I loved the original 1984 martial arts film The Karate Kid and I am not sure how I feel about them loosely remaking it. The Karate Kid remake is scheduled to be released in Theaters on June 11, 2010.
It is Directed by Harald Zwart and is being produced by Will Smith. This new Karate Kid stars Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.
Oddly it's principal photography has taken place in Beijing, China. According to Will Smith the Karate Kid remake "has been refashioned as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith" and it will "borrow elements from the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor."
Unlike the original 1984 movie, The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid 2010 remake does not feature the modern interpretation of Okinawan Karate, which is a huge departure from the original 1984 Karate Kid martial art film.
It seems that its title is somewhat misleading. This new martial arts film focuses on a boy learning kung fu in China.
According to Jacki Chan the cast members have made references to the movie as The Kung Fu Kid and he believes the film will only be called Karate Kid in America, and Kung Fu Kid in Asia.
This new Karate Kid will contain subtle references to the original Karate Kid movie, such as the famous fly catching scene but Chan's character ends up swatting it instead.
Now, I am a big fan of kung fu movies and Jackie Chan is one of my top ten martial arts movie stars, but until I watched the trailer below I was a bit unsure of how I felt about this Karate Kid remake being Kung fu based.
I think they should have gone ahead and released it as the Kung Fu Kid here in the US. It does look like it could be a very good martial arts movie, but let's not try to recreate a classic. It never seems to go well.
Instead, They would have been better off working this in as some continuation of the original story line.
On Fathers Day I went to the movies and watched the new Karate Kid remake. It was a surprise hit for me. I will post my review soon..
Jun 10, 2010 Rating
Opens Tomorrow by: Kuma
Just wanted to let those of you who may not know. The new Karate Kid Movie is releasing in theaters tomorrow June 11, 2010. Once you see it stop by and let us know your thoughts.
