--The Karate Kid

For my first "Great Hollywood Re-do" article I've chosen a film that was very special for me growing up, "The Karate Kid".

The original, released in 1984 made 90 million at the box office and starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. The remake, released in 2010 made 176 million at the box office and starred Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.

Both films were viewed as successful movies from the studio standpoint. From my standpoint however, they are both anything but.

To this day the original film has the ability to bring forth many emotions when viewing. This alone is the biggest difference between the two films. When Daniel Larusso ( Ralph Macchio ) learns to "Paint the fence", "Sand the Floor," etc... the goosebumps still feel as new as ever. They tried a new spin on this in the new film with the "take off the jacket" scene. It was actually pretty cool in terms of the actual scene, but there is not a lot of emotional build up to it.

The reboot moved the setting of the film overseas and made the main character younger. I'm not sure about you, but I actually felt a little uncomfortable seeing an 11 year old boy get beat up by school mates. The original felt like legitimate teen angst, a boy trying to get through highschool with bullies. Daniel Larusso turns 16, gets the pretty girl, and tries to make sense of the world.

Jackie Chan didn't do a bad job, but that's about as far as I can go. They tried to mimic some of Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) struggles, but emotion-wise they don't come close.

The climax of the original was also a lot more realistic. Those guys were not Bruce Lee. They were teenagers who thought that the afterschool karate made them something special. With the newer film,  I'm still looking for the wires they CGI'd out of Dre's (Jaden Smith) flip kick at the end.

I talked to quite a few people about both films. Some that had seen both, some just the original, and some just the new version. Those who had seen both would not stop talking about how much they loved the original film. They gave the new film good marks, but not as high. Those that had just seen the newer verision thought it was a pretty good movie. I guess that's a success in terms of a reboot.

The Karate Kid (1984 )- 7.5 ( out of 10 )
The Karate Kid (2010 ) - 6.0

That's how I see it.  Now pass the popcorn before I break out my crane kick!

Tad Wymer-