Karate Kid

However, storywise, the script by Christopher Murphey sticks extremely close to the original to a staggering extent. Beat for beat and character for character, there are direct correlations in almost every scene of the film, as Dre meets a cute classmate (Wenwen Han), only to begin getting mercilessly bullied and beaten up by the nasty Cheng (Zhenwei Wang). But lo and behold, that seemingly mild-mannered maintenance man at the back of Dre's apartment building is a kung-fu master, and after saving Dre from another Cheng beat down, begins training him to face his rival at an upcoming tournament. [For those wondering – yes, the movie acknowledges that kung fu is far different than karate, in a scene where Dre's mom misidentifies the two martial arts. Though a title change still would have been appreciated.] Ultimately, the story is so similar, yet the visuals so different, that it feels like you're watching Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, or any other example in theater or film where a story was kept the same, but put in a very different visual setting.

As the remake's Mr. Miyagi substitute, Jackie Chan is solid as Mr. Han. Chan is a lovable presence in comedic roles, but in recent years has resorted too much to over the top mugging in projects far beneath him, such as The Spy Next Door. That being the case, it's nice to see him in a much more subdued and serious role here. Chan may not be the actor the late Pat Morita was (in a role that got him an Oscar nomination, no less), but he certainly gives one of his better performances in this film, including the key scene where a drunk Han reveals his tragic past to Dre.