Allen’s Film Reviews for Summer 2010 #2: The Karate Kid

Posted by Allen Baird, Partner on Sep 6, 2010 in coaching, learning, series, training | 0 comments

OK, first for the film.  Jaden Smith, a little too young but believable enough in the part.  Jackie Chan, the performance of his life, massive respect for his athleticism and range of achievements, minimal respect for Rush Hour 3 (the only movie I’ve ever vacated midway).

The pacing dragged by about 12 minutes.  The love interest subplot seemed forced, even mildly disturbing.  The insertion of Mr Han’s tragic background was superfluous.  Awesome cinematography, sinister political big-brother type images.  Relatively realistic fight scenes (considering Chan’s previous form).  Dramatic tension remained high despite the inevitability of the outcome.  For me, the kung-fu temple bit constituted the highlight  of the film, with verbal chop-suey kept to a minimum.  Overall, different enough from the original to constitute an authentic remake – 7.5 out of 10.

Now for the deep and meaningful bit.

At the heart of the film lies one word – mentoring.  It is not a film about martial arts or teenage love or moving home.  It is about the relationship between an expert and a student.  It is about the passing of knowledge between the two.  It is about the art of teaching and the act of learning.  Learning a skill.  Learning about life.  And – dare I say it – learning about manhood.

Ah, I could write a blog on each on these.  In fact, in some cases, I already have.  All I want to do is to raise the question of whether mentoring is a teaching form whose time has come.  Mentoring seems to me to hold significant advantages over those other kinds of teaching – instructions and coaching.  Training-room instruction often lacks personal application; coaching can collapse into motivation minus content.  Mentoring conceives learning as a personal relationship in which skill-modelling and interactivity form the substance, not the extra.  Such teaching can only be applied, tested and fit for purpose.

This version of The Karate Kid famously focuses on kung-fu rather than karate.  Did you know that the term ‘kung-fu’ literally means “human achievement” in any area of life?  That’s why Mr Han says in the movie that “everything is kung-fu”.

Spoken like a true sensei!

Image credit: irina slutsky.