The Karate Kid

Columbia Pictures

Rated PG

Running time: 140 minutes

















Click below to watch The Karate Kid trailer.



An update of the original The Karate Kid, Columbia Pictures The Karate Kid has Jaden Smith and his mom Taraji P. Henson leaving their home in Detroit and moving to China for his mom's new job. After getting beaten up by the local bully, Jaden gets martial arts training by their maintenance man Jackie Chan.

I think this update is a better movie than the original The Karate Kid as it deals with the different cultures of American Jaden Smith trying to fit into the Chinese culture. This is also the most dramatic role I have seen of Jackie Chan in a Hollywood movie. Chan's performance actually had me tearing up in one scene. Jaden Smith has become a very talented actor and his ability at kung fu is amazing. The title The Karate Kid is actually a misnomer as the martial arts supposedly being portrayed in the movie is kung fu. As Jaden tells his mother after visiting a kung fu school, "It's kung fu! Not karate!" As I am not familiar between the different martial arts styles, I could not tell if the technique is really kung fu or karate. Either way, the martial arts being portrayed is incredible especially during the tournament scenes at the end of the movie.

Rated PG for violence. Running time: 140 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.