- Director: Harald Zwart
- Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan
- Running time: 140min
- Age restriction: PG
Please note, therefore, that The Karate Kid will only be released on Friday, not this weekend.
The good news is that it is worth the wait. It had a huge budget and was shot in spectacular locations in China, but all the expensive hype around its opening has neither overloaded, nor cheapened, the original story at the heart of this inspiring film.
The Karate Kid made its debut in 1984, with an unknown actor, Ralph Macchio, in the lead role and Pat Morita, an Asian-American actor who had been playing bit parts and character roles in Hollywood for 17 years. They were both unknowns and they poured their hearts into the film and made it a Hollywood legend that spawned several sequels.
Now The Karate Kid is back, greatly changed by producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who have restructured the film to provide a juicy leading role for their young son, Jaden.
In Europe and the US, the film's global box-office takings came close to $175-million, so the Smith family will clearly be having a happy Christmas.
Is this film as impressive as its earnings have been? For the most part, it succeeds. I sat down to watch it with low expectations but was soon won over by a clever, heartfelt performance by Jackie Chan. He plays Mr Han, the withdrawn old man who sees through the bravado of young Dre, recognising a lonely youngster who is in need of help.
As in the original film, Mr Han takes on the task of rebuilding Dre's deflated self-esteem by helping him to discover his own physical and emotional strengths.
This mentor-pupil format is often used in Hollywood movies. It was already old when the first Karate Kid was made, and here it is again.
Director Harald Zwart has made major changes in the original story, which played out in the US and where Mr Miyagi was Japanese. This new version is set in China and the film starts with Dre, a sulky child who is moving to China with his mother (Taraji P Henson), who is trying to shake off a bad marriage break-up by taking a job in a Chinese company.
Mother and son arrive in a bustling Chinese city, and while Mom works hard to integrate and enjoy her new world, the defiant Dre falls foul of a bunch of school bullies who attack and humiliate him wherever they can.
The boy is too proud to admit the abuse, but the reclusive Mr Han sees what is happening, and decides to help Dre out, for reasons that emerge only much later.
Mr Han trains Dre in martial arts but he is also building the spiritual and personal self-belief Dre will need when he finally goes out to test his strength. If you are a regular movie goer, you can pretty much guess how it will all turn out.
There is also a sweet little teen romance between Dre and Meiying (Wenwen Han), a fellow pupil. She is being trained to be a classical violinist and, once again, you will probably guess exactly how that turns out. The sound of clichés clicking into place is audible throughout the film, but somehow it seems par for the course.
Director Zwart and cinematographer Roger Pratt fill the screen with dazzling visions of China, from the gaudy shops and games arcades in the cities, to the vast expanse of plains and mountains.
The film is a visual feast, especially the sequences shot on the Great Wall of China, where the great images are matched by a soaring, inspirational score from James Horner, who may be in line for top honours come the awards season next year.
The big question is whether Jaden Smith is the actor his parents think he is.
The answer is: not really. He's not abysmal, and when he has to act sassy and streetwise he does it pretty neatly but, face it, that's hardly a stretch for a boy whose parents are international stars, and has been on as many magazine covers as they have.
Smith copes with the physical demands of the role respectably, but as an actor he does not have a great range; if his parents don't grasp that pretty soon, and if they keep building lavish star vehicles for their actor son, they are headed for hard times.
The real heart and spirit of this film is Chan, in his most accomplished and heartfelt role. At age 56, he still has impressive martial arts moves, but that's not the point of this role.
Mr Han is a sad, angry man who has lost belief in himself. By helping Dre, Mr Han exorcises his personal demons and regains the self-respect he has lost.
I don't think Chan will crack an Oscar nod for this film, but it is by far the most interesting and controlled performance we have seen in his American movies.
So, suspend your disbelief and watch the movie for it glorious scenery and for Chan.
He is what this whole film is about. The Smith family may have paid for it, made it, and publicised it to high heaven, but it's Chan you remember, and that's down to his genuine star quality.
- The Karate Kid opens nationally on September 17.
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