The Karate Kid (2010) - 9 stars out of 10

The Karate Kid (2010) - 9 stars out of 10

How can you compare any movie to the original Karate Kid? Fortunately, you do not have to with this remake. The newest version of the Karate Kid is not a remake as much as it is a re-imagining of a classic story. The writers of this film were smart to make is so different that little comparison could take place. With a different setting, different characters, different ages of characters, and using Kung Fu in place of Karate, this movie completely seperates itself from the original. Jaden Smith is just incredible, again bringing raw emotion to the screen and forming an immediate connection with the viewer. All of his fighting is kick-butt and I had to keep reminding myself on the ride home that the fighting in the tournament was not real. For the duration of the movie, I never considered that they were not actually fighting each other. The emotion in Jackie Chan's performance really surprised me, especially in the car scene. The first few scenes make you expect an unemotional performance that would be saved by his incredible martial arts, but then he lit up the screen as I never imagined that he could. The teaching sequence was great, and I was glad that they came up with new ideas and didn't rip off "wax on, wax off" from the original. A lot of people look toward "The Karate Kid" with skepticism because it is a remake but when you finally give it a chance, you'll find that it was one of the best films of the summer and that you won't feel like you won't have to choose between the original and the remake.