When Dre Parker and his mom move to China, Dre gets targeted by a tough gang of kung-fu kids. Find out if Dre can show them up in Kidzworld’s review of The Karate Kid!
Life in Detroit is all Dre (Jaden Smith) has ever known, but when his mom lands a new job in Beijing, he’s forced into a whole new world.
Meet Mei Ying
China seems all right at first. Dre meets some new friends and quickly develops a crush on the aspiring violinist, Mei Ying. Dre shows Mei Ying some smooth moves on the playground. Mei Ying is impressed, but a group of bullies led by Mei Ying’s childhood friend Cheng, is not.
Jaden Smith in The Karate KidCourtesy of Columbia Pictures
Kung Fu Killers
The fight escalates and Dre ends up on the receiving end of some fancy kung fu moves. Dre might be fast, but he’s left defenseless against the martial art skills of Cheng and his gang. The beatings continue every day during school and Dre starts to wish he’d never come to China.
Mr. Han
One day, all that changes. The bullies chase Dre home and surround him. He’s just about to pass out from the beatings when his apartment maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), breaks up the fight and kicks some serious butt.
Bad Teacher
Dre asks Mr. Han to teach him kung fu, but Mr. Han isn’t looking for a student. Instead, Mr. Han takes Dre to the kung fu academy where Cheng and the other bullies train so they can make peace. But the bullies don’t want to make peace. Instead their teacher challenges Dre to enter the kung fu tournament. Mr. Han promises to teach Dre the ways of kung fu and their training begins. But will it be enough to win the tournament and earn the respect of his bullies?
The Bottom Line
The Karate Kid has a lot more kung fu than karate, but it’s based on the original movie from 1984 so they kept the name. Unlike the original, this Karate Kid was shot in China. You get a great sense of what it’s like on the streets of Beijing, and when Dre and his class visit the Forbidden City, you feel like you’re sightseeing too! The teachings of Mr. Han can fall a little flat because of bad dialogue, but when Dre finally enters the ring, you can’t help but cheer.
The Karate Kid Movie Rating:
