun instructor Master Li (Yu Rongguang), Mr. Han offers to personally teach Dre the ways of kung fu so he will be able to compete against Li’s students in an upcoming tournament. Master Li agrees to the challenge and Mr. Han and Dre begin the arduous training process where a new friendship and understanding is born between the two unlikely soulmates.
In addition to the plot similarities, the themes of the original version are effectively contained in Zwart’s version of “The Karate Kid” as well. Ample time is ensuring that messages of honor, developing one's focus, the building of outer and inner strength, maintaining resolve in the face of unrelenting adversity, patience, discipline and the utilization of the martial arts as a guiding life force instead of as a violent tool are all intact and conveyed clearly. The relationship between Dre and Mr. Han also closely mirrors the relationship of the original film’s Daniel and Mr. Miyagi as both figures become surrogate family members for each other, healing the pain caused by the deaths of Fathers, wives and children. And the final battle, where Dre faces off with various members of Master Li’s students and leading up to the inevitable face off between himself and Cheng, is note for note from the original.
Yet, there are some (minor) changes to be had, in order to try and make this new version somehow and somewhat stand on its own. The change in location from the original’s California to China, almost makes this new film version a hybrid of the original film and "The Karate Kid Part II" (1986), which was set in Okinawa. The locations and cinematography give the film a grand epic sweep and stunning visual presentation. The iconic instructional command of “Wax On/Wax Off” has been replaced with a curt “Jacket On/Jacket Off,” which is in reference to Dre’s habitual insolence regarding the hanging up of his jacket.
All of this is handled fairly well, yet it is a film that could have utilized a major amount of tightening as it runs a very long two hours and twenty minutes for no apparent reason. Another issue I had with the film is the staging of the fight sequences, which I felt were poorly handled. As with the action sequences of Director Paul Greengrass’ “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) and “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), Zwart's fight scenes all exhibit the heavily edited and hyperkinetic style of current combat cinematography where the camera is turbulently placed in close-ups. This is a technique of modern cinema that I just cannot stand as it robs the viewer of seeing the fullness of the meticulous martial arts choreography or even being able to follow the story of the fights. Think of the fight sequences of The Wachowski Brothers’ “Matrix” trilogy or Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) or Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” series or perhaps as a better comparison, Jackie Chan’s own filmography. All of those selections celebrate the body, the athleticism, the musicality, the grace and fury of the martial arts that nearly always makes for exhilarating viewing. Yet, with “The Karate Kid,” it was a creative misstep that often proved to be frustrating.
And then, the casting of Jaden Smith and the character of Dre Parker was, sadly, a major obstacle. Now don’t worry, dear readers, I am certainly not going to verbally insult or beat up on this child. To be fair, Jaden Smith is a very handsome child actor that the camera obviously loves. The physical nature of his casting, with his thin frame and slightly shorter stature in comparison to his child cast mates works extremely well to set up the dilemma the character of Dre Parker faces in regards to schoolyard bullying and the mounting pressure of feeling afraid and conquering those fears. The problem is that Smith is just not much of an actor yet and perhaps having him carry an entire feature, where is on screen for most of its aforementioned mammoth running time, is unfair. Of course, there is a certain appeal to his rawness. However, he just does not have the range and depth of emotions at his disposal just yet and his considerable natural charm just is not enough. He carries the same sleepy eyed expression on his face from one end of the film to another and it does nothing to embody the soulfulness of a character who, as written, is often an insufferable lazy brat.
That weakness also damages the central relationship of the film between himself and Mr. Han. I just didn’t see much chemistry between Smith and Jackie Chan, who does pull off some nice work in a more nuanced role. Also, the past tragedy of Mr. Han while not a surprise at all, is not revealed that well, making what could have been a scene of heartbreak into a scene of shameless Oscar bait. All of these criticisms and the feeling I had while watching goes straight to the core of why I was so apprehensive about this film in the first place.
The elephant in the room as far as “The Karate Kid” is concerned, is, again, the reason why they made this film at all. I wish I knew exactly what it was that made the studio, Zwart and film producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith decide that something so celebrated needed a touch-up. Does Jaden Smith really desire an acting career in film or was this movie just the type of extravagant gift from parents to children that only exists in the Hollywood dream factory? Again and again, I ask: What was the purpose? Yes, it is entertaining. Yes, it is well-made and handsomely produced. Yes, every penny seems to be placed upon the screen. There are no bad performances and everyone seems to be having a good time and working to the best of their abilities in the process. But is all of that good enough to necessitate a remake?
Not much was added to make the film unique and all of the exquisite grace notes of the original film were just not anywhere to be seen. Going back to the title of this review for a moment. During one of the many training sequences in the film where Mr. Han is attempting to have Dre find his chi, he explains tenderly and with gravity that kung fu exists in all of the world, all of the time and in everything we perform. I thought about that as I watched and remembered the 1984 original.
Now, truth be told, I have not seen the original version of “The Karate Kid” in over 25 years and I will concede to the possibility that if I were to watch it today, I may see the cracks that I did not see when I was 15 years old. But, what I do remember, as clear as any moment or memory of this very day, was how that original film made me feel as I watched. The direct, accessible storytelling merged with the wonderful imagery, the pulsing emotional connection between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi and exciting fight sequences created a film experience for me that I just have not forgotten. Additionally, the exuberant emotional release I felt upon the conclusion was as rousing a moment in cinema as I have seen in any movie. Those feelings were, in essence, the kung fu of the original film.
With this particular remake, with all of its talk and energy devoted to bestowing the mysteries and importance of kung fu, it is just disheartening that the final result contained not nearly enough of it. And while I know this was a gigantic box office hit this summer, I have a feeling that the only real cheering of excitement to be heard was from the mouths of the studio bean counters and executives who orchestrated this needless filmed deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment