The Karate Kid (2010)

Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.

Director:

Harald Zwart

Writers:

Christopher Murphey (screenplay), Robert Mark Kamen (story)

Stars:

Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson

4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jaden Smith	...	Dre Parker
Jackie Chan	...	Mr. Han
Taraji P. Henson	...	Sherry Parker
Wenwen Han	...	Meiying
Rongguang Yu	...	Master Li
Zhensu Wu	...	Meiying's Dad
Zhiheng Wang	...	Meiying's Mom
Zhenwei Wang	...	Cheng
Jared Minns	...	Dre's Detroit Friend
Shijia Lü	...	Liang
Yi Zhao	...	Zhuang
Bo Zhang	...	Song
Luke Carberry	...	Harry
Cameron Hillman	...	Mark
Ghye Samuel Brown	...	Oz

Storyline

12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship 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, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | kid | karate | china | bully | 

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Taglines:

A Challenge He Never Imagined. A Teacher He Never Expected.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA China

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

11 June 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kung Fu Kid

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£4,882,306 (UK) (30 July 2010)

Gross:

$176,591,618 (USA) (17 September 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, China Film Group, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The style of Kung Fu that the woman standing on the dragon's head is practicing (at the temple, before the dragon well) is Crane Style Kung Fu. Practitioners of this style are very adept at balancing on one foot, as a crane does. It is interesting to note that she is controlling a cobra (likely in the same style as a snake charmer). This could possibly be a nod to the original The Karate Kid in which Daniel defeated a member of the Cobra Kai dojo by using the "Crane technique".

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Goofs

During the dance scene, Meiying's dance moves mismatch between shots of her and shots of Dre where her reflection is seen in the glass window behind him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sherry Parker: Dre, you ready?

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Crazy Credits

The opening and closing credits for the movie are shown in both English and Chinese.

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Connections

Referenced in 2011 MTV Movie Awards (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Steppin' Up"
Written by K.T. Wilder (as kt wilder)

User Reviews

An insult to movie-lovers everywhere

It's truly a pleasure to be able to give this movie the lowest possible rating of one star.

The remake of the Karate Kid really does represent everything that is wrong with Hollywood today. Columbia pictures has taken a great, beloved film and recycled it for cheap profit.

The original Karate Kid film is a beloved gem for several reasons. Pat Morita, a beloved character actor and a fine man, was given the chance to be the star of a movie and he delivered beyond anyone's wildest dreams. The relationship between Morita and Ralph Macchio's Daniel was touching and perfectly done.

Part of what made the original movie work is that it was about class differences. You really believed that Daniel was a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks who was struggling to fit in at a new school. And you believed in the awkward puppy love with rich girl Elizabeth Shue. With Jaden Smith, the son of a multi-millionaire actor, you don't believe in for a millisecond. This kid has never had to struggle for anything in his life. The entire emotional premise of the film doesn't work at all.

Everything that is any good in this disgusting Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan remake is lifted out of the original film. There is nothing redeeming about it beyond that. Jaden Smith can't act, he can't emote, and you don't believe him for a second. Beyond that, he's too young and too small to play the role. You simply don't believe for a moment that he could actually beat these other kids in a tournament. It's ridiculous. The scene where Jackie Chan breaks down crying has to be one of the worst-acted, horrible dramatic moments ever put to film.

Like the remake of Willy Wonka, The new Karate Kid movie is an instance of Hollywood cannibalizing its own best work for short term profit. There were dozens of original, creative, magical new stories that were turned down so that this movie could be made. We are all the poorer for it.