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FILMS
CNS photo/Sony
Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith star in a scene from the movie “The Karate Kid.”
‘Karate Kid’ remake puts up a weak fight, misses teachable moment
Many children in America take karate lessons at some point and, for the vast majority, their once strong martial arts passion wanes.
Unfortunately, the same can be said of “The Karate Kid” (Columbia), which begins with potential, but loses the audience en route to a predictable finale.
Kung Fu, the martial art practiced in the film, is described not as fighting, but as a way to make peace with one’s enemies. Had the film focused on that, it would be more engaging.
Instead, the filmmakers skim over peacemaking and invest the bulk of the film into the relationship between two 12-year-olds — a lost opportunity.
What’s more, Kung Fu is portrayed so violently it makes it difficult to understand how it could really act as an agent of peace.
Jaden Smith — son of actor Will Smith — stars as Dre Parker, a 12-year-old boy who moves from Detroit to China with his widowed mother. He immediately makes enemies of a group of Chinese boys by flirting with the beautiful Meiying.
One day, as the gang of Kung Fu boys are beating up Dre, someone comes to the rescue. It’s Jackie Chan — playing Mr. Han, the maintenance man at Dre’s apartment. He fights all six of the gang members on his own.
To stave off retribution, Mr. Han promises that Dre will fight in the upcoming Kung Fu tournament. Kung Fu training ensues. Dre makes it to the Kung Fu tournament, where he takes on his enemies in an effort to make peace.
Chan is adequate in the role of the quiet teacher with a convoluted past. Smith, on the other hand, is enigmatic but overly dramatic throughout. He looks perpetually overwhelmed and in general the film relies too much on his personality to draw in the audience.
The best actors, however, are the group of young Chinese Kung Fu fighters who fight Dre mercilessly at the bidding of their corrupt instructor.
While Kung Fu is touted as a peacemaker, that certainly isn’t illustrated. Fight scenes between the young men are engaging, yet disturbing, particularly when you consider their age. It is hard to understand how peace is to be achieved through such violent means.
“The teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “He extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all enemies” (1933).
And while “The Karate Kid” purports to promote peace, actions, as they say, speak louder than words. The violence is at least dissonant, if not deafening.
The film, which might have taught peace and forgiveness, instead emphasizes fights and an adolescent love interest. Coupled with the mediocre acting, the film turns out to be a test of the audience’s endurance.
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