The Karate Kid starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, opens today. I'm curious if it will be as good as the original. All I know about it so far is that it's set in China and the "karate kid" (Smith) learns kung fu from maintenance man Mr. Han (Chan).
OK, was this a complete oversight by Hollywood, or is it me? But how can you call the film "The Karate Kid" when the main character is learning kung fu? Who on earth green-lighted the screenplay? Good grief.
Obviously, it's about money.
The Hollywood bean counters are tapping into nostalgia and hoping that it will equal digging into our pocketbooks. But as a child of the 80s, and as someone who spent years studying martial arts, I find this a bit offensive. First of all, they should stop making cheesy, half-assed 80s remakes and concentrate on original screenplays. Secondly, respect culture: karate and kung fu may be cousins, but they are hardly the same (one originated from Japan, the other China).
If you're saying karate is no different from kung fu, then you might as well say all Asians look alike...
