The Karate Kid

[Cerek]

I took the boys to see it last night. The movie was good enough, although even my 8-yr old remarked they should have called it "The Kung Fu Kid" instead of "The Karate Kid". As far as remakes go, it is better than most; staying true to the original plot while changing a few key elements. The tournament fighting in this one was much better than the original (IMO), but I still liked the training sequences from the original better.

My boys watched the first 3 Karate Kid movies last week before seeing this one and liked all of them. The movie is a good remake for those of us who loved the original and is a great movie for kids who never saw the first one. The only complaint I have was a review I read on imdb which tried to claim this was NOT a remake of the original. It said there were a few similarities, but they were minor and this movie was much different than the first.

BZZZZZZZ! WRONG ANSWER, BUT THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!

It most certainly IS a copy of the first, containing all the major scenes and elements from the first and even keeping the same dialogue in many parts. While there are numerous examples from beginning to end, the most obvious to me was the scene with Dre and Han in the locker room before the final fight.

*Warning - Slight Spoiler*





Dre has been injured (in the knee) and Han is telling him there is no reason for him to go back out. Dre says he won't have "balance" in his life if he doesn't go back out. That was a pivotal scene in the first movie, but in the new one, Han never mentions having "balance" in your life through kung-fu. So they stole part of the original dialogue, but left out all the background leading up to the line.

One other quibble is the final move...it is much less believable than the first, but hey - it's the movies and we're here to see Dre kick the bully's ass.

One thing I DID like was the reaction of the bully and his gang after the final bout. I thought it was done better in this version than in the original.

[Timber Loftis]

I want to see it, but I opted for A Team this weekend instead (loved it).

[Ziroc]

Bah... I am sick of remakes.
If you're wondering what the Original Karate Kid is doing-- Ralph Macchio, he's a disgruntled actor in a new 'movie'. Check it out, its funny as hell... sad too lol...


Wax On, F*ck Off with Ralph Macchio from Ralph Macchio

[thecarrotdude]

Yea, I don't think I'll go watch the karate kid. Maybe I'll download it later...legally of course. Hmmm...recent movies that I watched were Robin Hood and Prince of Persia. Robin Hood was garbage, please don't watch it. Especially the ending, which ruined anything the rest of the movie had built up. Prince of persia was a fun movie, not a great plot but good graphics and fun fight scenes.

[Firestormalpha]

Best Robin Hood was "Men in Tights". Prince of Thieves wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the title character that made it any good. BTW is it just me or are all of Kevin Costner's characters identical in terms of personality?

Haven't seen the new one. It's got whats-his-face from Gladiator, right? Kinda want to see PoP, but from what I've read, I'll wait till KK comes out on-demand, and watch it at my sisters.

[Cerek]

I saw Robin Hood with a friend and we both liked it. I was glad I went with her rather than my boys, because I think the boys would have gotten bored with the length of the movie and emphasis on character background rather than fighting scenes.

Speaking of which, that is one argument I agreed with critics on regarding KK, it had a run time of 140 minutes, which was a bit long.

I did see Prince of Persia with the boys and we all enjoyed it. Of course it doesn't have a deep plot, but it's a movie based on a video game. Keeping that in mind, I think it did a fine job of bringing the game character to "life" (realistically recreating many of his "moves" which isn't an easy thing to do) and delivering a decent story with plenty of action.

I also saw Marmaduke this week (not by choice). Yeah, it was your basic "talking animals" movie with a simple plot, but it was more entertaining than I expected. All three boys enjoyed the movie and, honestly, I did too. It wasn't a deep, cinematic experience, but it was still fun to watch.

Next movie on my list is "The A-Team".

[Memnoch]

Yea I want to see PoP and Robin Hood this week.

[Wolf Rider2]

I think I'm seeing PoP this week. I want to see A-Team as well. Looks like a fun movie . Not sure about KK. I think I'll give Robin Hood a miss. From what I've heard, there won't be enough fighting in it for me.

[ElfBane]

Originally Posted by Firestormalpha BTW is it just me or are all of Kevin Costner's characters identical in terms of personality?

There have been many popular actor types that play "themselves". John Wayne and Clint Eastwood come immediately to mind.

[Cerek]

Originally Posted by Wolf Rider2 I think I'm seeing PoP this week. I want to see A-Team as well. Looks like a fun movie . Not sure about KK. I think I'll give Robin Hood a miss. From what I've heard, there won't be enough fighting in it for me.

Oh, there is plenty of fighting in the movie. It even starts out with a large scale battle. There is another large scale battle at the end. In between, there are plenty of smaller battles that Robin and his followers must fight. So it does have a good bit of action, but it tries to "balance" that with a deeper plot and character development...and does a decent job of it, IMO.