I have watched all of the original karate kid films when I was younger, but this does not necessarily mean i remember them. The only scene I can recollect from all of the original movies is when Mr. Miyagi was making the kid wash or wax the car while simultaneously repeating “Wax on, Wax off”. After seeing the most recent remake, I have came to the conclusion that Jacket on, Jacket off is interchangeable with the former phrase.
I did not originally plan on seeing this movie. It did not appeal to me at all, the relationship between an old man and a pre teen is just not my cup of tea. But it just so happens that the karate school that my younger sisters attend, Academy of Soo Do Thai were having a group outing. To support them, my older sister and I accompanied our younger siblings to the theater.
We drove all the way out to Van Dyke and 15 mile to the MJR Theater in Sterling Heights. I have only been to an MJR theater once before this trip. I failed to mention to the girls that there is this little clappy thing and song they do before the movie starts,which i think kinda weird. But the service there was impeccable. They have theaters that expand to two floors, that were clean and spacious. The ticket prices were also inexpensive, if I remember correctly, they were only $4.50 or 4.75, which is a really good price for the Detroit area. [I would definitely come here again]
The Karate Kid stars Jaden Smith (Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s son), Jackie Chan, and Tariji P. Henson (From the Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
This film centers around a 12 year old boy, Dre and his mother who just moved to China and the obstacles they face in order to return to the normality of their life back in the states.
My favorite scene is this movie is when Dre goes through his first phase of training which was placing a coat on and off of a hook. He does this for quite a while, day in and day out. One day his mom comes over to Mr. Han’s apartment where he is training and sees his coat on the ground and his mom subtly yells “Pick up your coat!” Hilarious!
I think the cast worked perfectly together. Jackie and Jaden had a chemistry on the set. Their relationship on the screen radiated clearly to the audience the special friendship/ father son type relationship that men have with one another. It felt very genuine, how they helped one another cope with loss and how they built one another up when they were at their lowest. There may have even been a tear or two shed.
The movie actually surpassed my expectations, I expected cheese and there was some, but mostly there were real life experiences that I think all of my sisters grasped on to. I think that the undertone of the whole film was respect. Respect yourself and those around you. It made me see the work that my sisters were doing at the Academy was more than beating each other up, but rather gaining a respect for each other and building up that self control it takes to become a fighter. I have gained a new respect for them.
I guess I shouldn’t judge a movie, or sport by its precedents.
FIN
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