THE KARATE KID (Harald Zwart). 139 minutes. Opens Friday (June 11). For venues, trailers and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
“Wax on. Wax off.” If you’re looking to hear Mr. Miyagi’s proverbial lessons again, well, rent the original Karate Kid. The remake, starring Jaden Smith (Will’s son) and Jackie Chan, replaces the wax with a jacket. “Take it off. Put it back on.” It just doesn’t have the same ring.[rssbreak]
Still, scene for scene this is pretty much the same movie, which wasn’t all that good to begin with.
Smith stars as Dre, a 12-year-old from Detroit whose mother (the terrific Taraji P. Henson) has been relocated to China after the auto industry tanks. (Ooh, social relevance!) Bullied by some adolescent kung fu thugs, Dre finds a mentor, Chan’s Mr. Han, and we know where things go from there.
Chan and Smith, try as they may, can’t conjure up the same chemistry as Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita.
Smith has inherited charm from his dad – you could call this The Fresh Prince Of Beijing – but he has a limited range. Constantly raising his brow and squinting his eyes, the young actor seems to be either perpetually jet-lagged or mocking the Asians around him.
At least the martial arts are impressive in this bout of flying-feet theatrics, though the bone-crushing brutality is more in the spirit of Bloodsport than the original Karate Kid.
