Taking another original from 1984 and the remake from 2010, albeit not as frightening as the Krueger films, comes an action-drama centered around a young man who desires to learn karate to take revenge on a group of bullies who has made his integration into the new neighborhood a living hell. He will face more internal struggles than he's willing to admit as well as the external battles he must face against his opponents. All under the tutelage and guidance of a wise, old sensei, who teaches him to understand the importance of using karate for making peace, not for war.
SYNOPSIS (1984): A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.
SYNOPSIS (2010): Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.
DIRECTOR: John G. Avildsen vs. Harald Zwart
One look at the filmography of both directors and it's hard to compare one who directed an earlier critically-acclaimed film in Rocky to one who's known for movies like the forgettable Agent Cody Banks and the even more forgettable sequel to the modern remake of The Pink Panther. But, try as we may, let's take a look at each director's take on The Karate Kid.
Both directors shot their films well, from establishing wide shots to get a feel for the setting in which each film was placed, to the needed close-ups for the more private emotional moments between the characters. The editing and choreography of the fight scenes were well done and shot in a way that made me feel a part of the action.
It's difficult to pinpoint any one thing that either director did extremely well or very poorly. That being said, I think I'd have to give the edge to Avildsen simply for directing in another beloved film series in Rocky.
WINNER: Original, John G. Avildsen
SCREENPLAY: Robert Mark Kamen vs. Christopher Murphey
I hate to criticize the remake for anything, but this one point is hard to overlook. Taking the original story and screenplay and centering it around a 12-year-old in the remake was hard to swallow. I didn't much care for following the struggles of a prepubescent boy nor did I feel any sympathy for him at all.
Another detail to the remake that was different than the original was that in the 2010 film, it was set in China rather than the United States. Not a big oversight in and of itself. But because the original master of karate was Japanese and the remake was filmed in China, they had to use a Chinese master. Which, again, doesn't make any difference to the overall success or failure of either film.
However, if you know anything about martial arts, karate is a Japanese artform, meaning "empty hand." So they had to change the style of martial arts completely in the remake to the Chinese style of kung fu, literally translated "merit master." The average moviegoer might not care about that little detail; but I can almost guarantee that any avid martial artist would care to go see a movie entitled The Karate Kid and actually see karate.
I'm a fan of any style of martial art myself. And actually prefer the faster-paced, more articulate style of kung fu over karate. But for the purposes of critiquing these films, I have to take note. I do think, though, that for the showcase of martial arts in the films, the remake did a better job of giving us more of a sample of the style in the various kicks, punches, grabs & holds, and locks & throws than the original did.
Maybe I'm just such a sucker for martial arts that I tend to gravitate toward the faster-paced styles. That crane kick at the end of the original though. Iconic, to say the least.
WINNER: Original, Robert Mark Kamen
CAST/ACTING: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elizabeth Shue vs. Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson
This may be the first time that the cast of characters are as closely well-known than any other film we've looked at up to this point.
In the original, you have Ralph Macchio playing Daniel (famous for his role as in The Outsiders), Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi (one of the most titular characters in cinema), and Elizabeth Shue (who has made numerous supporting appearances in many films as an adult). Macchio and Morita are most famous for their respective roles in all three of The Karate Kid films; Morita doing most of his acting work on the small screen for TV episodes as well as TV movies.
In the remake, you have Jaden Smith (his supporting roles in films like The Pursuit of Happyness alongside his father Will Smith, and The Day the Earth Stood Still not withstanding, he's probably most well-known for his inability to act in the M. Night Shyamalan disaster After Earth--even Will Smith couldn't save that piece of crap), Jackie Chan taking the role of Mr. Han (Chan is the most famous Hong Kong international movie star ever, and is famous for countless films for doing all of his own stunt work), and Taraji P. Henson (recently most well-known for her small screen roles in series like Person of Interest and Empire).
And the acting is actually pretty close too. Morita and Chan perfect their roles as master very well. Chan, however, I think had a slight advantage due to the surprising dramatic performance that's not typical of his career. He's usually carefree and energetic as he choreographs all of his fight scenes, quick to include humor in his craft.
But to play Mr. Han was a challenge, I'm sure. Mr. Han was a emotionally troubled man. Mr. Miyagi was troubled in his own right; but the story of Mr. Han takes it one step further in being the sole responsible factor in the tragedy that befell him. And that backstory takes center stage in one particular scene when Dre (Jaden Smith) walks in on a drunk Mr. Han taking a sledgehammer to his car that he keeps in his living room. My vote for the best scene in the whole movie!
As I stated earlier in the previous section of the screenplay, to center the remake around a 12-year-old rather than a high school senior really took my attention away from the story. It's not really Smith's fault for that, and he did as well as he could have. But Smith didn't have to play him as whiny and as arrogant as he did.
WINNER: Tie....too close to call
MUSIC/SCORE: Bill Conti vs. James Horner
Wow, I can't believe it was James Horner! What a shock!
While I can't, in all fairness, pick the remake in this category just for Horner's name alone, it's hard to choose the original just because...well, it's early 80s music. Each had it's own use for the music; the original had a more personal touch with classic Japanese instruments in a couple of the pieces whereas the remake used modern hip hop, techno, and rap selections to emphasize the upbeat nature of kung fu. They even did a Chinese remix of the Gorillaz 'Dirty Harry.'
It's sad that Horner's return to composing the score for this film was foreshadowed by the heavy hip hop soundtrack that was the backdrop for a lot of movie. I would have enjoyed more of the score myself; certainly with a name like Horner you can make better use of him than put him in the background.
I might have voted for the remake had it not been for that.
WINNER: Original, Bill Conti
The Karate Kid (1984):
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90% or 6.9/10 average rating
- IMDb.com: 7.2/10 from 115,968 users
- Metacritic: none
- Rotten Tomatoes: 66% or 6.2/10 average rating
- IMDb.com: 6.2/10 from 111,888 users
- Metacritic: 61/100
I have to admit, I didn't expect the critics or viewers to like the remake as much as they did. I can't really say what I attribute the decent ratings too, although I'm sure it has something to do with the legend Jackie Chan acting in a legendary role in an outstanding way.
But, Chan couldn't carry the whole movie...which he almost did, in my opinion.
Nothing can top the beloved character of Mr. Miyagi and, no matter how difficult his struggles, he never failed to teach young Daniel-san the true meaning of the way of karate. He did it with such seamless effort and movement, you couldn't help but almost be hypnotized by him every time he was on screen.
Well done, Miyagi. Be at peace.
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