Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
From Amazon.co.uk
A remake of the 1984 film of the same name, The Karate Kid well exceeds expectations, delivering a powerful viewing experience filled with action-packed martial arts scenes, great footage of China and its many wonders, and an absorbing story of a preadolescent boy's struggle to find his own inner strength. The title Karate Kid is really a misnomer as it is the art of kung fu that is practiced in this remake, not karate, and other details, including the film's setting in China, also differ from the original film. What remains the same, and just as powerful, is the underlying story: a young boy moves to a new place where he feels isolated and is bullied by his peers. Through an unlikely relationship with an adult, the boy not only learns to protect himself through martial arts, but develops the much more important qualities of respect and the mastery of one's own mind and body. Relative newcomer Jaden Smith (son of actors and producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) is excellent as the main character Dre Parker; Jackie Chan gives a restrained and highly effective performance as his mentor Mr. Han; and Zhenwei Wang is eerily believable as the bully Chen. This is an intense and often violent film that fully engulfs its viewers--be prepared to gasp and cheer out loud, and know that you may never look at the act of putting on and taking off a jacket in the same way again.--Tami Horiuchi
Product Description
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng.
In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts "the karate kid" on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok, I'm going to have to admit it, I loved this movie. I approached this with no small degree of trepidation, since the original had a special place in my memory from my younger days, and I had the horrible feeling that a remake would just be more of the same but without Pat Morita and with a predictable dose of sweetener in it. But I was wrong - the story has been sufficiently given a new dimension by setting it in China, meaning the theme of the outsider being shunned is all the more relevant. Also Kung Fu is somehow a more appropriate martial art than Karate. The biggest and best surprise is in the casting - Jaden Smith is more than ever a mini-Will Smith with all the charisma that implies, but it is Jackie Chan that is quite a revelation, genuinely acting and emoting in a believable way, without his usual tongue in cheek approach. The end result is a genuine and quite affecting story with believable characters, which nods to the original in a satisfying way, without ever treading the same ground too obviously - no `wax on, wax off' here, but a novel alternative instead. It's a little grittier than the original, in a way that helps sell the danger in a more believable way, but leavens it with just enough heart to keep it in PG realm.
Yes it is not going to hold any big surprises for you, but if you're half human you're going to find it at least a little heart warming, and if it suffers a little from being somewhat of a Tourism Board approved advert for China at times, well it's beautiful enough scenery to forgive. It's arguably better than the original in many ways, better written, better fight choreography and some better ideas - but I wonder if even with all that going for it, it struggles to match the teacher - pupil chemistry of the original .... Read more ›
Yes it is not going to hold any big surprises for you, but if you're half human you're going to find it at least a little heart warming, and if it suffers a little from being somewhat of a Tourism Board approved advert for China at times, well it's beautiful enough scenery to forgive. It's arguably better than the original in many ways, better written, better fight choreography and some better ideas - but I wonder if even with all that going for it, it struggles to match the teacher - pupil chemistry of the original .... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Hawky
Format:DVD
My 7 year old loved the fight sequences.....but I think for his age group they were brutal. I am glad I watched it with my son to tell him it takes years of practice to get the moves/balance/flexibility...plus to tell him the 'healing' technique Jackie Chan carried out should not be attempted...ever! Just wanted to warn other parents who thought the film was merely harmless fun.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
While this remake isn't all bad it lacks the impact that the original has. They've done a good job of trying to reinvent it, by taking it out of the US to China, but in key area's it just isn't as strong as the original.
For starters, "Jacket on, Jacket off" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "wax on, wax off". It's not nearly as snappy and just doesn't work for me. "Wax on, Wax off" is iconic and the writers have really struggled here to find something to replace it with... and in the end I think they failed.
This happened too with the whole crane kick thing - which they tried to replace with some sort of snake charming nonsense. I get the whole Chi thing, but when it came to the final fight, the the whole "Snake eyes" thing didn't work. It wasn't the final, fight ending move, and so lacked the impact on the viewer that the "indefensible" Crane Kick had.
Also, the bad guys just aren't as menacing as the Cobra Kai of in the original classic. In the original film you felt that the gang who had it in for Daniel Larousso were a pretty mean and fearsome bunch - in this they don't seem that bad at all. They're just a bunch of kids and the bullying wasn't that bad at all.
I didn't mind Jayden Smith as much as I thought I would, and in fact - credit where credit's due - I actually think he did a good job. Overall, it was an OK watch, your kids will love it - but apart from the stunning Chinese scenery and settings the original is better in every way.
For starters, "Jacket on, Jacket off" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "wax on, wax off". It's not nearly as snappy and just doesn't work for me. "Wax on, Wax off" is iconic and the writers have really struggled here to find something to replace it with... and in the end I think they failed.
This happened too with the whole crane kick thing - which they tried to replace with some sort of snake charming nonsense. I get the whole Chi thing, but when it came to the final fight, the the whole "Snake eyes" thing didn't work. It wasn't the final, fight ending move, and so lacked the impact on the viewer that the "indefensible" Crane Kick had.
Also, the bad guys just aren't as menacing as the Cobra Kai of in the original classic. In the original film you felt that the gang who had it in for Daniel Larousso were a pretty mean and fearsome bunch - in this they don't seem that bad at all. They're just a bunch of kids and the bullying wasn't that bad at all.
I didn't mind Jayden Smith as much as I thought I would, and in fact - credit where credit's due - I actually think he did a good job. Overall, it was an OK watch, your kids will love it - but apart from the stunning Chinese scenery and settings the original is better in every way.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By T. Cosens
Format:Blu-ray
Remakes are now a well-established staple of the Hollywood output and as you would expect the quality of these films differ wildly. So it was a joy to watch a film like Karate Kid to see how a remake should be handled.
It rejuvenated and modernised the story whilst staying true to the essence of the original. Jaden Smith plays Dre, who is moved to China with his Mother due to a job relocation. At first he doesn't fit in. He runs into trouble pretty quickly and then continues to be bullied at school. That is until he meets Mr Han who can teach him Kung Fu.
Okay so yes the film is clichéd and yes it trots out all the familiar tropes you would expect. However this is just pure entertainment. When a film is enjoyable and well made it doesn't matter if it sticks rigidly to formula.
Jaden Smith is a joy to watch. He embodies his character very well and really gets stuck in to the story. His relationship with Jackie Chan's Mr Han is very well portrayed and they really do feel like friends. The martial arts on display is great fun in a kiddie friendly sort of way and the tournament at the end displays some proper feel good cheesy moments.
There are some faults with the film. Some moments are just a little too cheesy and clichéd. The moment when Dre finds out about Han's past and family feels a little shoe horned in to give Dre some credible motivation for his training. There could have been a few more fight scenes to break up the family saga and training montages but overall this is a really enjoyable film.
A remake that should definitely be given a chance. Great family fun.
It rejuvenated and modernised the story whilst staying true to the essence of the original. Jaden Smith plays Dre, who is moved to China with his Mother due to a job relocation. At first he doesn't fit in. He runs into trouble pretty quickly and then continues to be bullied at school. That is until he meets Mr Han who can teach him Kung Fu.
Okay so yes the film is clichéd and yes it trots out all the familiar tropes you would expect. However this is just pure entertainment. When a film is enjoyable and well made it doesn't matter if it sticks rigidly to formula.
Jaden Smith is a joy to watch. He embodies his character very well and really gets stuck in to the story. His relationship with Jackie Chan's Mr Han is very well portrayed and they really do feel like friends. The martial arts on display is great fun in a kiddie friendly sort of way and the tournament at the end displays some proper feel good cheesy moments.
There are some faults with the film. Some moments are just a little too cheesy and clichéd. The moment when Dre finds out about Han's past and family feels a little shoe horned in to give Dre some credible motivation for his training. There could have been a few more fight scenes to break up the family saga and training montages but overall this is a really enjoyable film.
A remake that should definitely be given a chance. Great family fun.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 307 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Little Film
I bought this for my 6 year old grandson who loves it , it holds his attention and is a nice family film for a rainy afternoon. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Angie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
I prefere this version to the old version way better brilliant film would love there to be a second one
Published 24 days ago by Joe robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film
purcahsed this for the children who absolutely loved watching the film over and over again. Another great movie by Jackie Chan
Published 26 days ago by Jay
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Karate Kid
A new version of The Karate Kid. I liked the first Karate Kid film and the second but was not so keen on the third in the series. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lez
5.0 out of 5 stars
GDGD
THE FILM IS REALLY GOOD JADEN SMITH IS REALLY GOOD FOR BEING SO YOUNG THE FILM KEEP YOU ON YOUR SEAT
Published 1 month ago by sammii
5.0 out of 5 stars
great family movie
brilliant film could watch it over and over again. great 4 the whole family. brilliant price 4 blu-ray + dvd
Published 1 month ago by sam
5.0 out of 5 stars
Karate Kid 2012
I bought this DVD to go with the Karate Kid box set for my husband as he watched the original Karate Kid years ago. This went down a treat!
Published 2 months ago by Jill Hardcastle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film
loved this film, it had great characters and I thought it was made very well. Also found it quite motivating
Published 2 months ago by Joe Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent
arrived on time... *happy kid...arrived on time... happy kid...arrived on time... happy kid...arrived on time... happy kid...arrived on time... happy kid...
Published 2 months ago by moh-amazon
2.0 out of 5 stars
it wont work
im not a usually a fan of these type off films but when i watched it with an ex partner i loved it. i tried this dvd on all 3 off my dvds and it just wont work. Read more
Published 3 months ago by ...
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
