The Karate Kid: Difference between revisions

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[[File:the-karate-kid-jaden-smith-jackie-chan_5349.jpg|frame]]

'''''The Karate Kid'':''' A [[Continuity Reboot]] of the series that premiered in June 2010, borrowing elements of the first one but set in Beijing, China. Jaden Smith ([[Will Smith]]'s son) plays the lead role of Andre "Dre" Parker and [[Jackie Chan]] is the old mentor, Mr. Han. There is almost no karate in this film; the lead character trains in kung fu instead.

Many people have noticed that [[DC Comics]] is credited in the films, but contrary to popular belief, the films are not directly based on a comic book. Columbia Pictures needed permission from DC to use the title "the Karate Kid" because the name was already in use for a character in DC's ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' comic; the films draw no inspiration from the character.

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** In the sequel, Chozen allows him to follow through, but simply catches his foot and gives him an elbow to the back (a move reminiscent of Johnny's elbow to Daniel's knee in the first movie).

* [[Awesomeness By Analysis]]: After time, Daniel was able to point out the flaws in others techniques and able to improve upon them.

* [[Badass Pacifist]]: Mr. Miyagi hates fighting, but is VERY competent when the situation calls for it.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Mr. Miyagi is calm and peaceful, but that doesn't mean he's lacking in fighting skill.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Mr. Miyagi gets to do this at least [[Once Per Episode|Once per Movie]].

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* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Pretty much every time Mr. Miyagi gets his hands dirty.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Miyagi in the first film especially

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Most kids who bully Daniel quickly move to attempted murder once he tries to defend himself. Inverted in part 3, where Barnes starts entirely too much shit throughout the movie, but gets off with nothing more than a loss by a single point. [[Karma Houdini|Terry and Kreese get no comeuppance at all]].

* [[Fight Magnet]]: For a guy who doesn't want to fight, Mr. Miyagi beats up a lot of people.

* [[Finish Him!]]: Kreese's instructions to the Cobra Kai.

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* [[For the Evulz]]: It may not be why Terry first harasses Daniel, but it's certainly why he ''enjoys'' it.

** The whole series features some of the most nonsensical villains you'll ever see. Good luck coming up with any motivation by the time you get to Dugan from ''Next''.

* [[The Freelance Shame Squad]]: A ballroom filled with refined, upper-crust partygoers all stop dancing and put down their canapes just to laugh at Daniel-San after he bumps into a waiter and gets bolognese sauce all over his outfit. They're probably mocking the poor waiter too, but it doesn't come across as strongly.

* [[Game-Breaking Injury]]: "Sweep the leg."

** And in the reboot: "I don't want him beaten; I want him ''broken''" and "Break his leg."

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** The remake is even worse with this.

* [[Kung Fu Kid]]

* [[Literal Minded]]

* [[Literal-Minded]]

{{quote|'''Daniel:''' ''(upon being instructed on [[Wax On, Wax Off]])'' Where did all these cars come from?

'''Miyagi:''' Detroit. }}

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* [[Opposed Mentors]]: The second ''Karate Kid'' movie has the main character pick up an [[Evil Mentor]] after an argument with Miyagi.

* [[Ordered to Cheat]]: "Sweep the Leg" is the former [[Trope Namers]] (though the "out of commission" order fits much better).

* [[Parental Substitute]]: Miyagi and Daniel form a very close father/son dynamic throughout the films.

* [[Police Are Useless]]: Part of the plot of the third movie.

* [[Retired Badass]]: Mr. Miyagi, who'd earned medals in [[World War II]], including the ''Medal of Honor''.

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'''Mr. Miyagi''': Hai.

'''Daniel''': Well, why didn't you?|'''Mr. Miyagi''': Because Daniel, for man with no forgiveness in heart, [[Cruel Mercy|life worse punishment than death.]] }}

* [[The Worf Effect]]: Daniel suffers this in both the sequels.

* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: Daniel's plea to Miyagi to perform the pressure point healing technique on his leg, letting his master know that he fully understands the meaning of balance.

* [[World War II]]: Miyagi served in one of the US Army's ''nisei'' regiments in Europe during WWII, and received the Distinguished Service Cross. On the other side of the coin, his wife and son died in childbirth in one of the internment camps.

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* [[Buffy-Speak]]: "Fiery cup thing."

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: Snake charming, {{spoiler|which Dre uses to psyche Cheng into losing control}}.

* [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]]: The tournament. Dre is in white and Cheng and his team are in black and red. The other teams, which pretty much serve as cannon fodder, are dressed in green, purple, and blue.

* [[Comforting Comforter]]: A rather [[Heartwarming Moments (Sugar Wiki)|sweet]] scene when Dre falls asleep onto Mr Han's lap and a hesitating Mr Han places a hand on his shoulder.

* [[Crazy Cultural Comparison]]: The scene involving the hot water switch.

* [[Contrived Clumsiness]]: Cheng knocks over Dre's lunch tray and then says "Sorry!"

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: The first fight between Cheng and Dre does not go well for Dre at all.

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* [[Disappeared Dad]]: The fact that Dre's father had died was made known at the beginning of the movie.

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: ''Everybody'' in this film seems to call all types of martial arts featured "Kung Fu", despite the fact that the Chinese would more likely use the term "Wushu".

** Maybe, but "The Wushu Kid" (or "The Wushu Dream" for its Chinese release; more later) [[Rule of Cool|just doesn't have the same ring...]] and lacks [[~~Added Alliterative Appeal~~]]

** Maybe, but "The Wushu Kid" (or "The Wushu Dream" for its Chinese release; more later) [[Rule of Cool|just doesn't have the same ring...]] and lacks [[Alliteration]]

** With a [[Lampshade Hanging]] where Dre's mom mistakes Kung Fu for Karate.

* [[Dragons Up the Yin-Yang]]: As part of Dre's training, Mr. Han takes him up a tall mountain to the Dragon Well, where drinking from it purportedly make one invincible. The well is a shallow fountain with a yin-yang symbol in the center.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: One of Cheng's cronies tells him to stop hurting Dre, after he has beaten him up significantly.

* [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]: subtly done with Li in two scenes. First, when an injured Dre returns to the tournament, the tournament's spectators are impressed, but Li only mockingly applauds, suggesting that he considers Dre's slim chances of actually winning rather than his courage and fighting spirit. Later, when his own students show their respect to Mr. Han by bowing, he is shocked rather than angry. Which means that he fails to understand why young students would respect a successful, yet kind teacher.

* [[Eye Cam]]: When Cheng beats Dre up for the second time, we see that Dre is so badly hurt that [[Impairment Shot|his vision is impaired]].

* [[Finish Him!]]: Master Li screams this at Cheng during the final battle against Dre.

* [[Fish Out of Water]]: Dre moves from Detroit to Beijing, China. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

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**** [[Big Bad]] - Master Li

**** [[The Dragon]] - Cheng

**** [[Evil Genius]] - Zhuang

**** [[The Brute]](s) - Those big guys mentioned before

**** [[Dark Chick]] - Liang

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* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: The contestant with the [[So Bad It's Good]] hair.

** And [[Michelle Yeoh]] as the woman with the cobra.

* [[Ordered to Cheat]]: Master Li orders two of the Flying Dragons to break Dre's leg.

* [[Overprotective Dad]]: Mei Ying's father disapproved of his daughter's friendship with Dre because he saw him as a bad influence to his daughter, causing her to be late for her recital and forbade her from spending time with him.

** However, he turns out to be much more reasonable than the stereotypical version. {{spoiler|When Dre respectfully approaches him and apologizes (in phonetic Chinese), he reconsiders and is later seen actively cheering for Dre.}}

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** Not quite. In China, it's called "功夫梦" ("The Kung Fu Dream"); in Japan, and South Korea, it's called "Best Kid" (the same title that was used for the original movie in those countries), and "The Karate Kid" everywhere else.

* [[Running Gag]]: Possibly Dre's expression when he hangs up his coat for his mom. Mr. Han makes a point of making sure that "attitude" is there during Dre's "jacket-on, jacket-off" training and it practically has a spotlight shone on it when it shows up in the tournament.

** People touching the Parker's hair. At one point, Dre's mother is surrounded by little kids who are happily playing with her hair.

*** Absolutely [[Truth in Television]]. Foreigners with either important or distinctive hair in China have been mobbed by children wanting to touch it.

* [[Sarcastic Clapping]]: This is Master Li's reaction {{spoiler|when Dre decides to stay in the tournament with a leg injury}}.

* [[Sassy Black Woman]]: Dre's mother.

* [[Serious Business]]: This is a tournament for young pre-teen kids. And Master Li wants his students to break Dre's leg and defeat him completely.

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* [[Sleep Cute]]: Dre, whether it may be in an airplane, a couch or a train.

* [[Smug Snake]]: That ''smirk'' Cheng flashes while walking away in the cafeteria scene transcends cultural boundaries.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Dre.

* [[Underdogs Never Lose]]

* [[Values Dissonance]]: The Chinese tend to stay silent out of respect after a performance of any sort. So after Mei Ying's recital, they were opt to remain silent. However, Dre, who came from United States, cheered and clapped. This invoked anger from his crush's father.

* [[Wax On, Wax Off]]: Jacket on, jacket off, drop the jacket, pick up the jacket, jacket on... it also has the nice side effect of disciplining Dre for his attitude.

* [[We Will Meet Again]]: Dre gets beaten up a few times. A truce is called, pending a tournament.

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: The blond kid, and first English speaking peer that Dre meets in China. He seems to be set up as a friend, a translator and a general supporter and help to Dre. But nope, after about a third of the way in we only see him in passing at the tournament. This is a [[Shout-Out]] to Freddy from the original film, who fades into the background after Daniel starts having run-ins with the bullies, but finally does re-appear in his cheering section.

** A weird case of [[Truth in Television]]. When in a new/unfamiliar location, people of similar backgrounds (national, cultural, and occasionally even ethnic) tend to stick together, if only initially. This is what happened with Dre and the blonde kid - having seen that Dre is an American, the kid offers to help show Dre around the place, but quickly vanishes into the background as Dre figures things out and makes his own friends (and enemies).

*** Alternatively, the blonde kid could have just stopped hanging with Dre once he realized that Dre is going to get the crap beaten out of him, possibly on a regular basis.