The Karate Kid

[Beate]

He he, it's not your fault.

[Periwinkle]

Went to see this last night and was surprised how good it was even though predictable as even my nine year old could work out the ending! Obviously very popular as the screening was the fullest I have been to this year!!

[kevinknapman]

Saw this at the Vue Westfield this morning (hope they start using this cinema more for free films).
Thought the film was fairly enjoyable. Jaden Smith gave a mixed performance I think. Better in some scenes than others. Jackie Chan was as good as I've seen him in a Hollywood movie before though and the chemistry between him and Smith was really good. And a lot of the scenery was breathtaking (even if the Great Wall of China training scene was a bit cheesy)
The movie could have been a bit shorter though, there seemed little justification for stretching it out for 2hrs 20mins.
I also have to say that my main gripe with the film was one of age. I felt that the central character should have been a couple of years older. 12 years old just felt wrong for me. Not just for the fight scenes but for the love interest subplot. The character in the original was 15/16 years old which made much more sense. If I was more cynical person I might come to the conclusion that the character was 12 because two of the film's executive producers' kid was about 12. At the end I was just thinking 'Why am I watching small kids beat the crap out of each other?' Some of it was surprisingly brutal. Rousing stuff for sure but also done better in the original I think.
Which of course leads on to another problem. The title. The studio obviously thought that a reboot of The Karate Kid idea was a profitable one but in choosing to change the location to China and the martial art to Kung Fu they made the original title redundant. But they clearly liked the name recognition and kept it, opting for commerce instead of credibility (they don't even bother to try and justify it, they just hope we won't notice). But hey, since when as Hollywood ever let logic get in the way of a money making opportunity (Although apparently the title outside the US and the UK is The Kung Fu Kid).
The finished product is watchable enough though and has enough good points to make it worth a look.

[zax007]

i saw this last weekend good enough to watch once but i prefer the original can watch that one over and over!!!

[RICKP001]

Went to see this last weekend was ok, with some funny parts but essentialy same film different location. But in all its what you would expect from a karate kid film

[JazzyC]

I enjoyed this one much more than I expected too - thought Jaden Smith & Jackie Chan had great chemistry. Though I agree with the point made that perhaps the kid should have been a few years older.

The bit with hanging up the jacket went on a little too long – I felt like I was suffering right along with the boy!

The background sites were a highlight and made me want to visit China.

8/10 from me - because I really was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

[AYBG]

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Directed by Harald Zwart
Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan

Plot: 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.

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[donkey177]

Saw this film this morning. Good for kids. Also gave an excellent view of the differenr lifestyle in China in particular cultural differences. For example American kid asks Chinese kid 'who are you listening to ? She replies 'Bach' , he says 'I'm into them too' Their culture was definately different from ours.

Jackie Chan was excellent as usual

[mndi89]

BRILLIANT FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...tears to my eyes...lol, thnk if they make a number 2, they should be careful with the storyline, otherwise you dont want another matrix (matrix 1 was awesome..2 and 3 however...too much action...epic fail..)

I'd love to rate it, would say 7, was a brilliant storyline, great connection and a brilliant family get together. Would love to p*y to watch in the cinema...but thats just me, what so you think?

[kevcampbell]

went to see this the other day with my partner with a free screening from sff

good movie, much better than i expected it to be, the fighting could have been better, but i guess i am just used to watching chinese martial arts movies like ip man and bruce lee movies

apart from that, loved everything else about the movie