The Best Around

1984's The Karate Kid, driven by Joe Esposito's relentless hit "You're the Best Around", has long set the standard for preteen martial arts movies. I'm excited to say that that era may be drawing to a close, if the new remake of that movie lives up to its first trailer.

Watch it now, before I give away the game.

I'll air my one complaint first: this remake should really be called The Wushu Kid, or The Kung Fu Kid, because the wizened "karate" master of this remake has never made and probably will never make a karate movie. The rest is all good. We start with a foundation familiar to Karate Kid fans; a young man starting a new life far from home, confused, lonely. He catches the eye of an attractive young lady, and his troubles begin when her thuggish boyfriend notices. The confusion and misery build until a familiar face steps in, to our relief and delight; Jackie Chan to the rescue, ready to teach our hero what he needs to know to defend his body and his honor. A few snippets of a well-made training montage follow, complete with satisfying nods to the original and set to the block-rocking beats of Fort Minor's "Remember the Name." I will be seeing Jackie Chan dispense Kung-Fu wisdom in the theaters at the first opportunity.