The Karate Kid

[Drunk Monk]

Kung fu just stole a crown jewel from karate. When I think of karate films, there's not too much. There's Chiba's stuff, but that's fairly obscure unless you're really into the genre. Then there's Karate Kid, which defined the genre in America in the '80s. Now Karate Kid is a kung fu film. I know, I know, every martial artist has his gi-gusset in a bunch because it's 'karate' not kung fu, but as a kung fu practitioner, I can't but sit back and grin at this one. The Karate Kid dismisses that controversy with a wax-on, wax-off wave of the hand, and its on with the story.

Karate Kid 2010 has several nice homage scenes to the original, and the ending is exactly the same, so overall, it's not surprising. Jaden, Jackie and Taraji deliver solid performances, although unlike Morita's Mr. Miyagi, there's never any doubt that Jackie's Mr. Han is a total ass-kicker. The remake, like any remake, lacks the element of surprise. But still, Jaden is charismatic in the role, and Jackie handles his dramatic parts well. I was hoping that there would be more depth to Mr. Han's tragedy, something involving the Cultural Revolution perhaps, as Miyagi's grief stemmed from WWII injustices - the internment and such - but the film played a politically-neutral card there, which is just as well as like I mention in our the cover story of our latest issue, this is not about Hollywood. It's about the international release. This film is positioned to do very well in America, but it's poised to be huge in China. Even the credits are Chinese/English from start to finish. I'd like to see the Chinese version now, as they will surely tweak it a little, as mentioned in the Korean review above.

As for the action, it's actually more pro wrasslin' than kung fu or karate. Jackie delivers a signature bit of choreography - the lone fight scene. Like I said, the ending is the same, note-for-note, except a snake is swapped for a crane.

It's a great postcard of China. Beijing is portrayed well, with all its clutter and crowds, only everything is really close. Sure you could train on the Great Wall, but it's an hour+ taxi ride out of Beijing. And Wudang is called Dragon Well, which we all know is in Zhejiang, not Hubei. But none of that really matters.

Ultimately, I think this is a better film than the original in that it's more global. There's a subtle race issue, very subtle, but it's more like the original in being about being a stranger in a strange land, an innocent dealing with bullies. Of course, I'm very biased as its set in China. On a professional level, I think it will be great for our industry. It's funny, poignant, and generally entertaining summer film fare. Go see it when it comes out. It's definitely worth supporting.

Unfortunately tg and the CFs got shut out, along with dozens more of our vols. I got there at 5 and got some dinner. I got back to the theater by 5:50 and almost didn't make it in myself. That was a bummer. The screener was in a small house and there was a huge turnout.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

How about some humor, for god's sake? It was an overly stoic film which makes it less than the original. At least that one had a bit of fun.

I did think JC's fight scene was standout. It was refreshing to see a straight up battle which didn't resort to a lot of acrobatic ballet wire work.

I want to go to the monastery on the mountain. I hope there is an actual well at the top, but I'm afraid to climb those million steps. And I did like all the martial artists performing on the way up.

And wasn't Jaden just a little too young for the role, especially the puppy love aspect?

[Drunk Monk]

the mountain is actually an amalgamation of several places. i've not been up that staircase, but i have been in the temple where the pool was supposed to be - the pool was a set however. there's a different well that you're supposed to drink from up there, but it's just a stone hole in the ground - kind of sketchy really.

jaden was a bit too young to generate any sexual tension. note that the kiss was cut from the asian print.

[El Dingo]

Finally streamed this on Netflix.

I had watched the original for the umpteenth time last week. It was on TV and is one of my 'cannot turn channel' movies if I accidentally surf to it.

IMHO the new version could not hold a candle to the original. I did not like the kid and I thought his mom should have smacked him about 10 times during the first half hour. He's moving to China and shows no interest in learning the language, eating the ice cream, or how to use chopsticks.

He has a favorite kung-fu star or teacher or something but his preferred method of fighting is to run at his opponent from 10 feet away providing the fight choreogropher opportunities to have him flipped over and over.

Jackie phoned it in. He looked bored most of the time (I guess that's his 'angsty' look). I eagerly waited for his drunken tell-all rant scene but it was as emotional as a bowl of sawdust. Compare Pat Morita's tale of his wife dying in an interment camp while he fought with the American forces in WWII.

The fact that it took place in China also removed the 'misfit among my own people' element that Ralph Macchio pulls off so well. It relied heavily on big, sprawling mountain vistas, big sprawling Kung Fu schools and big, sprawling city scenes. The original was much more intimate. Actually, can someone explain the importance of the visit to the temple? I think you could cut out the 'magic Kung-Fu water' and 'cobra lady' bullshit and no one would notice.

I also did not get the 'I guess it's possible' feeling that you could learn complicated Kung-Fu moves by hanging your jacket up 1000 times. "Wax on, Wax off" at least looked like you could knock someone's hands away. You even get to keep the car!

The clincher was the villains. The smarmy Chinese kids got nothin' on Cobra Kai. You wanted to choke those preppy bastards with their own Izod shirts the second they came on screen. The

There was also no real 'Sweep the leg' vs. Crane Style moment.

So - Aside from the Chinese version of the Gorillaz 'Clint Eastwood' featured near the beginning I cannot say anything good about this movie.

I will defend Mr. Miyagi against all of DOOM! Bring your worst!

BTW what other sequels begin at the moment of the first film's end besides 'The Karate Kid'?

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I can answer the last question with "A Quantum of Solace".

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Good Answer. I was thinking of the Girl Who series. And how about The Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

[Drunk Monk]

There's no word for redemption-gasm in Chinese.

If you view this from China's perspective (who never saw the original) you see what the underlying marketing is about. China got a completely different cut of the film. Here's the alternate ending:
[youtube]7MixnqJIlvg[/youtube]

This will surely be one of our many agreed disagreements, ED, just like dancehall reggae, videogames, and films about necrophilia or dwarfs eating each other's scabs.

Speaking of sequels that begin at the moment of the first film's end, the one scene that never rang true with the original for me (apart from the absurd fight choreography and tournament) was when Johnny begs for forgiveness from Daniel at the end of the first film (or was it the beginning of the second?) It totally undid his character.

Time to post No More Kings again
[youtube]uFlQNtL8F9s[/youtube]

[Drunk Monk]

Karate Kid Part III
I've been working on this piece on Cobra Kai for the Den and what a feckin rabbit hole it is. Beyond the four films in the franchise, there's a lot of homages and such. I remembered all the films fairly well, even The Next Karate Kid, but I drew a complete blank for this one. Like WTH happened? Hey ED, Mr. Miyagi fanboy, do you even remember?

I realize why I forgot it. It's bad, really bad, for dumb reasons too. It also picks up right after Part II, with Daniel and Miyagi leaving the airport after returning from Okinawa. The villains are the main fail - it descends into caricature villainy. One of the things that I like about Kreese is despite his psychosis, he's beleiveable. It's an early depiction of the ravages of PTSD. The III villain is his 'Nam comrade, but he's super rich and he's just silly, with full-on bwahahahas and such. However, he's a genuine martial artist so this film has the best fight scenes - not enough to redeem it tho. 

I'm glad I watched it tho. It has the most callbacks from Cobra Kai, apart from the original. I think the only callback of note from II was Miyagi's first name (which is only revealed in Japanese and changed twice in later installments) and the den den daiko, which I think I saw somewhere in Cobra Kai but I can't remember exactly where. I reveal all of those easter eggs in the Den piece, but it came out long for Den (like I said - rabbit hole) so I imagine they will cut out a lot. 

I'm on my final polish for that piece. It's been a fun ride. I still plan to finish Cobra Kai too.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Finish him!

Wrong franchise?

[Drunk Monk]

Finish him!

S2e7 Cobra Kai

[Drunk Monk]

Took a deep dive and went back for the original. It’s still so good. Heartfelt. It still works surprisingly well.  The tournament played out better than I remember and Ali is still cute but out of Daniel’s league. Johnny is more of a hero when you look at it all critically. He’s a better martial artist. I still get the feels on certain scenes but maybe that’s just because I’m a bit raw now.

---

KK2: The Okinawa part is cool but Chozen is too psycho. And the finale fight doesn’t make any sense. Like why is there a little island in the middle of the fort and the moat is uncrossable because it doesn’t seem that deep when the bridge is tossed? And why is the centerpiece two lions facing away from each other? It’s a silly finale fight. My memory of it was much that it was much better. Miyagi & Daniel were better but the story was a bit ridiculous.

[King Bob]

Somehow I never saw either one of those. And those aren't the only ones I skipped. I think I was actively avoiding hit films in those days.

[Drunk Monk]

The original is worth the watch. It’s such a classic. A real game changer for the genre, despite its flaws.

I went for the last installment - The Next Karate Kid. It’s terrible. Miyagi is transplanted to Boston to attend a ceremony for the 442 (with a cameo from Daniel Inouye). There’s very few fights. It’s only redeeming value is the debut of Hilary Swank, only 20 in her long legged midriff baring ingenue glory. Despite a shallow role, you can see she has the stuff. But it totally loses the Daniel-San Miyagi dynamic. 

No sword fights. Not DOOM recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

New ‘Karate Kid’ Movie Among Sony Pictures Release Date Adds; ‘Kraven The Hunter,’ ‘Madame Web’ Move & More

By Anthony D'Alessandro
Editorial Director/Box Office Editor

@AwardsTony

September 16, 2022 2:08pm


Sony
Sony added three news movies to their 2023-2024 theatrical release sked while shifting some others due to the post-production jam which continues to plague a number of big pics. The good news is that nothing is moving out of 2022.
A big plus here is the announcement of a brand new Karate Kid movie for June 7, 2024 which doesn’t have any talent attached in regards to stars or a director.
There’s an untitled True Haunting movie from Screen Gems that is actually going on Jan. 6, 2023; that first weekend of the year has been a rich one for Sony and genre films; it’s where they launched the first Escape Room in 2019 to an $18.2M opening and $57M+ stateside, $155M+ WW. True Haunting is the only new wide release on Jan. 6 in addition to Paramount’s expansion of Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. 
Also new for next year is the next installment of the Searching franchise, Missing, on Feb. 24, starring Nia Long and Storm Reid. The other two wide entries on that date are Universal’s Cocaine Bear starring Keri Russell and Margo Martindale and Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution. 
The Scott Beck-Bryan Woods directed astronaut title, 65, starring Adam Driver is going earlier on March 10 next year instead of April 28. Disney just moved Haunted Mansion off March 10 to Aug. 11.
Also getting moved to the Venom first weekend of October slot is Sony/Marvel’s Kraven the Hunter. That Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbot, Russell Crowe, Alessandro Nivola movie will open on Oct. 6 in Imax and not Jan. 13. This leaves Jan. 13 with Universal/Blumhouse’s M3GAN and a Warner Bros untitled event film. October 6 now has Kraven the Hunter, 20th Century Studios’ True Love, an untitled Warner Bros movie and untitled Focus Features movie.
Madame Web, the Spider-Man spinoff about a clairvoyant mutant, will now open in Imax on Feb. 16, 2024 instead of Oct. 6, 2023. An untitled Disney Marvel film moved off Feb. 16, 2024 and went to Sept. 6, 2024. An untitled Uni movie remains on Feb. 16.
Columbia Pictures’ Garfield movie will go on May 24, 2024, Memorial Day weekend instead of Feb. 16, 2024. Currently on that Memorial Day weekend is Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s Furiosa, Paramount’s John Krasinski/Ryan Reynolds’ IF, and an untitled 20th Century Studios movie.
And the untitled Sony/Marvel movie will now go on July 12, 2024 instead of June 7, 2024. Only other title on July 12, 2024 is an untitled New Line horror film.

[Greg]

Still trying to keep their Marvel properties alive with Kraven the Hunter.