jychl-59323

Unlike some other reviews, I appreciated that it honored the same clichés of this franchise: moves to a new city, meets a girl, run into trouble with girl's ex, fight it out in tournament. For what this movie offered, I really wish the movie was a bit longer for more character and plot developments without feeling so rushed and choppy. It felt like 2 separate movies compacted into one short movie of only 1.5 hours. Especially the entire second half which felt like a montage throughout to the end. One thing I did not appreciate was the animations with big fonts and vivid colors. It seemed like they were targeting more younger audiences to join the Karate Kid fandom which is fine, but the animations were just too much and felt over-done. Really wish they used Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio better throughout the entire movie. It was a little disappointing to get so little of them in the movie. Did love getting Joshua Jackson though. The final scene before rolling into the end credits was extremely appreciated. Ultimately, the movie was a fun watch and overall enjoyable thanks to the awesome choreographies. The movie was good but it could've been great. If they continue to expand this franchise, which I hope they do, I hope they will put the actors to better use for better storytelling than trying so hard to appeal to a younger audience.

I am not a fan of Shyamalan. Not sure why people still throw money at Shyamalan's films. He had two hit films over 20 years ago then really downgraded film after film. I still gave this one a chance for Josh Hartnett when it released on streaming. This movie had potential during the first half. But then there were too many plot holes and it became a joke. The Butcher was supposed to be a smart OCD meticulous serial killer but the plot holes turned him into an idiot. The whole time I felt like I was watching a long promotional film on Shyamalan's daughter and her music career. Her acting was terrible but took on such an over the top role in her daddy's film to the point I started yelling "why is she still on screen"- her role felt just so out of place post-concert. Yet again, Shyamalan's directing and writing gets totally buried by the lead's acting. Josh Hartnett's delivery was great, as expected, despite some of his cringey dialogue and poor directions both by Shyamalan.