36483209
Let’s forget for a moment that “The Karate Kid” is a remake, because how it compares to a certain iconic 1980s hit has nothing to do with why it’s the pleasant surprise of the season. Here is a movie that runs through all the typical motions of the underdog drama, yet manages to bring great sincerity and charm to nearly every one of them. Its humor is ever-so-gently amusing, its lessons are heard without the aid of a bullhorn, its scenes command your gaze and its emotions are real.
It begins with 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his single mother (Taraji P. Henson) moving to Beijing to follow mom’s new career path. Culture shock and “airplane lag” become the least of Dre’s problems when, almost immediately, he’s beaten up by the school jerks for fl irting with a cute violinist (Wenwen Han). As the film accurately captures the adolescent hopelessness bullying can create, Dre looks for a way to combat his ruthlessly skilled attackers and finds it in Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), a handyman and secret kung fu master who begins training Dre to “hiya!” his way to the top at an upcoming tournament.
The role of Dre is a tall order for a child actor and Smith proves up to the task, showing gumption and star appeal not unlike that of his famous father, Will (who co-produced with wife Jada Pinkett). He’s a natural at the puppy love bit, and his demeanor is often as winning as the fi lm’s action is rousing. Sure, Dre’s rapid rise as a martial arts prodigy is implausible, but the ascension has genuine uplift and minimal hokum.
Filtered through what’s certainly Chan’s best work in years, Christopher Murphey’s script often gets to the noble heart of not a fighting style, but a way of life. And director Harald Zwart, also at a professional high, offers very effective training sequences and glorious images of China before concluding our journey with a young hero worth rooting for.
My screening was filled with applause. Yours will be, too.
The Karate Kid
PG
Three-and-a-half reels out of four
In area theaters tomorrow
Recommended Rental:
Happy Tears
R
Available Tuesday
Parker Posey and Demi Moore convince and shine as sisters in “Happy Tears,” an especially dysfunctional family dramedy that sees the pair return to their childhood home to care for their senile father (Rip Torn).
Written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein (“Teeth”), the funny, art-infused fi lm is most laudable for being just odd enough to distinguish itself from the post-”Juno” flood of phony quirk flicks.
36483214
36483199
