‘The Karate Kid’ remake is better than the original — and I’m tired of pretending it’s not
I’ve developed a reputation for hot takes within the Tom’s Guide streaming team. Eyebrows were raised when I expressed my disappointment with HBO’s “The Last of Us” season 2, and I got more than a few funny looks when I waxed lyrical about Netflix’s largely poorly received action-thriller “Havoc.”
However, this week has seen me drop my hottest hot take yet: I prefer “The Karate Kid” remake to the original. Yes, the 2010 one with internet-meme-machine Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.
My colleagues were outraged and some even wondered if it was an out-of-season April Fool’s gag, but you know what? I’m not even sorry for having this contrarian take.
Ahead of “Karate Kid: Legends,” which aims to mash the two universes together — there’s no return for Smith, but Chan is back in the mix with the cast of the original — I figured now is a great time to explain why I feel this often maligned rework is superior.
So, before you leave a furiously-typed comment declaring my status as an entertainment writer should be revoked, at least hear me out. “The Karate Kid” (2010) is a solid family movie that makes one major improvement over its progenitor.
Switching up the setting is a supreme success
My preference for “The Karate Kid” of 2010 over the 1984 classic pretty much comes down to a single reason: the change in setting.
While the original sees Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) move from New Jersey to Los Angeles and struggle to find his place in his new surroundings, the remake takes 12-year-old Dre Parker (Smith) from Detroit to Beijing for a serious dose of culture shock.
The setting not only feels fitting because of the movie’s martial arts focus, but also because, having its protagonist move to such a vastly different location, the social isolation and homesickness Dre feels resonate significantly more.
I’m a Brit and TG’s U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Mike Prospero, assures me the cultural differences between New Jersey and L.A. are pronounced, but these regional differences are worlds apart from those between Michigan and China. Dre is an archetypal fish very much out of water.
His personal journey of finding solace in an ancient martial art and a mentor in Mr. Han (Chan) feels more impactful because Dre has been unwillingly transported to a whole new continent. By the end, it’s hard not to root for him as he makes this new place a home.
Beyond the setting, the impact of Jackie Chan shouldn’t be overlooked. He does all the heavy lifting when it comes to the movie’s emotional stakes, and the scene where he reveals his past trauma is genuinely touching. I’m delighted he’s returning to the fold in “Karate Kid: Legends.”
The remake also switches to kung fu in favor of karate, a common criticism given the name, but to be frank, that’s a level of nitpicking that would look silly in even a CinemaSins video.
The remake is fun, but still flawed
Of course, I’m not here to argue that “The Karate Kid” remake is some perfect movie; it’s got a lot of flaws.
For starters, it’s ludicrously long, clocking in at almost two and a half hours. The more kid-friendly tone may not suit fans of the original either. But this is clearly a family movie. Dre is 12 years old, compared to Daniel being 17 in the original. Presumably, this was to make the movie more relatable for younger viewers
The middle portion also goes through the motion, and the focus is often placed on a romantic subplot between Dre and a fellow school pupil, which feels added out of a sense of obligation (most tentpole movies incorporate a romance element) rather than creative inspiration.
One often lambasted element is Jayden Smith’s performance, but this is one line of criticism I’ve never quite understood. Dre is initially a snotty kid, no doubt about it, but that’s intentional. The movie is about his growth as he learns discipline from Mr Han.
I should just make very clear that I think the soundtrack is appalling. The movie opens with “Do You Remember” by Jay Sean, and “Say” by John Mayer follows shortly after. I don’t blame anybody for wanting to plug their ears up after just a few minutes.
The closing credits song, a supposedly empowering Justin Bieber tune that encourages listeners to “never say never,” might be the worst offender. Musically, it’s stuffed with the very worst of vapid 2010s chart pop.
Truth time: The original ‘Karate Kid’ was never that good
The original “The Karate Kid” is one of those movies where I’ve never been able to buy into the hype.
Perhaps it’s because I’m a child of the ’90s, and only saw the movie in my mid-teens, rather than it being a cornerstone of my formative adolescent experience.
I find the movie very much of its era, sticking within the comforting formula that dominated much of the cinematic landscape in the 1980s. Of course, I wouldn’t dream of disparaging the legendary Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi, but outside of his performance, the film feels horribly mawkish.
Naturally, as a remake, 2010’s “The Karate Kid” is also guilty of the same overabundance of sentimentality. So in truth, I don’t think either movie is a flawless masterwork. But, if I’m going to stream one of them ahead of “Karate Kid: Legends”, give me the remake every single time.
And for all those saying the remake is an abomination, legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave the flick three and a half stars out of four. And if it’s good enough for Ebert, then it’s good enough for me.
However, he also gave the original a perfect four, so perhaps even he would have been exasperated by my declaration that “The Karate Kid” remake is the better version.
Watch “The Karate Kid” (2010) on Prime Video now
