The Karate Kid
Warning: children appear to get hurt in The Karate Kid. In a big way.
Harder hitting than the 1984 original upon which it is loosely based, The Karate Kid has pint-sized fighters laying the smack down on each other.
Punches and forceful kicks are hammered home. Bodies crumple to the ground.
During the all-important Big Tournament that closes the film, our 12-year-old hero, Dre (Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith), cops such a punishing it’s a wonder he can walk, let alone compete.
Realism is an argument for the graphic violence in The Karate Kid but the same impact could be delivered without showing such detail. Almost three decades ago, the fights in the first Karate Kid had clout and meaning without needing to wallop its stars into next week.
But while its PG rating is questionable, The Karate Kid isn’t a wall-to-wall slugfest. Plus, the reason Dre initially wants to learn martial arts is because he is subjected to a regrettable scourge of schoolyards around the world - bullying.
Movies that show children standing up to those who want to beat them down are often the ones we walk out of with a spring in our step, punching the air and thanking God for moments of cinematic justice.
The original Karate Kid is such a film. Sure, it is daggy and dated, but the touching tale of dweeby teen Daniel (Ralph Macchio) being mentored by karate/ life coach Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) remains easy to relate to. And enjoy.
Despite already having three sequels (Karate Kid 4 starred Oscar-winner Hilary Swank), some bright sparks in Hollywood decided The Karate Kid had to be remade.
The result is a tougher but emotionally empty Karate Kid which allows the motivation of revenge to overpower more positive messages such as self-belief, discipline, forgiveness, second chances and defending yourself.
Younger viewers might admire Dre’s confidence and desire to beat the bullies but older members of the audience, who remember how Daniel was virtually the definition of “underdog” in the original Karate Kid, won’t find the same empowering quality in Dre.
Separate to the debate about the violent content are dodgy sexual references which disturbingly point to how values have changed in the past few decades.
Although Dre is several years younger than Daniel, he still experiences young love (as Daniel did in the original). For the most part, his friendship with smiley Chinese girl Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han) is cute and innocent, their first kiss being corny but inoffensive.
When Mei Ying dances to Lady Gaga’s provocative “Poker Face”, though, her sexualized routine (as Dre stares) is made up of mature moves from music videos. This unnecessary and disturbing sequence could leave adults with more to discuss with their young charges than the bursts of violence on offer.
The Karate Kid screams loudly about the battles which adults must fight to protect and educate children about the dangers of believing everything mainstream society accepts.
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