the karate kid

ok, ok, i swore i wouldnt go see it out of respect for the original, but last night i went with davina and saw it.  we had intended to see the prince of persia, but signs up at the movie theatres said that their copies are all scratched (WTF??) and it wasnt showing, so we chose the KK, since we were there at the right time.

i was prepared to not like it, having seen the original a few times, i was wondering how they'd set it all up and play out the story.

of course they didnt have "wax on, wax off", but they had their version of "put the jacket on, take it off, hang it up", which somehow doesnt sound nearly as profound as "wax on, wax off".  i think i remember saying that quite a bit as a kid.  now the new saying is a little clunky.

mr hong played by jackie chan had more depth to his character than mr miyagi played by pat morita.  there was more of a story behind his character and his calm facade, which i thought was a nice endearing touch.  of course, now that i've typed that, i've also found conflicting evidence from wikipedia stating the contrary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keisuke_Miyagi).  maybe my movie memory is as shitty as i believe??

there were references to the old karate kid (remember the fly/chopstick scene?) where only the adults laughed.  yes, the theatre was kid-friendly last night, which actually made the movie more enjoyable.  no, i didnt have a fever, the kids actually made it funnier.  most of them would laugh out loud and guffaw and comment, and it was their pure unadulterated off the cuff laughter that had me enjoying the experience more.  i mean, really, as adults we suppress our laughter lest someone look at us funny.  the kids?  well, those little jackasses didnt care.  laughter, guffawing, comments, and even clapping at one point in the movie.  it was awesome.

that jaden smith?  that kid is RIPPED.  we saw a six pack...on a 12yr old.  and we were utterly amazed by his skills.  i hope he did do his own stunts, and if he did, he's freaking strong!!

yes, the story's the same, the situtation's changed a bit, but it's still enjoyable.  it's a movie i would buy.  i know i'm a cheeseball, but i enjoyed it.  hell, i even clapped when the kid won the tournament...yeah, my inner kid is still alive in here somewhere.

i left the theatre happy and glad i saw it.  was it worth the $10?  yeah, in my mind it was.