This was a fun show. The fight sequences were particularly well done, especially for a bunch of middle school kids. I didn't care for the fact that it stuck so closely to the original story. There was no surprise at the end, you knew what was going to happen. Jackie Chan didn't do much for the story, he was a rather serious character - none of his good-natured humor was displayed. My guess is that some influential people didn't want anyone to overshadow Jaden Smith's first star role.
Moral Rating: 3
The original Karate Kid also had a lot more gems of knowledge taught by Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Han in this one had one or two, but nothing I really remember. We're presented with the same conflict with the boy who's recently had to move and gain new friends, and how Kung Fu is about making peace, not punishing your enemy.
I think the first hour or so dragged on a bit too long, there's no reason this movie needed to be longer than 2 hours, but the breath-taking views of China make some of that extra time worth watching.
A man with the occupation of Transporter (he transports pretty much anything of particularly high value which usually tends to be illegal) ends up getting too curious about one of his packages. He ends up breaking one of his own rules (not to look in the package) and gets mixed up in something that almost costs him his life several times.
Entertainment Value - C
Not worth your time, unless you're in the mood for some nifty action sequences. You can check out all the cool fight scenes on youtube (the one above is probably the best one, not quite as good as the Bourne sequences).
Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 2
Not morally offensive, but no positive value, except maybe to not stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Or better yet, don't do anything illegal.
Upon hearing the news of his dying father, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel travel to Japan to pay their last respects. We learn that Miyagi had left Japan long ago after having dishonored Sato, one of his childhood friends. He escaped Sato's demand for a fight to the death over a woman they both loved. After 40 years, Miyagi finds that his friend still seeks the same method of reconciliation and must try to avoid it at great emotional costs. Daniel also becomes involved in the feud as he bumps heads with Sato's nephew, Chozen, and is soon also required to enter a death-match.
Entertainment Value - C
Maybe I didn't enjoy this because I liked the first one so much. One of the scenes showing how Daniel is better than the other guys is the ice breaking scene, and I think that was kind of dumb. Maybe I can't break that much ice, but who really cares? Maybe ice-breaking was bigger than I remembered in the 80's.
Could Sato really turn good so quickly after 40 years of built up resentment? Would his nephew really want to fight to the death over a few embarrassing encounters? Maybe so, teenagers often don't think things through and let emotion get the best of them. This was a fun movie overall, but the first one is better.
Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 3
Their were some moral lessons presented here, but nothing like those taught in the first one. One thing that was attempted was the importance of putting principle before passion. The conflict between Miyagi and Sato and between Daniel and Chozen were initiated by anger at something the other person did. At the end we learn that resentment can last a very long time and keep us from happiness. Our state of happiness/unhappiness should not be contingent on the actions of others; we are in complete control of how we react to a given situation. If we harbor resentment we can sometimes not only deprive our own lives of happiness, but also affect the overall happiness of others.
Having to move to a new town due to his mother's new job, Daniel finds it very difficult to make friends at school. The one girl who is interested in him also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of a high-ranked karate nut. Daniel soon finds refuge with the apartment complex janitor who sees Daniel's need to learn discipline. He consents to hand down his ancestral knowledge of Karate, accentuating that its use is only meant for defense. As Daniel continues to struggle for a place in life, he must face his enemies in a Karate tournament.
Entertainment Value - A
Out of the first two movies, this is by far better than the second; I have yet to see the third again - but am not as excited after watching the second one. It is almost a coming of age story as Daniel learns to cope with his emotions and harness his anger. It's a convincing story of high school relationship dramas and the "in-crowd." I've heard this compared to Rocky, and I think that's a good comparison.
Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 4
This was a very inspiring film that accurately displayed the consequences of decisions we make. It also teaches us about trust. As Daniel didn't understand what it was that Miyagi was teaching him, we don't always understand why we're asked to do something by our leaders/teachers, but by trusting them we grow stronger and more capable.
The bullies philosophy required no self-discipline and they fought to feed their ego. In the end, they learned that real respect comes from fighting honorably. I don't know that Daniel was necessarily a better fighter physically than any of the other bullies, but Miyagi's wisdom in teaching him the martial arts as a means primarily for defense helped Daniel have the right attitude to win the tournament.
I really liked Miyagi's approach to challenging the bullies: in a tournament. This was a very appropriate way to resolve differences; had Miyagi decided to match Daniel brauns against brauns, everyone would have been worse off - Daniel seriously hurt, and the karate punks would still be clueless to their uncontrolled ego.
Synopsis A young man, Sing (played by director Stephen Chow), aspires to join a 1940's Chinese axe-mafia group. The mafia runs into some resistance in an apartment complex that still fosters the spirit of Kung fu. Desperate to punish them, the mafia releases The Beast, who also is a master of Kung fu. At the last minute a new Kung fu master surfaces as a result of being pounded to a pulp and is destined to face The Beast.
Entertainment Value This was a bizarre movie (probably even more so since I watched it in Spanish). Hilarious most of the time, yet a little disturbing. The fighting sequences were very well done; it was really like watching a real life Looney Tunes Kung Fu movie.
Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? I've been struggling with the phrase "glamorized violence" and what exactly it means. From what I gather, it means that it makes violence look pleasurable or rewarding. Maybe something like The Matrix where the fighting is really cool. Is that bad? The fighting in this movie was so completely unrealistic and exaggerated that it was genuinely funny. I'm not sure you could call that bad or good, at least it doesn't make me want to go around and try to punch people through walls or chop off their legs.
[Spoiler Alert] Sing's story is admirable. He's unsure of what he wants to do with his life. He's attracted to the power and fame of the axe-mafia, but he also has a desire to do good and protect the weak. He's literally pounded to his senses and is able to become the ultimate good and defeat the Beast, bringing peace to the tenants and repairing an old friendship. So even though the movie was an action/comedy (a genre that generally doesn't have any sort of moral or immoral message), I thought the aforementioned messages were well created. I could really understand the confusion that Sing felt and his desire to fit in somewhere; I was able to internalize the conflicts that were portrayed.
Just because it had some good messages, I don't think I could recommend this to anyone; unless you're interested in seeing the stylized Kung fu action sequences and can stomach a bit of blood, even in the TV-version (at least on Spanish broadcast TV).
We started off watching this in Mandarin Chinese and then decided we should probably switch it to English. The English was dubbed over and not very well done, so we decided to switch back to Chinese and turn on the subtitles and watch it that way (that's what we did with Crouching Tiger). It was 100 times better. The way it started off didn't seem too promising; it seemed very shallow and overly simplistic. But as we continued to watch it, we realized that was on purpose. As the story unfolded, it became more and more complex, intriguing, and inspiring. This is definitely a movie we'd love to watch again and again.
The cinematography was amazing. The colors and settings that changed as the film progressed make this worth watching alone. The music was great. This is in no way similar to the story of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; the only thing similar is the sword play.
It does a good job showing how hatred and vengeance can blind you and take control over you and your actions, often causing you to do things you regret. Another lesson is that we should not be so quick to judge when we have been hurt, but rather try to understand why the other person did what they did. There may have been a reason and that reason just might be greater than your personal loss. Sometimes this perspective is nigh unto impossible to attain, but if we don't try, we can be the ones to cause pain to others and most often more pain to ourselves.
[Spoiler Alert] The Nameless warrior set off on a mission to kill the king, but along the journey he realized the king's potential to unite China. What the king was doing wasn't bad in and of itself, it was that his motives were not right that made the situation so dangerous. Once the Nameless one helped the king realize the good potential for his actions and the true purpose of a warrior, that of uniting the kingdom, the King changed his heart, and his desire for power rapidly changed into a desire for unity. The way the Nameless warrior helped the king realize his true purpose as a warrior was very clever. Evil was conquered at the end, though in reality that means good people were sacrificed to achieve that victory.
Kung Fu Panda is another movie with several good messages. Seeing as how we viewed this movie a long time ago and didn't write up much, here's a simple breakdown of the good we found in this show:
There is no secret ingredient. "To make something special you just have to believe it's special." It is important to understand our true potential as children of our Heavenly Father. He has blessed us each with the capability to return to His presence together with our families.
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." We can't worry about things that are not in our control or within our circle of influence. We need to be most concerned with our status today, spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Are we doing everything today to bring us and those around us closer to God?
"My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control." The only people we are able to control is ourselves. You cannot force or change anyone, that power lies within the self.
