SI: The Karate Kid Is The Kung Fu Kid

[Christopher]

The Karate Kid is an upcoming 2010 martial arts film remake of the epic 1984 film of the same name. Directed by Harald Zwart, the remake stars Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) and Jackie Chan. Principal photography for the film took place in Beijing, China; filming began around July 2009 and ended on mid October. The Karate Kid will be distributed by Columbia Pictures theatrically in the United States on June 11, 2010. Unlike the 1984 movie, The Karate Kid, the 2010 remake does not feature the modern interpretation of karate, which is from Okinawa. Despite its title, the new film focuses on a boy learning kung fu in China. Chan has told interviewers that film cast members have been referring to the movie as the Kung Fu Kid, and he believes the film will only be called The Karate Kid in America, and The Kung Fu Kid in Asia.

The plot bears many similarities to the original Karate Kid film, with some notable differences. Twelve year old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) is the most popular kid in Detroit until he and his single mother (Taraji P. Henson) move because of a pivotal career change made by his mother. In their new home of Beijing, Parker falls for a young school student named Mei Ying. Both children find it hard to form a solid friendship with each other because of their cultural differences and because Ying’s father does not approve of their relationship. To make matters worse, this attraction makes him the enemy of the infamous bully leader, Cheng, who gives Parker the nickname of ‘The Karate Kid’ due to his severely limited knowledge of Karate, hence the title of the film.

With the bullies constantly throwing him to the ground, and with no one else to turn to, the outlook for Parker’s new life looks bleak until he meets Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who makes a deal with the bullies’ kung-fu master that if they let Dre train they can fight Dre in the upcoming tournament. A quirky mentor and a kung-fu master in secret, Mr. Han teaches Parker kung-fu through unconventional, yet effective techniques to help make life in his new home an easier affair and hopefully stand up to the bullies. It involves training in places such as the Great Wall of China. The entire plot eventually builds up to a grand finale with Dre Parker battling against Cheng and his allies in a large scale Martial Arts Tournament.

The film will contain homages to the original film, including a variation on the famous fly catching scene in which Chan’s character ends up swatting it instead of using chopsticks; the theatrical trailer shows this scene with the original movie’s theme “You’re the Best” playing.

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