Jaden Smith & Jackie Chan

"New" being relative, the new version of "The Karate Kid" -- which relies on the heart and cheery bloodthirstiness of the original -- marks the first time the city of Detroit has been played on screen by parts of Beijing.

The film was shot on location in China. In its 1984 inspiration, the new world greeting our boy hero was Southern California, and that was exotic enough. Ralph Macchio (then in his early 20s) starred as a New Jersey teenager relocated with his mother to a strange, blond land, where he was instantly beset by sociopathic karate thugs straight out of Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia." Noriyuki "Pat" Morita played his mentor, prepping him for the All-Valley Karate Championship and his fight for self-respect.

The movie was a hit, pushing the same buttons that director John G. Avildsen had pushed with "Rocky." It spawned three sequels and now director Harald Zwart's remake. This version sends mother and son to China because, as the fine and avid-eyed Taraji P. Henson says early on, "There's nothing left for us in Detroit!" and a single parent must go where the work takes her.

The material has been reworked to showcase Jaden Smith, who was 11 during filming. He kicks a lot higher than Macchio ever did, though watching a preteen subjected to two-plus hours of ritual humiliation and punishment offers a different, more sobering emotional experience than a young adult playing a high schooler. On the other hand: Smith, son of producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, is such a cool, unflappably stoic young performer, one's queasiness is more theoretical than actual.

Jackie Chan co-stars in Morita's old role of the humble maintenance man who coaches the Bullied One. The older Chan gets, the simpler and truer he becomes as a performer. Screenwriter Christopher Murphey is a devoted student of the original, right down to the drunken confession of a painful personal loss delivered by the surrogate father figure. Chan pulls this scene off, in what may be the most openly emotional scene of his film career. Then it's back to training montages and storytelling basics, designed to mold Smith's Dre into a worthy adversary for the kung fu punks led by Wang Zhenwei's malignant Cheng.

There's a love interest for Dre, a violin prodigy (Han Wenwen) fascinated with Dre's hair and obvious Hollywood-royalty cred. She is there, rooting for him, at the final showdown, just as Elisabeth Shue was back in the day. The title of the redux is a stretch, since Dre is the kung fu kid, not karate. Little matter. "Fight hard, earn respect, boys leave you alone," Chan's character advises, practicing his screenplay pitch.

I doubt even Smith and Chan believe their film needed to be 140 minutes long, but the leisurely running time allows, at least, for a little variety in the pacing and a day-tripper's exploration of Beijing and surrounding locales.

 

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"The Karate Kid" Movie Trailer

12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying—and the feeling is mutual—but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

 

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MPAA rating: PG (for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language).

Running time: 2:20..

Cast: Jaden Smith (Dre Parker); Jackie Chan (Mr. Han); Taraji P. Henson (Sherry); Han Wenwen (Meiying); Wang Zhenwei (Cheng)

Credits: Directed by Harald Zwart; written by Christopher Murphey; produced by Jerry Weintraub, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz. A Columbia Pictures release.