Jaden Smith Fights His Way to Stardome
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to talent in the Pinkett Smith family. Jaden Smith has starred in three movies already and his popularity is growing as you read this. Jaden’s last film was The Karate Kid (2010) which I just recently had the chance to watch. I was not that excited to watch this remake since I was stuck on the original in the 80′s (I was much younger of course). Ralph Machio was my first on-screen crush. He was Italian like me, handsome, personable and grew to learn how to be strong and stand up to bullies, something that was very important at my at age. He learned to excel in Karate and ended up a hero in everyone’s eyes. The original Karate Kid brought martial arts into the limelight and suddenly Karate seemed so much more interesting.
I was coerced into watching the remake and the only reason why I caved is because it starred one of today’s best young actors, Jaden Smith. The first movie that Jaden was in was Pursuit of Happyness alongside his father. The two made a spectacular pair as father and son trying to make it through difficult times after Will Smith’s on-screen wife walks out on the family. They triumphed through thick and thin, from living in an apartment to being homeless and vulnerable on the streets, ultimately finding true happiness in the end.
This is when I first noticed that Jaden Smith would make his mark in Hollywood. For every tragedy that happened in this film you could read it in Jaden’s face. For every time there was hope that his struggle could end, the hope would eminate from his face. It was as if this eight year old child had the wisdom of a 68 year old man in his eyes, as if he knew so much about emotions and the world around him that his acting was simply second nature. Jaden’s second movie was The Day The Earth Stood Still. I haven’t seen this yet because I didn’t really know much about it, but now that I’m aware that Jaden is one of the actors, I am suddenly curious about checking it out.
I had my guard up as I watched new The Karate Kid, waiting for the story to take some type of weird turn or, even worse, turn into a less favorable carbon copy of the original. It started out fairly typical with the child reluctantly moving to a new residence along with his single mom, feeling sad and alienated in his new surroundings. The first brush with the school bully happens quite early in the movie and the scene took me completely by surprise. I couldn’t believe they showed such a graphic fight scene between twelve year old boys in a family film, yet at the same time, it had me totally entertained. The fighting seemed so real that it actually invoked feelings of anger and all I could think of is how Will and Jada could have ever watched their baby in this scene! Needless to say, I was already aggrevated and begging for revenge from the beginning.
Jaden still has a baby face and shines just like a little Will Smith “Mini-Me” so I’m sure the young girls were completely smitten with him as I was in 1984 with Ralph Machio. Smith had to be working at his physique for quite a while to be this muscular at a mere 12 years old. His acting was as flawless as it was in Pursuit of Happyness and the movie was a total crowdpleaser. Sure, they followed the basic outline of the original film, but rather than Karate the focus was on Kung Fu. The movie had its slightly exaggerated moments as Jaden kept rising in the Kung Fu tournament as if his leg was not nearly broken, but at this point I didn’t care. The whole cast did a great job in this film including Jackie Chan and Taraji P. Henson (who is a favorite of mine anyway). I would say that this film deserves the four stars that it earned from the critics and if they come out with a sequel including the same lead actor, I will certainly be a paying customer.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith produced The Karate Kid as they have with other winners in the past such as Seven Pounds, The Secret Life of Bees, Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend and much more. This is a talented family and not only is Jaden being hailed for his acting skills, his sister Willow is also an actor who starred in I Am Legend as well as a few other movies and she just signed a record deal with Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation. I look forward to everything this family does, whether it be a new masterpiece production, watching them act on the big screen, listening to their music or even watching them in an interview. I have a feeling that Jaden has the potential to become even bigger than his father in the acting business. Jaden won four awards for his role in Pursuit of Happyness, one for The Day The Earth Stood Still and one for The Karate Kid. He hasn’t won an Oscar yet, but it’s still very early in the game!
By: Francis David
Francis helps people learn about Direct tv vs Dish network, and how they can save money every month with popular Dish Network offers. Francis and his team also help people determine if Satellite Internet is right for them.
