Karate Kid: I will never say never!

The first Karate Kid was released on 1984. The main actor was Ralph George Macchio and his teacher was Noriyuki "Pat" Morit. The movie was directed by John G. Avildsen and it was a success. This year, director Harald Zwart has attemped to remake the movie and it was outstanding and a very great remake. I think, the tiny thing that might become the issue is that  Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in the first Karate Kid was really trained to practice Karate, compared to Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) which was trained to practice Kung fu. However, the remake will not let you down. 5 star!

Karate Kid (1984)

High school senior Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves with his mother (Randee Heller) from Newark, New Jersey to Reseda, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Their apartment's handyman is an odd but kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

Daniel meets Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), a high school cheerleader, but earns the anger of her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a karate student. Johnny is the best student at the Cobra Kai dojo, where he is taught an unethical, vicious form of martial arts. Daniel knows some karate from books, and from a few months' experience at the YMCA, but is the victim of repeated beatings from Johnny and his friends.

When Miyagi witnesses one of the beatings, he intervenes and defeats all five Cobra Kai with ease. Awed, Daniel asks Miyagi to be his teacher. Miyagi refuses, but agrees to go with Daniel to the Cobra Kai dojo in order to resolve the conflict. They confront the sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove), an ex-Special Forces Vietnam Veteran who sneers at the concepts of mercy and restraint. Kreese and Miyagi agree to a match between Johnny and Daniel in two months' time at the "All Valley Karate Tournament", where Cobra Kai students can fight Daniel on equal terms. Miyagi also requests that the bullying stop while Daniel trains. Kreese orders his students to leave Daniel alone, but threatens that if Daniel does not show up for the tournament, the harassment will resume and Miyagi will also become a target.

Miyagi becomes Daniel's teacher and, slowly, a surrogate father figure. He begins Daniel's training by having him perform laborious chores such as waxing cars, sanding a wooden floor, painting a fence, and refinishing Miyagi's house. Each chore is accompanied with a specific movement, such as clockwise/counter-clockwise hand motions. Daniel eventually feels frustrated, believing he has learned nothing of karate. When he expresses his frustration, Miyagi reveals that Daniel has been learning defensive blocks through muscle memory learned by performing the chores.

As Daniel's training continues "in the open," his bond with Miyagi becomes closer. He learns that Miyagi lost his wife and son in childbirth at Manzanar internment camp while he was serving overseas with the United States Army during World War II. The loss of his family and Daniel's loss of his father further strengthens the father-son surrogacy. Daniel also discovers that the outwardly peaceful and serene Miyagi was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism against German forces in Europe.

Through the teaching, Daniel learns not only karate but also important life lessons such as the importance of balance, reflected by the belief that martial arts training is as much about training the spirit as the body. Daniel applies the life lessons that Miyagi has taught him to strengthen his relationship with Ali.

At the tournament, Daniel surprises everyone by reaching the semi-finals. Johnny advances to the finals, scoring three unanswered points against a highly skilled opponent. Kreese instructs Bobby Brown, one of his more compassionate students and the least vicious of Daniel's tormentors, to disable Daniel with an illegal attack to the knee. Bobby reluctantly does so, injuring Daniel but getting disqualified in the process. With Daniel unable to continue, Miyagi assures him he has already proven himself. Despondent, Daniel believes that if he does not continue, his tormentors will have gotten the best of him. He persuades Miyagi to use a pain suppression technique to allow him to finish the tournament. As Johnny is about to be declared the winner by default, Daniel hobbles into the ring.

Kreese directs Johnny to repeat unethical moves to achieve victory. Despite the moves, Daniel gets up each time. Ultimately Daniel and Johnny are tied. Daniel, barely able to stand, assumes the "Crane Kick" stance and delivers a blow to Johnny's chin, winning the tournament. Johnny, having gained newfound respect for his adversary, takes Daniel's trophy from the Master of Ceremonies and presents it to Daniel himself. Miyagi looks on proudly as Daniel celebrates his victory.

Karate Kid (2010)

12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) arrive in  Beijing from Detroit to start a new life. Dre develops a crush on a young violinist, Mei Ying, who reciprocates his attention, but Mei Ying's classmate Cheng, a kung fu prodigy whose family is close to Mei Ying's, attempts to keep them apart by beating Dre, and later harassing and humiliating him in and around school. During a particularly brutal beating by Cheng and his friends, the kindly maintenance man of Dre's building, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), comes to Dre's aid, revealing himself as a kung fu master who adeptly dispatches Dre's tormentors.

After Han mends Dre's injuries using fire cupping, they go to Cheng's teacher, Master Li, to attempt to make peace, but the brutal Li, who teaches his students to show no mercy to their enemies, challenges Dre to a fight with Cheng. When Han declines, Li threatens him, saying that they will not be allowed to leave his school unless either Dre or Han himself fights. Han acquiesces, but insists the fight take place at an upcoming "Open Kung-fu Tournament"(LOL!), and that Li's students leave Dre alone until the tournament. The amused Li agrees.

Han begins training Dre, but Dre is frustrated that Han merely has Dre spend hours taking off his jacket, hanging it up, dropping it, and then putting it back on again. After days of this, Dre refuses to continue, until Han explains to him that the repetitive arm movements in question were Han's method of teaching Dre defensive block and strike techniques, which Dre is now able to display instinctively when prompted by Han's mock attacks. Han emphasizes that the movements Dre is learning apply to life in general, and that serenity and maturity, not punches and power, are the true keys to mastering the martial arts. During one lesson in the Wudang Mountains, Dre notices a female kung fu practitioner copying the movements of a cobra before her, but Han informs him that it was the cobra that was imitating the woman, as in a mirror reflection. Dre wants Han to teach him this technique, which includes linking Han's hand and feet to Dre's via bamboo shafts while practicing their forms, but Dre's subsequent attempt to use this reflection technique on his mother is unsuccessful.

As Dre's friendship with Mei Ying continues, she agrees to attend Dre's tournament, and does Dre her upcoming recital. After sharing a kiss at an outdoor festival, Dre persuades Mei Ying to cut school for a day of fun, but when she is nearly late for her violin recital, which has been rescheduled for that day, Mei tells him that her parents have deemed him a bad influence, and forbid her from spending any more time with him.

When Dre finds Han drunk and despondent, he learns that it is the anniversary of his wife and son's deaths, which occurred years ago when he lost control of his car while arguing with his wife. Dre reminds Han that one of his lessons was in perseverance, and that Han needs to heal from his loss, and tries to help him do so. Han then assists Dre in writing a note of apology to Mei Ying's father, who, impressed, allows Mei to attend the tournament.

At the tournament, the underconfident Dre is slow to achieve parity with his opponents, but soon begins to best them, and advances to the semifinals, as does Cheng, who violently finishes off his opponents. Dre eventually comes up against Master Li's students, in particular a classmate of Cheng who is instructed by Master Li to break Dre's leg. When his student insists that he can beat Dre, Master Li sternly tells him that he doesn't want him beaten, but broken. During the match, Li's student delivers a devastating kick to Dre's leg, along with a series of brutal follow-up punches. Although Li's student is disqualified for his illegal strikes, Dre is incapacitated, which means Cheng will win by default.

Despite Han's insistence that he has earned respect for his performance in the tournament, and that he needs to learn when to walk away from a fight, Dre convinces Han to use his fire cupping technique to mend his leg, in order to see the tournament to the end. Dre returns to the arena, where he confronts Cheng. Dre delivers impressive blows, but Cheng counters with a debilitating strike to Dre's already injured leg. Dre struggles to get up, and adopts the one-legged form he first learned from the woman on the mountain, attempting to use the reflection technique to manipulate Cheng's movements. Cheng charges Dre, but Dre flips, and catches Cheng with a kick to his head, winning the tournament, along with the respect of Cheng and his classmates, both for himself and Mr.Han.

Reasons to watch Karate Kid 2010:

1. Jaden Smith acts very well. He inherited his father's style.
2. If one of the objective of the movie is to promote the beautiful culture of China, then it was a great success! I wish malay movies are creative and good like this one.
3. Dre Parker moves to China to learn kung fu is more realistic compared Daniel who move to California and ended up learning Karate! (Karate is originated from Japan) xD
4. This is a great movie remake. The director keeps the story line the same, but he successfully remakes the content of the movie.

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Click Here for Karate Kid OST Justin Bieber - Never Say Never ft. Jaden Smith.mp4 download