So why am I just now hearing about this for the first time?
First… Gawd does Jack Chan look ancient. 😦
I have to admit, part of me loves the idea of Jackie Chan working with Ralph Macchio. How well this movie works for me is REALLY going to depend upon the script though. So far I have some real doubts. The basic premise seems to be that this Kung-Fu prodigy kid ends up needing to learn Karate from Daniel. The trailer makes it look like the standard Karate Kid theme also; to stand up to bullies with the final fights being at a tournament.
The reason I object *IF* this is the plotline is because the kid is already apparently a kung-fu expert, which leads to the inevitable implication that kung-fu isn’t good enough so he has to learn and use karate.
I object to that premise because I firmly believe that “which art is better” is largely BS. It’s FAR more important how hard a practitioner trains in their individual art, and the physical condition they keep themself in. I could go off in the weeds about the exception being when an art is watered down to keep a commercial dojo flourishing, but again, that’s another rant.
Chinese martial arts predate Japanese ones by at least 1000 years. Some sources say quite a bit more. My personal opinion (based on my own experience and training) is that they take longer to learn due to their depth, but are otherwise extremely effective.
This kind of “my art is superior” schtick has been around in martial arts cinema for ages, and it’s gotten a bit tired to me. It’s been almost a trademark of Chinese movies for ages. A good recent example is the Ip Man movie series. It’s always the foreign bully oppressing the local Chinese until Master Ip comes along with his superior kung-fu and strong Chinese virtue that allow him to overcome the evil villains. I loved the movies for the well choreographed fight scenes and the overall story, BUT I still see the pattern.
We’ll just have to wait ands see how the movie’s plot unfolds I suppose. After all, it’s possible that the kid is actually cross training to become the next Bruce Lee, lol. The brief scene of him brooding with the black eye doesn’t make it look that way though.
I should have worked this in earlier, but the movie’s story is set one year after the end of Cobra-Kai. It’s not yet quite clear if this is a passing the torch movie as is implied, or if Ralph Macchio wants to keep his career going and not let Johnny Lawrence have the final spotlight in the Karate Kid universe. 😀
Me personally, I’ll cross my fingers, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Silk Chatters 