6/10
Nice remake about martial arts with a splendid duo , Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan .
8 August 2011
Here is introduced a new kid , Jaden Smith, with the veteran coacher Jackie Chan . This is an entertaining martial arts movie with the intimate Jackie Chan but the show belongs to Jaden Smith . The story deals with a troublesome 12-year-old young boy named Dre Parker (Jaden Smith), thanks to Mr. Ham (Jackie Chan) he aware that Kung Fu is his salvation, as he fights an evil nemesis , facing down a violent young group trained by an expert and violent trainer . Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit , but his mother's (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China . Meanwhile , he befriends a youngster Chinese girl and immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying (Wenwen Han) - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a love story impossible . Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully , Cheng . In the land of Kung Fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts "the karate kid" on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land , Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, Dre realizes that facing off the bullies will be the battle of his life . The Chinese Ham who holds a terrible secret teaches him martial arts and combat at a Zen temple and trains on the China wall .

This enjoyable movie , a sort of junior version of 'Rocky', develops a sincere and deep friendship among two protagonists, the rockie young boy and the wise old man . Using more than his fists, Dee Parker/Jaden Smith learns about himself and the sense of life . As Han , who is secretly a master of Kung Fu , teaches Dre that Kung Fu is not about punches and parries , but maturity and calm . Agreeable and likable acting by two main actors, Chan and Smith , along with Taraji P Henson playing his understanding mummy and the sympathetic Chinese girl performed by Wen Han . The US title for this movie was kept as "The Karate Kid" , to maintain the connection to the earlier films it is loosely based on , even though this story takes place in China and the martial arts used are forms of Kung Fu . The picture contains adequate cinematography by Roger Pratt and long-standing score by James Horner. This feel-good message picture is professionally directed by Harald Zwart .

The three previous films, all produced by Jerry Weintraub and directed by John G Avildsen , are the following : original Karate Kid I (1984) in which are presented the classic characters ,Karate Kid II(1986) where the protagonists travel to Okinawa, Part III (1989) where Daniel again battling nasties enemies ; and subsequently The ¨ new Karate Kid¨ by Christopher Cain with Hilary Swank and again Pat Morita . This recent version ¨Kung Fu kid¨is a good remake that will appeal to Jackie Chan fans . Rating : Acceptable and passable following , worthwhile seeing . This heartwarming picture will appeal to Karate Kid trilogy fans.
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