Movie Review - The Karate Kid? Or is it the Kung Fu Kid?

Yet another remake hits the cinemas as this year's version of the 1984 movie The Karate Kid makes it to the big screen. The movie stars Will Smith Jr, Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. As far as casting goes I'm happy. One thing that I'm not happy about though is the title. The Karate Kid? Isn't this movie filmed in China?

I'd like to think that audiences have become a little more informed in the information age and know that Japan and China are two different countries. Just like Kung Fu and Karate are two completely different kinds of martial arts. I can't help but feel it's the whole "Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, what's the difference exactly? All you Asians look alike" stereotype by Hollywood.

Really? Common this is 2010, nobody bothered to Google this? Apparently is it called The Kung Fu Kid in China and Best Kid in Korea and Japan. Maybe its the Silat Kid in Malaysia and the Ju Jitsu kid in Brazil?

As a movie though I found it very entertaining. Jaden Smith is a very good actor for his age. His character was very believable and I'm sure he's all set to walk in his dad's footsteps. All the way to getting the girl as he has an on screen kiss in this movie. This was also a much better movie for Jackie Chan after playing a babysitting spy. The action was good and the new take of wax on, wax off worked.

Some parts of the movie were a little cliche though. Like during the tournament they made it look like it was Street Fighter or something. The problem with adding tacky scenes like that is that it can ruin the believability of the movie. From actually buying the story and characters as "real" you are suddenly reminded "Oh yeah this a movie".

Overall it was good though not ground breaking. So if you were a fan of the original movie don't expect a like of like adaptation and you might enjoy this one.

My Movie Review Rating is 3.5/5