The Karate Kid is an enjoyable commercial flick with an Attitude ;-)

             Story is the simplest. A guy comes to a new place and befriends a girl and because of that he has to fight off the bad guys. He gets beaten up in the process and with vengeance he trains hard and at the last beats the bad guys up. 

               Seems like you have seen the same story many times? Yes this story is very similar to the many Indian flicks.. And the difference comes in the form of Jaden Smith (11) and Jackie Chan (56).

               Jackie Chan has moved to a mature role where in he does not do many stunts. But trains Jaden Smith (Parker) who instead does some good stunts. Parker moves into China because his mother has got a transfer. And right on day 1 he meets a girl and also gets trashed for it. Then he lives life hiding from the boys who hit him. He is saved by Jackie Chan (Han) when a group of boys attack Parker. That’s the only scene where u can see Jackie Chan in action. Then Han takes Parker to sign truce with the boys whom he tackled to save Parker. But they want a fight in return and promise that they won’t harm Parker till that day. Han now teaches Kung fu to Parker so that he can win the open tournament. 

               Now the cinematic thing kicks in. People train years together to get their martial arts to perfection. But Parker is able to do it in some days or may be in a month or two. 

               Another interesting thing shown in the film is some people learn martial arts to fight and some people for peace. The way they train and the place they train are certainly different. Han takes Parker to a mountain where people train Kung Fu and other martial arts in a more peaceful manner. There Parker gets fascinated by a person who controls the snakes’ movement standing precariously on a cliff. He uses this in the climax as well. 

               The tournament comes and the inevitable happens, the hero wins. But if there is a match in the climax then people will sure enjoy it as if it is happening in live. And in the theatre where I watched people where clapping and whistling for every kick Parker gave. Which means the last fighting scene connects with the audience although the audience knows what is going to happen.

               Look out for the look which Han gives when Parker tries to control his opponents mind (learnt from the snakes’ movement control scene). I was literally laughing out loud. That scene was the best scene which conveyed many things. And no one other than Jackie Chan could have done that better. The Jacket removal scene where in just the removal and wearing of the Jacket can be Kung fu is also enjoyable. The BGM is good and China is also captured beautifully. 

               The movie would rank a 3/5 rating and do watch it if you are a fan of Jackie Chan. The way he walks and the way he trains. You will surely enjoy. And invariably you will also become a fan of Jaden Smith.  If he can do this at 11. Then he can do very many things when he becomes big. 

               I have downloaded the original version of “The Karate Kid” which released in 1984. And I will tell how it was compared to the new flick.