The Karate Kid

Hopefully the remake of The Karate Kid!  The Karate Kid opens this weekend, Friday June 11th, with a surprising cast.  The son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden Smith plays the karate kid, and Jackie Chan plays Mr. Miyagi.  The film is set in China, which promises to be aesthetically beautiful.

It’s the same old story – boy gets picked on, boy learns to defend himself.  ‘Paint the fence’, ‘wax on and off’, or in this case, ‘jacket on and off’ (it’s in the Karate Kid movie preview).  Check it out:

The original Karate Kid movie was released in 1984 and starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel (the karate kid), Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi (the ninja master), and Elizabeth Shue as Ali (the girlfriend).  Believe it or not, there were actually three sequels:  The Karate Kid, Part II (1986); The Karate Kid, Part III (1989); and The Next Karate Kid (1994), with Hilary Swank (did anyone see that?).

Seriously, did anyone see the 1994 release with Hilary Swank?  Was it any good?