Why did the new Karate Kid get such low reviews?

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DeliriousGhost

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I thought it was a good movie, although I had time to forget what the first Karate kid was so I actually liked it
 
The first was ten times better than the second. The new versions just don't have the feeling the old ones do.
 
If were to completely ignore the existence of the first movie, the title wouldn't make sense. If you continue to ignore the original, certain plot elements become a little odd, like the extreme level of violence coming from young kids and the Chinese girl's dancing at the arcade. These seem odd because the roles were designed for older actors, not 10-11 year old kids.

If we do acknowledge the original, there were 2 things in particular that I didn't like. First, the "staying scared" motif didn't seem as good as the "retaining balance" motif from the original. Second, the snake-stance back-flip kick he did didn't hold the same impact that the crane-stance kick of the original; the crane-stance represented Daniel taking from all his accumulated lessons and finally mastering a skill that represented something of master level. Coming up with something off the fly doesn't preserve that same connection.

I did like Jackie Chan in the movie. He wasn't acting as a 1 to 1 replacement for Pat Toriyama; he made the role his own. Jaden Smith was OK, but he felt too hyper at points as if he was just doing an annoying version of Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
 
I was disappointed when I saw the new Karate Kid. I was a big fan of the original and didn't see any carry through of the story. It was just a showcase for Will Smith's very talented kid who deserves a venue but in no way was the script true to the original theme.
 
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