The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid
Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the 12-year-old boy embraces Kung Fu, taught to him by a master.
stuhannaford reviewedJune 26, 2025
Surprisingly, I kind of enjoyed it. Now I’m not one for having a go at young actors, but the enjoyment however, was very much in spite of Smith. Physicality, very impressive… acting, not so much. The attempts at cool, come off as obnoxious, confident as cocky, and I never really gravitated to his character. And for that, there are two aspects working against him, outside of his control… his father, Smith Snr, and Macchio. The first is that so much of the script feels tailored to Will, his charismatic, cheeky nature, and that just hasn’t been passed down, which isn’t his fault. That being said, you’d struggle to believe he’d have gotten the part in the first place without certain influences. The second is the comparison to a beloved classic movie, and an actor who created that angst, anger, sidelined spirit and sheer will and determination to succeed, that made you cheer him on through injustice. Smith Jnr, is no Macchio, and no Snr for that matter.
The story is just about different enough to be a reasonably new watch, with a nostalgic nod or two (the fly never stood a chance). However, as expected, the draw and selling point is Chan. Not in the action way you might think though. Instead, it is that of a father figure, protective and encouraging, that I wasn’t entirely expecting from an actor with his perceived range. He steals each and every scene. Unexpected.