The Karate Kid (2010)
The Karate Kid is a 2010 martial arts drama film directed by Harald Zwart, and part of The Karate Kid series. It stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in lead roles, and it was produced by Jerry Weintraub, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. This film does not take place in the same fictional universe as the four previous Karate Kid films, but is instead a remake of the original 1984 film with the setting moved to China, and the martial art changed (despite the film’s title) from karate to kung fu. v
Plot.
12-year-old Dre Parker and his widowed mother Sherry, are leaving Detroit travelling to Beijing after Sherry gets a job transfer at a car factory. Dre goes to a nearby park where he eyes a young violinist, Meiying, who reciprocates his attention, but a 14-year-old Chinese boy named Cheng, a rebellious Kung Fu prodigy whose family is close to Meiying’s, holds a grudge against Dre and keeps them apart by brutally attacking, teasing and bullying Dre every chance he gets. After a school field trip to the Forbidden City, Dre throws a bucket of dirty water over Cheng and his gang as revenge, enraging them.
They chase and eventually corner him at a backstreet alley, and brutally beat Dre until he is saved by the maintenance man, Mr. Han, who intervenes and fends off the boys and reveals himself to be a Kung Fu master.
Mr. Han heals Dre’s injuries using Ancient Chinese medicine methods of fire cupping while explaining that Cheng and his friends are not inherently bad, but made so by their teacher Master Li, who teaches his students to show “no mercy” towards their enemies.
Release, Filming.
The film premiered May 26, 2010, in Chicago, with appearances by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, and a brief surprise appearance from Will Smith. In the Mainland China version of the film, scenes of bullying were shortened by the censors, and a kissing scene is removed. John Horn of the Los Angeles Times said that the editing ultimately resulted in “two slightly different movies”. The Chinese government granted the filmmakers access to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, and the Wudang Mountains. On some occasions, the filmmakers had to negotiate with residents who were not accustomed to filming activity. The feature started being filmed in July 2009.