A remake of the 1984 film (or is it a reboot?), which also confusingly functions as the fifth film in the franchise. Despite the title, it has nothing to do with the martial art of Okinawa, Japan. It should technically be called The Kung Fu Kid.
After moving to China with his mom, 12-year-old Dre makes an enemy of the local bullies while sticking up for the girl he likes. He meets mild-mannered maintenance man, Mr. Han, who reluctantly agrees to train him while building up his self-image. What I appreciate is that Mr. Han is not a 1:1 carbon copy of Mr. Miyagi. He's less of a wise Yoda archetype, and more of a disillusioned figure. Still, it's fun to watch Jackie Chan beating the shit out of children.
When people throw around the term "nepotism" in Hollywood, none is more egregious than Jaden Smith starring in a film produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The actor is passable, but it cynically feels like a star vehicle. Casting issues aside, the writing isn't terrible. Riddled with clichés and inferior in many ways, it's a testament to the original that it still manages to work.
3 "jacket on, jacket off" out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment