Before people question me, yes I have seen the 1984 film and I like it very much. I was not sure whether I wanted to see this remake. Now I have seen some good remakes like Thief of Baghdad, and some awful ones like Psycho, and I was worried that The Karate Kid would turn out like Psycho or The Wicker Man. Also I saw a lot of hate for The Karate Kid even before it got released, people criticising Jaden Smith and that it would ruin the original.
After seeing it with my family, I actually liked this. It isn't brilliant, but it is much better than people make it out to be on here. The story is very loose and updated with the bully theme still intact along with a love interest, and while it wasn't boring or bad as such it didn't always wow or excite me. I also felt the beginning dragged a bit, but my main flaw is the length, at two-and-a-half hours it was much too long.
However, the pacing overall is snappy and the scripting was credible. The Karate Kid is also assuredly directed, while the score is beautiful, the scenery is absolutely stunning and the kung fu is amazing. And contrary to what others have said the acting wasn't that bad I thought. Jaden Smith surprised me. Admittedly I was worried, I feared he was too small and too young for the role, but he handles the choreography well and actually shows some acting range. Jackie Chan was a surprise too. I do prefer Pat Morita's more wiser and sympathetic Miyagi, but Chan does do some incredible stunts and showed real emotion in the touching scene when he smashes up the car and tells Dre the story of the woman and child. Taraji P.Henson is also credible, Zhenwei Wang is a great Cheng and Wenwen Han was lovely and cute as Meiying.
Overall, for a remake The Karate Kid was not that bad. It isn't brilliant, but it could have been worse. 7/10 Bethany Cox
