(sort of) brief, late Karate Kid review

I'm gonna throw a short review on ya...

Karate Kid... what do you do when you watch a 140 minute and you know exactly where it's going, yet the movie still takes forever to get there? How do you root for a main character who is so annoying that you don't even care if he wins or loses in the final match? And who knew that Jackie Chan could really act? Yes, these were questions I was asking while watching this movie. And believe me, I'm a stickler for people who try too hard to dissect a film that doesn't need dissecting, at all. But this movie just had too many flaws, one right after the other. By the time the second half of the movie rolls along, finally, you're worn out by the slow-moving first half. I've got nothing against slow-moving films... unless I know exactly where the plot is going, then it becomes tedious and a real pain in the ass. What the hell? Cut at least 30 minutes of this film. We KNOW why Jackie Chan is in this movie, please don't take nearly an hour to reveal that he's the Kung Fu master.

Yes, Kung Fu master. What an egregious misnomer. The Karate Kid? I know what you're thinking, "Does it matter?" Well, yes, it does. The movie makes such important points about "the right way to approach Kung Fu" and yet the movie is called The Karate Kid? That just really stuck out to me, in a very bad way.

But Jackie Chan really was great and gave the film a necessary emotional depth. But Jaden Smith's character...not much is given for us to really care about him. It's revealed in the very first minutes of the movie that his father died but... is that all we get? Is there any emotional depth to this character at all or is he just a bitchy 12 year old? When he finally starts to come around in the 2nd half, it's almost too little too late.

Anyway, there are some respectable elements of the film, but not enough. The Kung Fu tournament was great, but it took too long to get there. They did a good job with the ending, but still, why do I really care about this kid? I don't. And because of that, the ending isn't as satisfying as it should've been.

Rating: 4/10