TRAILER PARK: The Karate Kid (2010)

The original 1984 Karate Kid was one of those childhood movies that left an indelible impression on me, as a kid growing up in the '80s. In some ways it was my generation's Enter The Dragon, introducing us to the world of martial arts and action cinema. It was also a pretty decent human drama about overcoming bullying, full of classic moments and dialogue that have entered pop-culture (i.e. Family Guy will reference it for an easy laugh.) There were three sequels that nosedived in quality (one starring future-Oscar winner Hilary Swank!), but the original remains a surprisingly robust and emotive movie. It's Rocky for the under-12's, basically. You can read my review of the original here, if you're interested. A remake has been on the cards for awhile, but now it's frightening reality...

Will Smith's son Jaden (last seen in I Am Legend playing, er, Will Smith's son), takes the lead in this remake from director Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2, Agent Cody Banks), with chopsocky legend Jackie Chan taking on the iconic role of sensei Mr. Miyagi (ahem, now known as Mr. Han). I quite like the idea of Chan being involved in this film, actually -- he may lack Morita's quiet intensity and quirky charm, but he'll undoubtedly be a lot handier with the actual fighting. I'm not keen on the idea of Jaden Smith still, mainly because he's so much younger than Ralph Macchio's character -- so, instead of the subtext being about becoming an independent man (first car, first girlfriend), it's now likely to be about stopping a gang of playground bullies. Pure and simple. I'm guessing the filmmaker's are going after the kids who are unlikely to have seen the '84 original repeated on television yet.

There's a half-decent tweak to the basic story, I guess. This time, the "Karate Kid" and his single mom have moved to China, so in some ways this remake is combining the original with its immediate Okinawa-set sequel. I'm also glad they appeared to have kept a few key ideas from the original; like Miyagi Han using everyday routines to teach his student fighting techniques via the "muscle memory" of, say, putting a jacket on. It's not quite "wax on, wax off" of "paint the fence" in its beauty and plausibility, but I guess it'll do. The final joke in the trailer, a twist on the original's scene where Miyagi was trying to catch a fly inbetween chopsticks, also earned a little giggle from me. And yes, even with hack director Zwart behind the camera, I daresay the fight sequences will be better than ever before, and Jaden Smith looks more physically competent than Macchio ever did.

I guess what I'm saying is simple: based solely on this trailer, I'm predicting The Karate Kid remake will be fairly mediocre (certainly a pale imitation of the '80s cult classic of fleeting popularity), but the presence of Chan, the athleticism of Jaden, and a few fun injokes may be enough to transform it into disposable fun for old fans. Just so long as it all boils down to another amusingly "undefendable" Crane Kick, right? SWEEP THE LEG!