Little do some know that The Karate Kid was a successful franchise before the 21st century, inspiring younglings everywhere to go out and find their calling as fighting masters...or something alone those lines, so clearly this 2010 reinvention had reason to come about and do so once again for our generation. As an aside to that, however, we're introduced to one Jaden Smith as the titular protagonist (though he's never called that bar in a now-deleted scene from the trailers), who bears a disturbing resemblance facially to his father Will "Can-Do-Attitude" Smith, but should definitely be considered a different person untohimself as he is a true star, showing great chemistry with co-star Jackie Chan while ascending the ranks of Karate (or if we're being pessimistic Kung-Fu) and preparing for the ultimate showdown. Predictably for this genre, essentially, of sports, there are twists towards the film's climax making Dre (Smith) consider not competing etc etc but some, such as Mr Han (Chan)'s true nature, which is startlingly dark for a PG flick and so surprising I won't spoil it here, are genuinely compelling to watch play out. The Karate Kid is a whopping 140 minutes long, and believe this reviewer when he says that no viewer will be totally engrossed enough to come out of the cinema and say "Wow, that went fast", as its pacing is often far too slow and even Smith and Chan's likeability can't stop this feeling of tedium in the middle section. So, perhaps it isn't an essential piece of box office film, but the new Karate Kid is easily the best feel-good flick of this Summer's line-up, and a solid start for what could be a brilliant franchise (again).
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