The Karate Kid by James Horner

It goes without saying that James Horner has been one of the most controversial yet strongest composers of our time, possessing one of the most easily identifiable sounds in Hollywood.

The Karate Kid is the most recent display of Horner’s knack for story-telling through the art of film score bringing together the dramatic, romantic, spiritual, and thrilling aspects of the character’s journey throughout the film.

I want to take a moment before actually reviewing the high and low points of the score and its overall effectiveness by saying “yes” the famed Japanese shakuhachi is used (though the film takes place in China), but thankfully not to excess – acting as more of a punctuation mark or transitional tool than a lead instrument. There was also talk of the infamous “4 note motif ” possibly making an appearance (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, listen to Willow) which thankfully does not exist at all!

The Karate Kid score as presented on album, is easily split into two halves. The feelings of leaving home for a foreign country and culture, which introduce Dre’s theme in “Leaving Detroit”, as well as moments of “wonder and awe” for China and Kung Fu itself, as demonstrated in “Kung Fu Heaven” & “I Want To Go Home – The Forbidden City”. The second part of the soundtrack runs on a bit of a faster pace, though deals evenly with the character’s spiritual as well as physical journey as a student of Kung Fu.

After some playful underscore in “Looking For Mr. Han”, the main motif/theme is presented as an innocent love theme in “The Lunchroom” as well as being combined with a lovely, piano-led melody heard in “Mei Ying’s Kiss” & the atmospheric, prelude, “Beijing Valentine”.

Moving right along, the cue that turns the tide of the score is ”Jacket On, Jacket Off” taking us from a domestically dramatic tone combined with romantic themes, to a much more mystical, intense, and triumphant one.

“Journey To The Spiritual Mountain” & “From Master To Student To Master”, hold tremendous weight in the spiritual and physical odyssey of the character, making for two substantial pieces of film music.

Though suffering from brevity,”Hard Training” is an intriguing and fun cue, considering that the successful combination of electronic loops, percussion hits, and light flowing strings is something a bit foreign to Horner.

“All Work And No Play” & “Dre’s Gift And Apology” round off the “human drama” side of the album .

The colors of trepidation, tenacity, and celebration are expertly painted with the last two tracks, “Tournament Time” & “Final Contest”. The first being more of a prelude to the action and “Final Contest” being the final culmination of the mystical and victorious elements of the score.

All in all, this soundtrack is a fine addition to any James Horner collection. Though The Karate Kid score is above average, it does not stand with his previous classics such as Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, and even last year’s Avatar, due to the lack of a truly original and memorable main theme.

Overall Score Crave Score: ****

1. Leaving Detroit (2:54) ***
2. Looking for Mr Han (1:29) ***
3. Kung Fu Heaven (1:19) ***
4. I Want To Go Home – The Forbidden City (4:29) ****
5. The Lunchroom (2:29) ****
6. Backseat Beating (3:34) ***
7. Han’s Kung Fu (1:39) ****
8. Ancient Chinese Medicine (1:25) ***
9. Beijing Valentine (1:34) ***
10. Mei Ying’s Kiss (3:22) ****
11. Jacket On, Jacket Off (2:32) ****
12. Journey to the Spiritual Mountain (8:49) ****1/2
13. Hard Training (1:20) ****
14. All Work and No Play (1:40) ***
15. From Master to Student to Master (10:33) ****1/2
16. Dre’s Gift and Apology (3:07) ***
17. Tournament Time (5:09) ****
18. Final Contest (6:47) *****