The Karate Kid remake is more of in spirit re-imagining but the result is an effective family film that avoids sap, teaches good morals/lessons, and features a couple of great turns by its two leads.

Dre and his Mom are forced to move to China as times are tough in Detroit and if Dre’s mom wants to stay employed than this is their only option.  Dre quickly get his eyes stuck on a girl but also becomes the uninitiated enemy of the son of her families close friends.  Dre proceeds to get beat up and grows to hate living in China in quite a hurry.  But when an opportunity arises for the unsuspecting maintenance man to teach Dre how to use Kung Fu it will put him on a path of discipline and help ease him into Chinese society.

Now things are fairly formulaic here, the film feels familiar, but in a good way.  You easily can settle into the picture and enjoy Dre’s classic hero’s journey starting from nothing and working his way up to that final fight with his nemesis.  But director, Harald Zwart, shows a steady hand, lets his characters develop, and knows who to put the focus on while not over complicating things.  The story is Dre’s and his trainer Mr. Han and outside one scene that is revolves around Han’s past no scene is wasted unless it contributes to Dre’s Chinese coming of age.  That said Zwart does tend to linger for a tad to long on far too many occasions.  None of the dragging is excruciating or horrible by any means, there are just far too many instances where we feel like we are lingering a tad to long in a scene.

What makes most of these moments of unrest easily bearable is the great chemistry between Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith; and Smith’s incredible likeability and charisma when he is flying solo.  Chan and Smith just worked so well with each other, whether they were sparring (physically or verbally), imparting wisdom, or sharing an emotional moment; the two are just great to watch.

Chan is particularly surprising and good as he dials down the goofiness and does some honest and solid acting.  Chan even gets to show some emotional range and he handles it very well surprising the hell out of me at his ability to get emotional in a film.  Jaden Smith on the other hand is a marvel at his incredibly young age.  His first lead role and he handles it like a pro.  He seriously rocks as he has swagger, charisma to spare, is full of charm, and kicks some ass along the way.  You never feel like you are watching a child actor labor through a part or role and taking on more than he can handle.  He throws the film on his back and does it with seemingly ease.  Keep an eye on this kid as he could very easily grow up to be as good as his pops, he certainly shows the chops here. Taraji P. Henson does a fine job in her limited work as Dre’s mother and she nails her moments when she needs to.  Wenwen Han plays the young romance of Dre’s eye and she is just adorable and cute and does a solid acting job as well.  She even creates a nice chemistry with Smith and makes there young romance believable.

The fighting in the film is actually quite limited for a movie called the, Karate Kid, but when it shows up it is just as solid as the rest of the film.  In fact it is quite brutal even at times and you might be caught off guard at how rough the fighting feels.  The early scenes and the tournament especially feel pretty brutal for the film, not that I am complaining, it only helps the film be more affective.

In the end, The Karate Kid is a great family film that everyone can enjoy.  It is a little long in the tooth and formulaic but the actors are so fun and likeable you will find yourself little bothered with either of those complaints.  Jaden Smith proves he is a star in the making here and be ready to sign up your little ones for karate lessons after you get out the theater as the martial arts community is going to see quite a spike in attendance I imagine.  For some fun family entertainment wrapped up with a thoughtful and good natured tale that helps teach lessons you can’t really go wrong with The Karate Kid.  Give me more Jaden Smith!

The Karate Kid is a B