The 2010 remake of the 1984 classic “The Karate Kid”

The Karate Kid is my favourite movie. In 2010, we see it remade. I can’t say I’m extremely happy about it. Why mess with what was a cinema classic, and a great series?

The new version is co-produced by Will Smith, and essentially a vehicle for his son Jaden Smith to launch to superstardom. The film will be released in June 2010.

The plot is based on the 1984 classic which starred Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue.

In the new version, 12 year old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) moves with his mother (Taraji P. Henson) to Beijing, China.

Dre becomes a bullied youth after falling for classmate Mei Ying, and incurs the wrath of the class bully, Cheng.

A major difference with the original is that instead of being based on the martial art of Karate from Okinawa, this film is based on Kung-fu, the predominant martial art of China.