THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409150062
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TEEN MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: BY ALAN CHANG, TEENOLOGY MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
NO, IT'S NOT the same old flick about Mr. Miyagi and Daniel ``son'' with the ``crane kick'' that saved the day.
Instead, there's a new kid in line to test Mr. Miyagi. Julie Pierce is her name, and boy, does Mr. Miyagi need patience and skills to mold her into ``The Next Karate Kid.''
The rebellious Julie, played by Hilary Swank, stumbles into a period of bitterness when she loses her parents in an automobile accident. In her anger, Julie skips classes in school and is insubordinate, especially with her frustrated grandmother.
Soon Miyagi, played by Noriyuki ``Pat'' Morita, discovers Julie's problem. Since he and Julie's grandfather were war buddies, Miyagi offers to ``baby-sit'' Julie while her grandmother vacations in Miyagi's place at California.
Even though the first few minutes of the film are slow, Miyagi's sense of humor keeps it going. The movie picks up when the different worlds of Miyagi and Julie collide. Communication problems, the generation gap and gender differences postpone the development of their relationship. But the ordeal is what makes things more interesting.
Their relationship improves when Julie rediscovers her own karate potential and asks Miyagi to continue the training that her father left behind. It is through Miyagi's karate lessons that Julie lets go of her bitterness and attains a hopeful perspective for her own life. The film is loaded with morals and Miyagi's helpful life lessons.
The film breaks from the original, although writer Mark Lee throws in some elements from previous ``Karate Kid'' movies including the famous ``wax on wax off'' bid and the mention of Daniel Larusso, Miyagi's friend and student.
But the main twist of this movie is that the hero is a female. Aside from facing the challenge of becoming a karate kid, Julie has to cope with the teenage problems such as boyfriends and breakups.
Julie does get to kick some bad guys' behinds while saving her half-tortured boyfriend. Did I mention that the bad guys are guys at least two inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than she?
The villains here may be too evil to be true, especially Dugan, the director of the school's Alpha League, played by Michael Ironside. Dugan shows off his power by beating up his pupils on school grounds. That he gets away with it is unbelievable.
``The Next Karate Kid,'' directed by Christopher Cane, is a warm-hearted action movie that raises one's moral standards and lowers the blood and violence on the screen. The film may not be a classic, but it is still worth your money and time. MEMO: ``The Next Karate Kid'' is rated PG.
ILLUSTRATION: Alan Chang is a junior at Kempsville High.
by CNB