I defy you to find an 80’s child who doesn’t recognize it when someone poses for the “Crane Kick.” The move was made legendary when it was used to win the “All Valley Karate Championship” at the end of 1984’s The Karate Kid. The film was the beginning of a franchise that became an institution for tons of teens during that decade, and now they’ve gone and remade it.
The reboot stars Jackie Chan as “Mr. Han” and Jaden Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still and Will Smith’s son), as “Dre Parker.” It’s an updated story that takes the setting from Southern California to Beijing. Mr. Han will be teaching Dre karate (or maybe it will be kung-fu – most American audiences don’t know the difference) and putting him through workouts that might strain Jean Claude van Damme.
The movie also features Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Dre’s mother and has Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2, One Night at McCool’s) in the director’s chair. I have to admit there are a couple of cute and funny moments in the trailer, all involving Chan’s interaction with Smith.
There’s even a nice nod to the fly-catching scene in the original film. The only problem I see so far is that the “Crane Kick” seems to have been replaced with a high-splits kick – which just isn’t as cool.
Check out the trailer and let us know what you think.
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Actually, at one point you can see a shadow of someone in first form for the crane kick.
That isn’t a problem, though; with every remake, you expect some original elements to be scrubbed. As for karate being replaced with kung fu, the “who’s going to notice” argument might have worked in the 80’s (emphasis on might), but regardless of whether anyone recognizes it or not, fans of the original Will be upset if actual karate is not used; and I suspect many martial artists will scratch their heads at a movie called “The Karate Kid” wherein actual karate is replaced with … well, anything else. Underestimating the audience is never a winning strategy.
My big issue is Jackie Chan’s apparent assertion in the trailer that “The only way to stop them is to face them”. In the original movie, Daniel had to convince Miyagi to train him, not the other way around. Right up to the last match of the tournament, Miyagi was telling Daniel that he didn’t have to fight and it was Daniel insisting that fighting was the only way to get any respect. And again, in the second movie, the Miyagi family’s rules for karate are revealed: Number One, karate is for defense only; Number Two, first learn Rule Number One. I know it’s one line from one trailer, but it makes it seem as if the entire philosophy on which the series was built has been turned upside down.
This is why I (generally) hate remakes.