The Karate Kid (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Amazing work, enjoyed viewing it.

Great movie to enjoy with family and kids. No nudity or adult oriented material. :)

Really good movie i enjoyed it

When I read that there was going to be a remake of the 1984 film The Karate Kid, I smiled in fond recollection of the original (which was a great family favorite in our house) and was interested in seeing the new version because it was being shot in China - a country (and a culture) about which I feel I have a LOT to learn. I was looking forward to seeing it.The results? A mixed bag. Since I generally prefer to judge a remake on its own merits and try to avoid making too many comparisons to the original, I was somewhat surprised that, after seeing Karate Kid 2010, ALL I was doing was making comparisons in my head - comparisons in which the new version kept coming up short. Annoyed with myself, I decided to watch the 1984 version again to make certain it wasn't just nostalgia that was coloring my opinion. So I re-watched. It wasn't just nostalgia - the original IS better.The Karate Kid 1984 wasn't the best written or best acted film ever - or even of 1984. But it was very popular. Kids liked it. Their parents liked it. People saw it multiple times. They quoted from it ("wax on, wax off"). Some, including my own kids, still do. :-) Enrollment at karate schools across the country rose dramatically. What really came home to me during my back-to-back viewing of the two films is that the new version simply lacks much of the heart and most of the humor that formed the basis for that initial popularity. And both of those - the heart and the humor - came, IMO, from the wonderful relationship between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). While the plot of the remake closely follows the original, the new film never comes close to capturing the essence of that relationship and so failed to engage me in the same manner the original did.But while I didn't find the heart and humor in The Karate Kid 2010 that would have given me that "absolutely love it" feeling, the film has its own charms and I was able to enjoy it on its own merits, particularly in a couple of areas where it clearly outclasses the original, such as: * The athleticism of its stars (Jaden Smith as Dre Parker, Jackie Chan as Mr. Han & Zhenwie Wang as the bully, Cheng). Jaden Smith, even at age 11, has more muscle definition than Ralph Macchio had at twice his age (or possibly ever) and is physically much more convincing as a student who could master difficult martial arts moves in a short space of time. Chan and Wang (Wang particularly) are also more convincing athletically than their counterparts. * The vastly superior fight scenes. Each and every fight scene is better "choreographed" and much more interesting to watch. (They are also more violent - parents might want to see the film before taking children under the age of 10 or so.) * Dre's friendship with the violin prodigy Meiying (Wenwen Han). Even as a dedicated fan of Elisabeth Shue (the love interest in the original film), I found the Dre/Meiying relationship more appealing. I probably would have enjoyed their storyline more if the writers had simply left it platonic and concentrated on the cultural differences between them to create some tension, but their relationship made possible one of my favorite moments in the film: the scene where Dre goes to Meiying's home and addresses a formal apology to her father in Chinese. I also loved the violin piece she played. * The gorgeous scenery. Views of China including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and a mountaintop temple were simply stunning. (Those interested in seeing more of China might want to check out  Wild China: Natural Wonders of the World's Most Enigmatic Land ). * And, lastly, the ancient healing method? MUCH cooler in the new film.Both films have a collection of underlying messages that they effectively deliver - that violence is not the answer, that there is honor is being a peacemaker, that bullies often learn their ways from others and, most meaningful to me personally, that children (or anyone for that matter) should never have to live in fear. I will say this: if a remake, even if it doesn't quite live up to the original, renews these messages and makes them more accessible to another generation, I'm in.I give this new version of The Karate Kid 3.5 stars - for me it hovers somewhere between "it's ok" and "I liked it". I'm rounding down because, with some serious editing (dang, it was too long - just like this review!), and with a little more care to inject more heart into it, I would have been happy to give it a firm 4 stars. While I believe the original is better, I think this one is worth a look and that its messages are ones that every generation deserves to hear.Recommended.

This was a worthy remake of the 1980s classic. It kept the basics of the story of a lonely kid in a new place who finds a man that becomes his mentor and teaches him martial arts to help him deal with some bullies who come from a Chinese version of Cobra Kai. This time it featured Jaden Smith as the kid and Jackie Chan as the teacher. Smith moves to China with his mom played by Taraji P. Henson where he meets Chan.For Chan it was a different kind of role. He wasn’t the action figure but rather a reluctant to get involved old man. He did get to show a bit of his comedy. He also took up the Mr. Miyagi form of teaching making Smith repeat the same simple motions over and over to teach him martial arts moves. He was also full of sorrow which was a added twist to the character. All together it proves to be one of Chan’s more endearing characters.Smith was good as well as the frustrated kid having to give up everything and adapt to not only a new home but a completely new country where he didn’t even speak the language.It’s definitely an entertaining family film.

I finally got around to seeing this after not seeing the original for many, many years. Perhaps it is not fair to compare this or the actors here to the original since many of the actors here are younger than the ones were in the original. However, since they chose to do the same movie, with the same name and with the same basic plot, comparisons will be made.I found this to be lacking a lot of the kick (no pun intended), heart, and emotional payoff the original had during many scenes and overall. It isn't that it was devoid of heart or drama, but in many ways they are nowhere near the original's.Dre (Jaden Smith) who is the "Daniel" character does a good job, is a cute kid etc. but for one seems a bit too cool for the character who is the underdog. Although he does admirably for his age, face it he is no Ralph Macchio. I don't think they should have gone with someone so young for such a role. Sure, it might appeal more to the younger kids. I realize the benefits of choosing younger and the negatives of choosing older actors to play younger parts (which has happened a lot in Hollywood), but it does often benefit in stronger actors in the roles.Jackie Chan does admirably for his experience and probably shows more depth than have been seen from him (although I haven't watched his other movies). However, once again no comparison to Pat Morita who showed a lot more heart, determination and humor. Even though Miyagui was short and small, he conveyed the toughness andgrit to where you believed he could beat the evil sensei.Taraji P. Henson (as Dre's mother) does have some funny moments, but doesn't measure up in the mother role either. Now, the following isn't her fault, but it seems unlikely to me in this day and age that a mother would let her son spend so much time alone with a virtual stranger (especially a single man). Now, this is sad that our times have become that way, but it is reality. One could argue that she just wants Dre to be happy and feels bad they had to move, but still it doesn't seem plausible. But then again, these days too many parents want to be their kid's friends and seen as cool, so maybe this isn't as far-fetched as I thought. Either way, in most movies we have to suspend disbelief, so I will give them that one (at least to some degree). However, while we are on plot and details in relation to the mother, how many mothers do you know who wouldn't seem more concerned when her son was hurt at the end? I would think most would want to run up front and try to get to him. Most wouldn't be thrilled he was going to continue to fight when injured (when they were tied after his leg getting hurt a second time). The original actress showed much more concern, care etc. in this scene. In fact, after writing this earlier in the day, I remembered that the mother, Miyagui and girlfriend all DID run up front when the leg was first hurt (although above I was referring to when the "Johnny" equivalent hurt the leg before the final winning blow. The mother didn't seem all that concerned, but instead was excited when he got up to continue fighting at the end. I would think most wouldn't have wanted him to go on, or at least be real concerned and on the edge of their seats (even if they wanted to see them win).The original sensei seemed much more evil and jerky than the one here did (Master Li?) The original was also much more intimidating and easier to hate even though the one here probably did worse things.The Ali equivalent here was a sweet girl and funny in places, but didn't nearly have the chops of Elisabeth Shue. They did seem to develop the character here a bit more, but it didn't seem to do a lot of good and might have even distracted from the main plot in some ways.The Johnny equivalent here did show some jerkiness, but suffers from a lot of the same thing as the sensei above. Not as despicable, although he had his moments.There were some differences here that made it different than a carbon copy (I might get into those later), but the basic plot is the same. With the Karate Kid really being the Kung Fu Kid aside, this seems to suffer with too many cool moves instead of drama and execution of the plot. The moves are cool to look at (but exaggerated) and the scenes nice to see, but a lot of the emotion is just not there. I can deal with the differences in teaching (no scrub the floor, paint the fence, wax on, wax off etc. here) because the moves being taught are different. However, it seemed like it concentrated too much on being cool, showing cool moves etc. The original had enough moves to be dramatic and cool without trying to be a cross between a martial arts flick and a live depiction of a video game.I guessed early on (when the day of the girl's audition changed) that something would try to prevent her from going to the tournament. I was correct except I thought it would be her needing to be in concert, rehearsal or something. I also figured she would get there anyhow, but was surprised about the parents not allowing her to see him and Dre and Mr. Han going to the house. Those were nice.There were some heartwarming moments and we did see Mr. Han and Dre make differences in each others' lives. There was still some drama and payoff, and perhaps those who never saw the far superior original might like it better than I did. I tried to be fair and rate it score-wise without the original in mind, but can't be absolutely sure I succeeded as of course after seeing it, this one fell short.

The website shows me there is a delay in shipping. It arrived. I have it in hand. It plays perfectly. That includes the special features one of which is learning Chinese. My bank account was also charged correctly for this one and 3 others I received. What happened Amazon?

This was the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. An interesting karate film with a good storyline, but with reservations because of two glaring errors, although criticism can be made about any film. Nevertheless, I have watched it a couple of times and will watch it again. The first ‘rather silly’ error was the recently widowed Mrs Parker, played by Taraji P. Henson, with her son Dre, played by Jaden Smith, flew to China to live and work at the invitation and expense of a Chinese car maker. Dre was to start his education at a Chinese school, even though his knowledge of Chinese was zero. Such an offer would never be made to an ordinary American worker. China has millions of them working for far less money. The second glaring error, which was quite unnecessary and inappropriate, was the love and a kiss between Dre and Meiying, played by Wenwen Han, a young Chinese violin student, two prepubescent children of about nine years of age. What were the directors thinking when they included that scene? The mind boggles! Apart from those two annoying snapshots the film was good, which included classic scenes of the Great Wall. Well worth watching.

The 2010 remake of the cult classic "The Karate Kid" see's Jaden Smith moving to China with his mum & virtually as soon as he arrives, he starts to get bullied.His buildings maintenance man, played by Jackie Chan, takes him under his wing & teaches him KarateThe film at times follows the first films script but in my humble opinion, it is not as good.This one will appeal to the younger generation who have never seem the original Karate Kid films as this one is not as dated.

Currently watching it now and is very good. Only thing I will say is this blu ray was part of a pack as it says on the back not to be sold seperately

I remember watching it when I was younger at the cinema and loved it! I rewatched it and I still love it a lot. The story is very touching and interesting. It's a very good movie!

Good film, entertaining - especially for kids and Jacki Chan is great.I know it’s trading of the franchise by why Karate kid when it’s set in China and all about Kung Fu? A bit of an insult to intelligence but a good film all the same.