It's Just Movies

— by JOSUE SANCHEZ —

How do I feel about “The Karate Kid” remake? Where do I begin?

*takes deep breath*

First, I would just like to say the original “Karate Kid” is very dear to me. I watched it at a time in my life when I was very impressionable, and I myself had troubles with bullies. Seeing somebody overcome their oppressions and troubles, in such a beautifully choreographed way, was inspiring to me. It gave me hope, it was kind of on par with the George McFly knock-out punch to Biff at the end of “Back to the Future.”

At the same time, I must point out that “The Karate Kid” has already been remade recently in my opinion. If you watch the movie “Never Back Down,” you will realized the similarities are more than coincidental. I thought that movie took a good direction at remaking “The Karate Kid,” by changing the name and other minor details. But, in the end, it is still, a modern, step-by-step recreation of the original “Karate Kid.”

Now, when I heard that they were re-making “The Karate Kid,” I cringed, then laughed, then called my friends to mock the very existence of a re-make. I mean, why? Oh, and another important question, who? Because I loved the incredible work that Pat Morita did as Mr. Miyagi! He created and truly gave life to this character. Who can possibly attempt to take on such role? Well, we soon learned it was Jackie Chan, and it also appears that Chan’s characters name will be Mr. Han instead of Mr. Miyagi. I will confess I was not horrified by this choice, because I am a huge fan of Chan, but, I still remain worried about any ones else’s interpretation of Morita’s creation.

Also, it appears that the karate kid himself will not be called Daniel in this re-make. Instead, his name will be Dre Parker, and he will be played by Jaden Smith (“The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “The Pursuit of Happiness”).

I won’t lie to you, I was sure I would not like this movie. But, to my surprise, the trailers I have watched have really caught my attention. Sure, I might have pretended I wasn’t impressed with what the trailer showed, but deep inside I was thinking, this actually looks pretty cool. Could it be? Then, to my surprise, my kids come to me the other day asking me if I would take them to watch “The Karate Kid.” At that moment I realized, I would not escape this remake, and that at some point in time I would have to watch it.

So, now, when I read up on it, I kind off see it in a whole new light. Those trailers and advertisements did two things: spark my interest in the movie, and attract the younger kids to want to watch it. I would like to say good job to them kudos to the group that brainstormed how to go about promoting this movie. Your campaign worked very well. At least it did for me.

But, the question continued to sprout. Like, for example, will we see the famous “crane-kick” from the original series? What about the amazing “Pan Pipe (bamboo flute) in the Pentatonic scale” music we heard in the originals, will that musical theme be celebrated once again? All these questions will be answered in just a few weeks, and I am very curious.

Meanwhile, we have embedded below a behind the scenes video that maybe, just maybe, can perhaps spark your curiosity, like it did mine. It is the trailer mixed with extra raw behind the scenes footage, and attempts to point out similarities between the original and this re-make. Check it out.

“The Karate Kid” will be released June 11.

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Follow Josue Sanchez on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Josue_can.