Karate Kid, The (2010)
James Horner
" Wax On and Wax Off have never sounded so different! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
I know remakes are 'in', but sometimes it's better to leave something alone. That was my reaction when I received the news they would remake The Karate Kid. For me, no one (and I mean no one) could ever replace the late Pat Morita as a teacher who would influence and change a young boy's life. Now in this remake, it is no longer karate but kung fu, making the title somewhat ridiculous considering it's only there to lure the fans of the original to the theaters.
In this movie young Jaden Smith is forced to follow his mother to China, where he quite quickly gets in trouble with the local bully of the neighborhood. When he's rescued by a maintenance man (Jackie Chan), he soon discovers that he is the right man to teach him to defend himself, whilst transforming unknowingly both their lives.
Director Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks and One Night at McCool's) chose an unlikely composer for the gig, namely James Horner (after an even more unlikely composer's attempt by Atli Orvarsson was rejected). But what James Horner delivered instead is nothing short of magic, proving that he remains one of the few A composers that rarely disappoints these days.
And it shows in this again enchanting score. Opening with the typical meandering qualities of a James Horner soundtrack, it soon moves forward towards the album's first main theme performance ("Leaving Detroit"). Conti's original The Karate Kid music gets a brief flashback moment in "I Want to Go Home / The Forbidden City" (when representing that Forbidden City) but soon undergoes another change when Horner's main theme gets an outing on eastern instruments.
And from that part on, expect some Avatar hints as well during the occasional action moments. In "Backstreet Beating" it links itself easily enough to Avatar's home world (the synthesizer elements) while "Han's Kung Fu" continues the sound with a fun and fast little action cue.
There's room for heart and soul too in The Karate Kid, most notably when it centers around the growing love between Dre and Mei Ying, or the bond between teacher and student. The main theme on piano in "Mei Ying's Kiss" is lovely to hear, the shakuhachi moments and the meandering underscore in "Journey to the Spiritual Mountain" put us in another world, and if "From Master to Student to Master" doesn't go straight to the soul, then nothing will. Besides it shows us finally the determined main and heroic theme performances (with a shakuhachi climax) that both master and student have been looking for.
And so the fight is on. "Tournament Time" doesn't deliver the final blow yet, despite the opponents of Dre using every cheap trick in the book to fool us otherwise. Considering the music concentrates more on Dre's imminent defeat and recovery, it is up to "Final Contest" to give us what we came for. And what a final blow it becomes. Jaden Smith's brilliant choreography gets a matching whopper of James Horner, this when the composer goes for an all out main and heroic theme finale that soars inside the movie's brilliant ending.
And so you reach the end of a James Horner score that does everything right, and ends the highest way imaginable. Inside the movie it is as always a perfect match, on disc it listens extremely pleasant but not always memorable. For that The Karate Kid has to grow towards the brief but stunning climaxes of James Horner's melodies. Like the film, the music is nothing like The Karate Kid of Bill Conti, but it wins its own battles easily enough, this due to James Horner's never failing spirit.
Tracklisting
1. Leaving Detroit (2.54)
2. Looking for Mr. Han (1.29)
3. Kung Fu Heaven (1.20)
4. I Want to Go Home / The Forbidden City (4.30)
5. The Lunchroom (2.29)
6. Backstreet Beating (3.34)
7. Han's Kung Fu (1.40)
8. Ancient Chinese Medicine (1.26)
9. Beijing Valentine (1.34)
10. Mei Ying's Kiss (3.23)
11. Jacket On, Jacket Off (2.32)
12. Journey to the Spiritual Mountain (8.49)
13. Hard Training (1.21)
14. All Work and no Play (1.41)
15. From Master to Student to Master (10.33) Excellent track
16. Dre's Gift and Apology (3.07)
17. Tournament Time (5.10)
18. Final Contest (6.48) Excellent track
Total Length:
In this movie young Jaden Smith is forced to follow his mother to China, where he quite quickly gets in trouble with the local bully of the neighborhood. When he's rescued by a maintenance man (Jackie Chan), he soon discovers that he is the right man to teach him to defend himself, whilst transforming unknowingly both their lives.
Director Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks and One Night at McCool's) chose an unlikely composer for the gig, namely James Horner (after an even more unlikely composer's attempt by Atli Orvarsson was rejected). But what James Horner delivered instead is nothing short of magic, proving that he remains one of the few A composers that rarely disappoints these days.
And it shows in this again enchanting score. Opening with the typical meandering qualities of a James Horner soundtrack, it soon moves forward towards the album's first main theme performance ("Leaving Detroit"). Conti's original The Karate Kid music gets a brief flashback moment in "I Want to Go Home / The Forbidden City" (when representing that Forbidden City) but soon undergoes another change when Horner's main theme gets an outing on eastern instruments.
And from that part on, expect some Avatar hints as well during the occasional action moments. In "Backstreet Beating" it links itself easily enough to Avatar's home world (the synthesizer elements) while "Han's Kung Fu" continues the sound with a fun and fast little action cue.
There's room for heart and soul too in The Karate Kid, most notably when it centers around the growing love between Dre and Mei Ying, or the bond between teacher and student. The main theme on piano in "Mei Ying's Kiss" is lovely to hear, the shakuhachi moments and the meandering underscore in "Journey to the Spiritual Mountain" put us in another world, and if "From Master to Student to Master" doesn't go straight to the soul, then nothing will. Besides it shows us finally the determined main and heroic theme performances (with a shakuhachi climax) that both master and student have been looking for.
And so the fight is on. "Tournament Time" doesn't deliver the final blow yet, despite the opponents of Dre using every cheap trick in the book to fool us otherwise. Considering the music concentrates more on Dre's imminent defeat and recovery, it is up to "Final Contest" to give us what we came for. And what a final blow it becomes. Jaden Smith's brilliant choreography gets a matching whopper of James Horner, this when the composer goes for an all out main and heroic theme finale that soars inside the movie's brilliant ending.
And so you reach the end of a James Horner score that does everything right, and ends the highest way imaginable. Inside the movie it is as always a perfect match, on disc it listens extremely pleasant but not always memorable. For that The Karate Kid has to grow towards the brief but stunning climaxes of James Horner's melodies. Like the film, the music is nothing like The Karate Kid of Bill Conti, but it wins its own battles easily enough, this due to James Horner's never failing spirit.
Tracklisting
1. Leaving Detroit (2.54)
2. Looking for Mr. Han (1.29)
3. Kung Fu Heaven (1.20)
4. I Want to Go Home / The Forbidden City (4.30)
5. The Lunchroom (2.29)
6. Backstreet Beating (3.34)
7. Han's Kung Fu (1.40)
8. Ancient Chinese Medicine (1.26)
9. Beijing Valentine (1.34)
10. Mei Ying's Kiss (3.23)
11. Jacket On, Jacket Off (2.32)
12. Journey to the Spiritual Mountain (8.49)
13. Hard Training (1.21)
14. All Work and no Play (1.41)
15. From Master to Student to Master (10.33) Excellent track
16. Dre's Gift and Apology (3.07)
17. Tournament Time (5.10)
18. Final Contest (6.48) Excellent track
Total Length: