I Must Be Getting Old: The Remakes

So I saw the Karate Kid yesterday. Not the 1984 classic that should come to mind for anyone born before 1990 rather the 2010 remake which has replaced Ralph Macchio with Jaden Smith and California with China. I'll be upfront here: I'm very protective of movies I like, especially childhood movies that moved me so much they've become indelible, etched into the annals of my mind. Thus, when I hear that one of those movies is being remade (GASP!) then I naturally get a bit...nervous. You see its not that I detest the idea of a remake in and of itself; in fact I encourage it! Some of my favorite movies from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (and like 50 other horror movies) to the new Batman series were essentially remakes that I thoroughly enjoy, at times more than the original. But, there is still the age old argument that there are just some thing that can't be remade. Star Wars, Jurassic Park & Titanic are a few that come to mind. These movies have become so culturally defining and monumental in their scope and legacy that remaking them would seem largely an impossible feat. Now this may seem like a very broad statement, however lets get real: many people (including to an extent me) feel this way. I honestly cannot see somebody ever remaking those because it wouldn't be the same. But lets face it, beyond simply the "they would be different" argument lies a much more blunt and passionate one: they would ruin the movie.

That may seem a bit harsh but its a reality among many movie-lovers and critics alike. Most, I would argue, viciously attack remakes and trivialize them as cheap reincarnations that lack the depth and substance that made the originals so well loved. Furthermore, they're also criticized as "unoriginal" having based their source material on an already concrete foundation and are little more than money mills attempting to squeeze out a few extra bucks at the expense of real cinema. Its very difficult to find a remake that people find better than an original and more often then not remakes are critically thrashed and culturally forgotten. Or the opposite becomes true: culturally, then end up replacing their original and become even more reviled because they have effectively erased a film so loved by others (see Planet of the Apes or Texas Chainsaw for example). Perhaps that is why so many "older" (and I use that phrase vaguely to mean anyone over the legal drinking age practically) people get frustrated by remakes since they always revert back to the same of question: "Why remake a classic movie in the first place?"

Insert the Karate Kid, 2010. I enjoyed the movie, thank you very much. Sure, I was skeptical at first - in fact when I first found out I was downright pissed. First of all, WHY are they remaking it since the first one is still totally awesome ("you're the best around"!!)? Second, umm the kid is not supposed to be black and whats the deal with China?!? Its supposed to be California! Oh, and Jackie Chan will be an awful Mr. Miagi - and don't even get me started on Will Smith's son who ONLY got the part because his father is producing the movie. In fact, the movie isn't even about Karate, ITS ABOUT KUNG FU!!! Needless to say, I wasn't to thrilled. But then the trailer came out. I still remained skeptical - but I'm not going to lie, I was intrigued. It wasn't until the movie actually came out though that I really gave it a chance - well more like a month after it came out lol. I still felt very protective over the original, and I didn't want to "taint" my memory of it by watching this remake but I figured well what the hell, it looks somewhat interesting which means it could end up being good after all. Well after having watched It I will say I was very pleased - in fact I left not only satisfied, but excited! The movie to me was what a remake should be: based on the same premise as the original but not to similar as to differentiate itself. It maintained the essence of the first film and managed to provide a new take while avoiding the cheesy pitfalls remakes usually engage in (crass and unnecessary humor, unnecessary increased violence/action, and poor character development choices- or lack thereof). The movie was fresh, exciting and delivered the same message as the original with a different take: exactly what I wanted. I liked how the moved it to china because it added a different sort of isolation than California and making the main character black added a racial component that previously remained non-existent, plus it also modernized it in a way by removing the overwhelmingly white-washed make-up of the original (lets keep in mind though - that was the 80s!) In no ways is it the first film and in no ways does it try to be - It merely borrows the name and the general idea: the rest is its own. Remakes such as this are exactly what I would like to see from something being remade: don't steal my childhood glory and bastardize it (then put a big fat price sticker on it) - make something for the kids of today and me. That's really anybody should ask from a remake. If studios and directors can achieve that, then both the original and the remake can be enjoyable, for generations to come.