The Karate Kid Review

Posted by Scott Williams
20 Comments
June 12, 2010
Kid Lessons | Movies | Quotes | Video

My family and I just saw The Karate Kid this evening, as it was just released today.  I’m not going to lie, my wife and I were just as excited to see the movie as our sons were.  We made the decision not to let the boys watch the original The Karate Kid movies until after they had seen this one.  I thought I would share some highlights, without totally ruining the movie.

The Above Video is a review straight from the mouths of my 7yo and 11yo sons, immediately following the movie.

  • The movie had a great story line with some great life lessons.
  • A little bit of a love story twist.
  • There is a lot of action and fighting kicks off early in the movie and throughout.
  • Jaden Smith “Dre” did an excellent job acting and was definitely believable.
  • Jackie Chan “Mr. Hahn” demontsrtaed some classsic Jackie Chan moves and did an amazing job of playing an older character than we are used to him playing.
  • Taraji Henson “Sheri Parker aka Dre’s Mom” did a solid job acting; however her role was somewhat forgettable.
  • Overall Theme- New Kid On The Block Meets Bullies, Has A Crush On A Girl & Plenty of Fighting Throughout.
  • “Jacket On, Jacket Off” is the new “Wax On, Wax Off.”
  • There are couple of instances where “Dre” uses the word a$$.  I thought they were tastefully appropriate and remember our 7yo and 11yo sons were with us.
  • Favorite Quotes-  1. Being still and doing nothing are two different things.  2. Life can knock us down, but we can choose whether or not we get back up.
  • Overall- I thought it was excellent, I don’t want to set expectations too high, but it was just a good solid movie.
  • There are definitely enough questions and intrigue at the end to warrant a Karate Kid II.
  • You will have to watch the video to find out what my son’s reviews were on a scale of 1-10.

The classic moment is that the movie ends with Jackie Chan “Mr. Han”  and Jaden Smith “Dre” giving one another a #FistBump.  So let’s end this review with a #FistBump.  Put your fist to the screen… Now blow it up!

Are you planning on going to see the new The Karate Kid? If you have seen the movie, or plan on seeing it, please share your thoughts on my review or your personal thoughts on the movie.

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  • http://www.dplum007.wordpress.com D Plum

    Love it, bro! I’ll direct my readers over here tomorrow! ;-)

    • Scott Williams

      Thx Darren

  • http://www.franklinlifechurch.blogspot.com patrick Moore

    Scott,
    Good review. I took my 2 boys as well last night, 5yr and 7yr old.
    Overall it was a good movie. I enjoyed it just as they did. I too thought the use of a$$ was totally pointless and not needed. For me it was the difference in buying this on dvd to watch over and over again after its released.
    That aside, I thought the fighting was good but not too over the top and the lesson of not giving up was well presented.

    • Scott Williams

      Agreed it had some good life lessons for an impressionable and giving generation of young people. Again, I thought A$$ was a non-issues, I just thought it was important to bring it up, because many of my readers would want to know. That part was quick and comical.

      Thx for the comment and thoughts.

  • http://hardwords.wordpress.com Aaron Armstrong

    Great review guys – I’ve been curious about how the Karate Kid remake would be (particularly since the last time they tried to restart the franchise with Hilary Swank it was pretty brutal).

    • Scott Williams

      LOL Definitely worth the Movie Theater Money

  • http://flavors.me/stephengbrown Stephen G. Brown

    Scott, your son’s review is priceless. I took my two year old to his first feature film (Karate Kid) on last night. He stayed engaged for a while, then his age took over. The movie was very good. Will & Jada really have a handle on making good movies. The story line was real, although I wished they would have touched on (Dre’s) father’s death, since Mr. Han opened the door with his family’s death. Oh, and did the girl get into the music school? Great movie that I will definitely purchase so my son can grow up watching it…

    • Scott Williams

      Those are great questions and I bet Producer & Father Will Smith probably has that in store for Karate Kid II.

      I will be buying it also!

  • http://www.marketingtwins.com Donny Vaughn-Marketing Twin #2

    Scott,

    Just got back ourselves from watching the movie. My boys (7 and 9) loved it liked yours did. I too was just as excited to watch it as they were. It has been a long time since I’ve seen the original. I didn’t want to see it b/c I knew this fresh approach would be better.

    Jaden Smith is amazing. Apple don’t fall far from the tree – very likable character. Love Jackie Chan’s role too.

    I will disagree with the “tastefully appropriate” use of the a$$ word. While what happened is true (he did get his “A” kicked!), I don’t like it kids use this kind of language. I’m not being naive – just thought it was unnecessary. Also, in the “punching threw the sheet” scene, Jaden says the “d” word one time too – again, unnecessary.

    But overall, it was a great show – highly recommend it as long as you know going in what to expect with the 2 language instances from Jaden and the intense fighting scenes (which were very realistic I thought).

    Thanks Scott!!

    • Scott Williams

      Thanks Donny… I don’t remember the other one. I do remember him getting punched through the sheet lol. It definitely would have worked well without the two instances.

      Jaden’s mannerisms and humor are almost identical to will Smith’s it’s scary funny. But then again will started early with the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire. thx for the comment

  • http://nickhenderson79.blogspot.com Nick Henderson

    What did you boys think about the original Karate Kid?

    • Scott Williams

      They have not watched it yet… we were going to let them watch it and we decided to make this one their original.

  • Michael Reid

    I took my 7 year old son on Friday night. I thought is was a great movie for father/son night out. Humor, comedy and enough action for anyone. Solid flick…

    • Scott Williams

      Thanks for the review… Short & to the point.

  • http://www.twitter.com/thembisue Susan

    Loved your review by your boys. I saw the movie this afternoon and LOVED it and my son totally enjoyed and wants to see it again. It hit home for me as a single mom wanting only the best for my son. I am Dre’s mom in many ways. ( I agree her role could have taken on a bit more depth… maybe KKII )
    The movie was just solid… I loved that they filmed on location .. real location…loved that the fighting was real ( scary as a mom) but real.

    I actually don’t remember the first Karate Kid… but I have a feeling I will remember this for a long time. I will definitely be getting the DVD can’t wait to see the directors cut and all the other goodies they put on the DVD.

    Good Job Will and Jada good good job

    • Scott Williams

      Well said… I really appreciate your comment. I think KKII will be a hit. You should check out the originals, they were really good.

  • http://yuliantip06.student.ipb.ac.id yulianti

    i love Jackie Chan & his kungfu… on this film he does not show it, but I liked when Jaden showed his kungfu.. :D

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