I don't particularly feel the need to see it, but it doesn't actually look like a bad movie. I haven't seen the original, and don't know how it compares. But while this feels like a somewhat sad metric to measure movies by, I like that it manages to avoid white people without feeling like an "ethnic" movie.
Also, I liked the scene with the fly. I'm assuming the original had an actual "grab a fly with chopsticks" scene.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Against my will, I kinda of like the look of the trailer. Different enough to not be a flat remake, Jackie Chan seems to have dropped some of his usual goofiness, and what can I say? I'm a sucker for pretty martial arts on screen. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Raymond Arnold: I'm assuming the original had an actual "grab a fly with chopsticks" scene.
I loved the original, and the "remake" (which looks so different I don't know that it should be called that) doesn't look like my cup of tea at all. *shrug*
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
HATE.
Posted by happymann (Member # 9559) on :
LOVE.
Posted by Darth_Mauve (Member # 4709) on :
Sorry, I enjoy all Jackie Chan movies. I will have to see this one too.
It is not a remake, as the location and moves appear to be different. The original was about weaving the Asian (Korean more than Chinese or Japanese) influence into American culture. This appears to be more about weaving American culture into the Chinese culture.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
INDIFFERENT. This falls in my category of "I may go see this at the discount theatre, on dollar day, if I have nothing better to do".
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Doesn't look quite as stupid as I thought it would. Of course, I expected it to look pretty damn awful.
The fighting looks more like kung-fu than karate though, but who cares?
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
It actually looks like it might, just might, maybe, possibly, not be a terrible movie.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I kinda like it.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
*Sigh*
But I guess it looks a bit better than Dragonball Evolution
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It looks like it might not be bad. I'm not sure I'd call it a remake either. Feels a lot more like a recreation, or a heavily influenced homage. Too many of the elements are different.
The original, and the sequel where they go to Okinawa (the third movie, and The Next Karate Kid, never happened), are classics from my childhood, so nothing will ever beat them.
But this looks okay. Smith looks like he worked pretty hard to get the martial arts down, and Jackie Chan doesn't look like a goofball. I don't think he'll be able to match Morita's Mr. Miyagi, but we'll see. I might check this out.
I will say, that I'd love it if they did a fight montage with "You're the Best Around" during the tournament.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The original, and the sequel where they go to Okinawa (the third movie, and The Next Karate Kid, never happened), are classics from my childhood, so nothing will ever beat them.
Completely agree.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
So Jackie Chan has gone from fighting Benny "The Jet" Urquidez to picking on a couple scrappy tweens. How inspiring.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
The full post of this kinda sums up my thoughts on that issue
quote:Rumours about a remake involving Will Smith and his son Jaden had been swirling for more than a year but talk died down after Smith’s publicist issued a denial. Now that the rumours have turned out to be true, I wonder if another part of the early talk — that Jackie Chan will be taking the “Mr. Miyagi” role — will also come to fruition. As a longtime fan of Jackie Chan’s work, I hope that this portion of the rumour is false because, if he takes part in the project, I think his career will effectively “jump the shark”. The idea of Jackie Chan doing a version of “Mr. Miyagi” makes me think of sad sights in sports like David Beckham going to America to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Michael Jordan putting on a Washington Wizards uniform, Emmitt Smith signing with the Arizona Cardinals and Wayne Gretzky playing for the St. Louis Blues. Though there may have been good arguments for all those moves, they each signalled to fans that these once dominant figures in their respective sports were no longer great. If Jackie Chan pulls a “Mr. Miyagi”, fans who have been admiring his work since his DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW days will look back years from now and say to themselves that this is when Big Brother Jackie moved on to the “senior tour” portion of his career.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The original, and the sequel where they go to Okinawa (the third movie, and The Next Karate Kid, never happened), are classics from my childhood, so nothing will ever beat them.
...Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!
I like the players. I'll wait for reviews. Please tell me it isn't actually remotely common for people to name their children "Dre".
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I liked what I saw of Jackie Chan in the trailer. I thought the mustache made him look very mainland. In fact, I'm a bit like Porter in that I kinda liked the whole trailer.
I think the concept of bringing an American to China and forcing him/her to adjust to the Asian way of life feels better than what the original film conceived.
Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
Like alot of the other posters, Im happy that it isnt an out and out redo, but that doesnt keep me from having some reservations. I dont see the point in the story using pre-pubescants, they grow faster than many movies shoot, it can be difficult to find capable young actors and they lack alot of room for story telling that someone only a couple of years older have available. While Im surprised that they set it in China and that they have Jackie Chan pulling some major international audiances.... is it still Karate Kid? realisticly Chan would be teaching him kung fu. I wonder if that will come up over time as the film nears debut, it would have been much more controversial if Chan had taken up the role of Mr. Miyagi (a Japanese character played by a Japanese man,) but then again only Japan noticed when Memoirs of a Geisha sported an all chinese main cast.
Yeah, so I dont like movies with children as the main characters and this should probably be re-named to Kung Fu Kid. But whatever, I'll probably go see it just waiting for a joke about headbands.
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
quote:so I dont like movies with children as the main characters
Bwuh? That's pretty random. Just because it's harder to find younger actors they shouldn't do it? Unless you're actually shooting DURING puberty the amount of time you're shooting shouldn't be a problem (actual shooting often only takes a month or two). There are fewer good kid-actors, but there's plenty of bad adult actors. I don't know how good Jaden Smith is (the trailer has him spending a lot of time looking steely eyed and quiet, which he does a good job at but doesn't showcase much range), but he seemed at least decent.
Bottom line is, it's a story about a kid. Ergo, it needs to star a kid. This is important because a) kids like watching other kids on screen so they can identify with them, and b) because it's (at least partially) a coming of age tale, and you can't come of age if you're already an adult. You're not expanding your storytelling options if you refuse to cast a kid young enough to tell the story you wanted to tell in the first place.
On a different note, I wouldn't mind them calling it the Kung Fu Kid. It addition to being more accurate, it'd help distinguish it from the old one since it's already so different.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
quote:Originally posted by AchillesHeel: ... but then again only Japan noticed when Memoirs of a Geisha sported an all chinese main cast...
Eh ...
quote:Film industry officials and the Chinese state media said last week that government officials were worried that the public could be outraged by seeing three of the Chinese-language world's leading actresses portraying Japanese geishas.
The decision is a big setback for Sony Pictures, which planned to distribute the Columbia Pictures film here, as well as for the film's Chinese stars, Ziyi Zhang and Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh, a Malaysian-born actress also popular for her roles in China ...
quote:Memoirs of a Geisha is a case in point. Earlier this month, the government denied approval for the release of the Hollywood epic, citing "the current political situation". Officials feared that the film - in which the Chinese actress, Zhang Ziyi, plays the part of a Japanese geisha whose virginity is put up for sale in the 1930s - would become a focus of public anger towards Japan. The ban is thought to have been largely influenced by an online outcry. Many bloggers called Zhang a whore and a traitor.
"She is the most shameless Chinese woman in the world. I wonder whether she ever thought about the pain brought by the Sino-Japanese war," wrote one of the least offensive web critics.
But government censorship has only served to boost the pirate DVD business.
At a popular DVD shop in north-west Beijing, staff say they sell 60 copies of Memoirs every day, making it one of their top two moneymakers (along with Brokeback Mountain, which has also yet to win approval for release in China).
(Not that I particularly agree with them, but just sayin')
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
I will be seeing it, probably opening night. The original Karate Kid was good enought to see at least 4 revolting offsprings until I stop watching. They have 2 left.
Also, when I first heard the rumors about Jaden Smith playing the kid I really really REALLY hoped that Ralph Maccio would take the mentor role.
Although I like Jackie Chan, I think he will be pretty decent.
Which is also my guess for how the movie will be for me, pretty decent.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I dont like movies with children as the main characters
I too have problems with movies and TV shows that star children. It seems to me that becoming a star is one of the worst things that can happen to a child, and if I pay money for it, I'm complicit.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:I dont like movies with children as the main characters
I too have problems with movies and TV shows that star children. It seems to me that becoming a star is one of the worst things that can happen to a child, and if I pay money for it, I'm complicit.
Would you rather withhold your money and be complicit if they fail? Having already thrown themselves into the field, and paid the price, they now can't even bring home the laurels of success? Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
I think the trailer was pretty good. It looks like there's a lot more athleticism and better choreography than in the original movie. (Or it may be that the style is just more modern? Perhaps in another 20-30 years both movies will look equally quaint.)
quote:Originally posted by Mucus: The full post of this kinda sums up my thoughts on that issue
quote:Rumours about a remake involving Will Smith and his son Jaden had been swirling for more than a year but talk died down after Smith’s publicist issued a denial. Now that the rumours have turned out to be true, I wonder if another part of the early talk — that Jackie Chan will be taking the “Mr. Miyagi” role — will also come to fruition. As a longtime fan of Jackie Chan’s work, I hope that this portion of the rumour is false because, if he takes part in the project, I think his career will effectively “jump the shark”. The idea of Jackie Chan doing a version of “Mr. Miyagi” makes me think of sad sights in sports like David Beckham going to America to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Michael Jordan putting on a Washington Wizards uniform, Emmitt Smith signing with the Arizona Cardinals and Wayne Gretzky playing for the St. Louis Blues. Though there may have been good arguments for all those moves, they each signalled to fans that these once dominant figures in their respective sports were no longer great. If Jackie Chan pulls a “Mr. Miyagi”, fans who have been admiring his work since his DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW days will look back years from now and say to themselves that this is when Big Brother Jackie moved on to the “senior tour” portion of his career.
The way I'd put it is that while there might be some sort of tribal identity in the minds of the fans that imbues the acts of these athletes with special significance, what's really happening is that the athletes are playing for pay, and other than meeting the terms of their contracts have no special obligation to the tribe that should keep them in one place. You may come to love your mercenaries but that doesn't make them patriots. If they choose to sell their talents elsewhere it doesn't diminish their greatness, it proves that you imagined the part of their greatness that depended on tribal identity.
The same way, I think Jackie Chan is as talented (as "great") whether he chooses to imitate Mr Miyagi or not. I don't think he should be constrained by the expectations of his fans, and I think they are a bit silly if they think trying a different role somehow makes him less.
So that was my initial reaction.
However, it occurs to me that if the author is merely lamenting what will happen in the minds of the fans, that they will enjoy him less...then OK. As long as he doesn't think that Chan should be held accountable to that kind of standard.
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
quote:I too have problems with movies and TV shows that star children. It seems to me that becoming a star is one of the worst things that can happen to a child, and if I pay money for it, I'm complicit.
That makes slightly more sense than Achilles' reasoning, but while stardom can be particularly damaging to kids, a) it doesn't happen to all kids. The ones we hear about are the worst examples, b) it can happen to adults just as much, c) frankly I think there's plenty of things far worse that we as consumers enable.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
scifibum: I think I can understand where you're coming from regarding those sports figures and I am unqualified to comment on those. However, I think your assessment is off-base when it comes to his point about Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan has often done movies in Hollywood in the past and Forbidden Kingdom is specifically cited as a win of sorts. So it is not a East/West thing. He's also done different (e.g. dramatic) roles in the past. Shinjuku Incident is cited as a tentative win as well. So it is not just a matter of trying different roles.
I don't think the tribalism factor applies.
(Also, the author is not just lamenting that fans will enjoy him less. Rather, he is lamenting that the movie has "huge potential to be an box office bomb" and will subsequently drag down Jackie Chan along with it since he is at a vulnerable point in his career)
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
I see.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
quote:The fighting looks more like kung-fu than karate though, but who cares?
By titling the movie as they have, they've demonstrated that they care more about piggybacking the marketing of this film on the strength of the original, rather than the merits of the recreation. That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. They could just have easily have named the movie "The Kung Fu Kid" and most people would still draw the reference.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
It's an interesting take on the original concept, for sure. The execution looks rather formulaic, but I suppose it was a formula started by the original "Karate Kid."
Liked the shots of actual Beijing locations.
Not sure I buy Jackie Chan as a wise old mentor though. He'll always been the lovable, silly underdog character (who happens to kick ass at martial arts) in my mind - but then, "First Strike" was always my favorite of his movies.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:That makes slightly more sense than Achilles' reasoning, but while stardom can be particularly damaging to kids, a) it doesn't happen to all kids. The ones we hear about are the worst examples, b) it can happen to adults just as much, c) frankly I think there's plenty of things far worse that we as consumers enable
A) I don't see how that makes anything OK.
B) Yeah, but when it happens to adults, not only is it something that they've decided for themselves in a way that child stars are unable to, they'll hopefully be more equipped to handle it.
C) Again, I don't see how this ameliorates it at all.
quote:Would you rather withhold your money and be complicit if they fail? Having already thrown themselves into the field, and paid the price, they now can't even bring home the laurels of success?
You say that as a joke, but I answer seriously with a "Yes. Exactly." It is the consequences of success that I hope they don't have to suffer through.
Note that I didn't say that being an actor is one of the worst things that can happen to a child -- becoming a star is.
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sterling: I like the players. I'll wait for reviews. Please tell me it isn't actually remotely common for people to name their children "Dre".
It's a nickname for someone with the name "Andre"
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
quote:A) I don't see how that makes anything OK.
B) Yeah, but when it happens to adults, not only is it something that they've decided for themselves in a way that child stars are unable to, they'll hopefully be more equipped to handle it.
C) Again, I don't see how this ameliorates it at al
Point A I think is fairly significant. I think the percentage of child stars you hear about going nuts is part of the same media phenomenon that makes people think violence is going up when it's really going down. The media showcases all the most extreme examples of everything. Not all child actors become stars, not all stars become crazy. Overreacting to extreme examples isn't rational. I don't KNOW the exact statistics so I don't know for sure you're overreacting, but until you point to something more concrete than tabloid headlines I'm not terribly worried. There are a lot of movies that have kids in them (and movies with kids tend to have multiple kids in them) and I can't name all that many kids that have gone crazy.
Point B, well, fair enough.
Point C: There are thousands of things you can be drawing a line about paying money for. In fact, pretty much everything you purchase probably is damaging to the world in some form or another in ways more significant than a few individual kids having their lives ruined. Your clothes are probably made by child laborers in India who've lost arms and legs in unsafe machinery. Unless you're a vegetarian or go out of your way to buy expensive free range stuff the food you eat is harvested incredibly inhumanely (and even if you are vegetarian there's plenty of unsustainable eco-system-ruining practices going on).
People in western society have a choice of becoming Gandhi, going nuts, or ignoring the consequences of most of their actions. Even the best of us need to pick our battles, and "some percentage of the movies I see with children in them will create psycho kids who end up in rehab" is among the least of the moral dilemmas we face. I don't know how conscientious you are about the rest of your life, maybe this is just one of many ways that you inconvenience yourself for the sake of humanity, and if so I applaud you, but I doubt it.
That said, I will grant that Will Smith's son is going to be a high profile actor and thus at a much higher risk of coming out damaged. (Though I might counter that with the fact that Will Smith already knows what's like in the spotlight and seems to be a reasonably stable guy, so Jaden will probably have about as good a father as he could hope for in the situation. I haven't heard anything at all about Lindsay Lohan's folks one way or the other).
Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
I wasnt refering to what happens to young stars in thier personal life, I simply have never enjoyed a movie when the very most main character is a child when the movie is not a childs movie. Many child actors lack the emotional range and the kind of story you are allowed to tell through the life of a child is stunted, while with a teenage actor you have much more room to play with in that respect. One caveat though, Where the Wild Things Are told a complex and mature story through events and interactions that the child could understand and learn from, but thats the only one I can think of where a child is the center of a mature story.
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
I was replying specifically to mr_porteiro_head with that statement. In your case, it's simply a matter of "I don't like movies with bad actors" is a better statement than "I don't like movies with child actors because they have a higher chance of being bad."
M. Night Shyamalan, whatever else you may say about him, is very good at directing children. Haley Joel Osmet and Dakota Fanning were competent child actors. There's plenty of good adult movies with kids, even kids taking center stage.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
I'm tired of Hollywood always remaking old movies rather than taking a risk on a new movie, but that's the least of my problems with this.
quote:By titling the movie as they have, they've demonstrated that they care more about piggybacking the marketing of this film on the strength of the original, rather than the merits of the recreation. That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. They could just have easily have named the movie "The Kung Fu Kid" and most people would still draw the reference.
That's my bigger problem. They've set the movie in China rather than the Japan/Okinawa milieu of the original series. They've gotten one of the biggest kung fu stars in all of Chinese cinema to star in it. They've even gone to the trouble of shooting the film in Beijing.
And then they called it The Karate Kid.
I would have thought that the era of lazy treatment of all East Asian cultures as basically interchangeable was long over, or if I hadn't thought it, I'd have at least hoped it. That they're making a kung fu movie and pretending, in the title, that it's the same thing as karate, shows contempt not just for the martial art forms, but, it seems to me, for the cultures themselves. It would have taken no extra effort or funding to call it The Kung Fu Kid, and it would have been much less offensive to Chinese tradition. Ah, but then the film might not have been as high-profile (never mind the involvement of Jackie Chan and the son of Will Smith), and so might not have been as profitable, so petty concerns like "China and Japan are different" don't really matter, do they?
Disgusting. The movie may very well be quite good--and I'm sure I'll find out, because my girlfriend is a big fan of Jackie Chan and will probably insist I take her once she finds out about this--but I am genuinely disgusted by the title. More than I would have thought I'd be, actually.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Now I'm imagining a remake, years in the future, called "The Mixed Martial Arts Kid."
Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Now I'm imagining a remake, years in the future, called "The Mixed Martial Arts Kid."
And they can spend the entire movie pretending its not all Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu with some Muay Thai strikes sprikled in.
And I just shuddered at the thought of making a Karate Kid style movie with MMA, which usually ends with two dudes in spandex boxers rolling around.... definatly would not want to see a movie with kids doing that.
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