The Karate Kid has a lot more kung fu than karate, but it’s based on the original movie from 1984 so the producers decided to keep the name for nostalgia’s sake. Unlike the original, this Karate Kid was shot in China. You get a great sense of the atmosphere 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 for the last fight, you can’t help but cheer.
The story of the new Karate Kid is slightly changed from the original. In the 2010 Karate Kid, Dre Parker and his mother move to China, when she gets a new job after losing faith in Detroit’s failing economy. Dre is immediately targeted by a tough gang of kung-fu kids led by a strong fighter named Cheng.
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 afterward and Dre starts to wish he’d never come to China.
Luckily for Dre, not that all of China is bad. There is Mei Ying, the pretty aspiring violinist who befriends Dre early on. Unfortunately, Mei Ying also happens to be Cheng’s childhood friend and he doesn’t take kindly to Dre consorting with his longtime crush. The gang seems to come on even harder whenever they spot Dre and Mei Ying hanging out.
But 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 breaks up the fight and shows the gang a thing or two about real kung fu.
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.
