so that new karate kid movie......

Fuck the haters jackie chan rocked an will smith kid is awsome.now I'm prolly one of the poorest posters on this site I'm in the hood raisin a 8 year old son who's unfortunitely growin up around violence an bullys this movie right here inspired him an I applaud that remind me of me when I saw blood sport at a young age or heck karate kid.so if u have a son who's 6 or older take him to see this flick!

evil son said:

Fuck the haters jackie chan rocked an will smith kid is awsome.now I'm prolly one of the poorest posters on this site I'm in the hood raisin a 8 year old son who's unfortunitely growin up around violence an bullys this movie right here inspired him an I applaud that remind me of me when I saw blood sport at a young age or heck karate kid.so if u have a son who's 6 or older take him to see this flick!

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The beef here is simple.
Jackie Chan doesn't teach him karate. He teaches him kung-fu.
If they'd called it The Kung-Fu Kid, I'd have zero issue with it. Might have even gone to see it. But it's a cheap cash-in based on the legacy of the old films, and a general sign of disrespect to martial arts in general. No dice.

Holy shit, look at that run-on sentence.

loopz. don't take it too personally.
its entertainment.
of course it's a cash in.
it's the definition of entertainment.
but i think alot of times we as an older generation
forget that even though there might be an original floating
around somewhere and it was something we grown up with,
and as tainted and not as good as the original was.
the new stuff isn't aimed at us.
it's aimed towards the demographic we used to be,
relative to the current culture of today.
however garish, annoying, boring, or acceptable we might think things are now.
enjoy it or don't.
I'm not saying the remakes are ever better or worse, just something else.
anyways.
I wouldn't mind watching it.
but I'm just a jackie fan anyway you kick it.

Loopz said:

The beef here is simple.
Jackie Chan doesn't teach him karate. He teaches him kung-fu.
If they'd called it The Kung-Fu Kid, I'd have zero issue with it. Might have even gone to see it. But it's a cheap cash-in based on the legacy of the old films, and a general sign of disrespect to martial arts in general. No dice.

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Exactly. I popped into this thread to say the exact same thing.

The worst part is if they just called it Kung-fu Kid, everyone (and I mean everyone) would have got the reference. So there's the whole 'let's treat the audience like they're brain dead' thing too.

Its not like the original Karate Kid is this fantastic movie that does not need to ever be touched. We love it because we saw it as children or whatever, but its a pretty stupid movie. Might as well make another stupid movie for kids today.

As for the name, I don't have a problem with it. The original movie was respectful to martial arts in that it showed a hot headed teenager learning discipline and humility as well as finding strength to overcome obstacles. And this movie seems like its pretty much the same deal. Maybe the names aren't accurate, but its still a good message for kids.

Yeah I feel you guys on the ramake stuff an how he learned kung fu instead of karate.the original movie an sequel I grew up with shit I remeber when usa network ran both movies into one film way back.I'm still jus opened minded to this flick my 8 year old son dug it an this dude plays kof 99 kof 2002 ssf4 he loves the fighters man.him seeing this flick pumped him the hell up I think the director accomplished his job.remember when we saw our first martial arts flicks? We wasn't looking at the technical stuff or whatever the fuck we complain about today regarding remakes.we were jus amazed at the action an just being a kid. this movie did that an I'm not hating.I don't give a fuck if I have run on sentences you mofos know what the fuck I'm talking about lol.

Loopz said:

If they'd called it The Kung-Fu Kid, I'd have zero issue with it.

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They could have just called it "The Karate Kid 5," right? But if they had done that, then... uh... I don't get it, either, just like I don't understand the movie including some sort of bad-ass pre-teen kids.

genjiglove said:

Its not like the original Karate Kid is this fantastic movie that does not need to ever be touched. We love it because we saw it as children or whatever, but its a pretty stupid movie. Might as well make another stupid movie for kids today.

As for the name, I don't have a problem with it. The original movie was respectful to martial arts in that it showed a hot headed teenager learning discipline and humility as well as finding strength to overcome obstacles. And this movie seems like its pretty much the same deal. Maybe the names aren't accurate, but its still a good message for kids.

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But it has nothing to do with karate. How is it a good message for kids if the movie doesn't even tell the differentiate between Kung-fu and karate? And if you're gonna go ahead and have the wrong name right in the title, why not make a remake to Karate Kid 2, but have it feature a bunch of Navy Seals or something? As long as it's a good message for kids and all.

I think this is a bit past a nitpick. They could have just as easily called it Kung Fu Kid and conveyed the same ideas, but with this little thing I like to call accuracy.

I took my cousin to this movie for his Birthday. I really enjoyed it. Yes, some acting parts were a bit on the stiff-ish side (not really feeling the young Asian girl), but in the end the movie made me smile and cheer inside like a little kid again.

It's an uplifting story, for sure. My friends loved it as well.

Ted Nugent said:

But it has nothing to do with karate. How is it a good message for kids if the movie doesn't even tell the differentiate between Kung-fu and karate? And if you're gonna go ahead and have the wrong name right in the title, why not make a remake to Karate Kid 2, but have it feature a bunch of Navy Seals or something? As long as it's a good message for kids and all.

I think this is a bit past a nitpick. They could have just as easily called it Kung Fu Kid and conveyed the same ideas, but with this little thing I like to call accuracy.

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Well we wouldn't want to deviate from the cinematic art known as "The Karate Kid".

"Karate" is basically a blanket term for all martial arts for a lot of people. And "The Karate Kid" rolls off the tongue a lot easier than "The Kung Fu Kid". And even if it's not reflected in the title, I'm sure they give more detailed explanation of the martial art in the movie itself. I don't see how any of this would take away from an uplifting message for kids. The only people who would walk away from this movie with a major problem with the title are adults who think this kind of bullshit is important.

genjiglove said:

"Karate" is basically a blanket term for all martial arts for a lot of people.

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Sorry, but that is fucking bullshit and should not be encouraged. It's a half-step away from "Japanese, Chinese, what's the difference? They're all the same." Maybe it's kind of funny when your senile grandfather who fought in the war says it, but it's flat-out ignorance with anyone younger than that.

genjiglove said:

Well we wouldn't want to deviate from the cinematic art known as "The Karate Kid".

"Karate" is basically a blanket term for all martial arts for a lot of people. And "The Karate Kid" rolls off the tongue a lot easier than "The Kung Fu Kid". And even if it's not reflected in the title, I'm sure they give more detailed explanation of the martial art in the movie itself. I don't see how any of this would take away from an uplifting message for kids. The only people who would walk away from this movie with a major problem with the title are adults who think this kind of bullshit is important.

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My objection doesn't stem from any reverence of Karate Kid. I don't really care about the movie or its legacy. I'm getting at what STK is saying: equating karate and kung fu is like saying Chinese and Japanese is the same thing. That's not cool, and shouldn't be ignored. And like I said, the implication is that the audience (e.g. Americans) are too dumb to know the difference in the first place.

It's not bullshit. Cultural differences should be respected, not dismissed. I don't care that this is some lame popcorn movie, either. If they had a bunch of jokes about how Asians can't drive, that wouldn't be acceptable, and this crap shouldn't be either.

Ted Nugent said:

And like I said, the implication is that the audience (e.g. Americans) are too dumb to know the difference in the first place.

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The worst thing is that since it IS a movie for small kids, it is helping perpetuate racial/cultural ignorance in a whole new generation.

Loopz said:

The beef here is simple.
Jackie Chan doesn't teach him karate. He teaches him kung-fu.
If they'd called it The Kung-Fu Kid, I'd have zero issue with it. Might have even gone to see it. But it's a cheap cash-in based on the legacy of the old films, and a general sign of disrespect to martial arts in general. No dice.

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YOU WIN!

PERFECT!

Or, "flawless victory"... whichever gets the point across better.

rarehero said:

loopz. don't take it too personally.
its entertainment.
of course it's a cash in.
it's the definition of entertainment.
but i think alot of times we as an older generation
forget that even though there might be an original floating
around somewhere and it was something we grown up with,
and as tainted and not as good as the original was.
the new stuff isn't aimed at us.
it's aimed towards the demographic we used to be,
relative to the current culture of today.
however garish, annoying, boring, or acceptable we might think things are now.
enjoy it or don't.
I'm not saying the remakes are ever better or worse, just something else.
anyways.
I wouldn't mind watching it.
but I'm just a jackie fan anyway you kick it.

Click to expand...

wow, best post in this thread.

I for one think Kung Fu Kid sounds good...they should have gone with that but I get it...they wanted to market off the classic karate kid and really...most people are ignorant...they have no idea of the difference between karate or kung fu..it's all the same to them.

I went to see this movie and it's a mix bag. I like the scenery and locations...i hated will smith's kid but jackie was cool, although there's a part in it he plays that is really stupid...he cries in a car...that's all i'm going to say...

action was okay, plot was virtually the same, movie was okay, not crappy but not something i would recommend seeing in the theaters...just wait till it hits cable and watch it if you feel like it.

SouthtownKid said:

Sorry, but that is fucking bullshit and should not be encouraged.

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no kid born and raised in the 80's ever called martial arts "Martial Arts" (unless they were actually taking martial arts lessons). so every kid just called it karate. Being asian myself, it's not uncommon to be asked "do you know karate" growing up. it's not an offensive term white people. it's fact and not bullshit (about karate being a generic term for any asian martial arts).

whether it's a kungfu/karate movie or whatever, it's just a title/genre term. like cowboy movies, how many of those are really just all about herding cows? (yes, i know the actual term for that genre is Westerns)

I would still have zero desire to see this if it was called "Kung-fu Kid," or anything else for that matter.

SouthtownKid said:

Sorry, but that is fucking bullshit and should not be encouraged. It's a half-step away from "Japanese, Chinese, what's the difference? They're all the same." Maybe it's kind of funny when your senile grandfather who fought in the war says it, but it's flat-out ignorance with anyone younger than that.

Click to expand...

Precisely.

genjiglove said:

We love it because we saw it as children or whatever

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I thought it was pretty bad even when I was a kid.

I thought we'd get an influx of new students at our kung fu school from this movie coming out. Haven't seen much yet. Maybe they all went to the local McDojo karate studio by mistake.

Nepotism.

I'm not all militant about avoiding the movie, but I think it's an irritating misnomer to call it 'The Karate Kid' when it clearly appears to be about someone learning Kung Fu in order to achieve strength, harmony and balance in his life.

The principles are the same, but calling the movie'The Karate Kid' is just inaccurate.

How about this? Just call it 'The Kung Fu Kid' and somewhere in the credits, just credit it as being 'Based on the motion picture 'The Karate Kid.'' I don't see the problem with just doing that. It acknowledges the fact that the plot is lifted from another movie but it honors the cultural differences between Karate and Kung Fu.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that there is such a strong pervading Chinese presence in this movie and yet all of these people are content to be in a film that inaccurately labels the martial discipline being taught in it. It just feels like cultural ignorance to me, and in this day and age it feels wrong to just excuse it because 'it's just a movie.'

I'm sure a lot of Asians resent things like 'alllooksame.com.' Why should it be all right for the movie industry to be so ignorant for the sake of making a buck off of a wave of nostalgia? Just seems like the respectful thing to do would be to give it an appropriate name.

I'll still see it eventually, however. Whether at normal price, at the discount theater or on DVD, I intend to watch it at some point. Jackie Chan has great screen presence in whatever he's in and it's always fun to see him up on the screen interacting with other actors. The Forbidden Kingdom remains one of the most entertaining and flat out FUN movies I've ever seen despite it's unadulterated penchant for cinematic schlock.

I didn't know people took their Kung Fu so seriously around here. But so far in this thread I've seen an Asian person say he didn't find it offensive and a bunch of white people saying they do.

Apparently they allude to some Karate reference in the movie, how the mother gets the two mixed up, and that's why the call it the Karate Kid.

I will probably never watch this movie, because I just don't give a damn, and I won't make the effort to rent/buy/go and see it. I usually do this with 90 percent of the films that come out today, and opt to watch Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now again instead. 90 percent of the time, it is the right thing to do.