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Release date: 1 July

Length: 135 minutes

Rating: PG (Action violence; bullying violence, and themes)

Let it be said that the title Karate Kid is a lie. There is no karate in Karate Kid. There is, however, plenty of kung-fu in Karate Kid. It’s almost as if the producers hired Jackie Chan before they wrote the screenplay, and then realised he was Chinese, not Japanese. Being a re-make they couldn’t very well call it Kung-Fu Kid. It’s decisions like these that keeps Hollywood’s famous propensity towards cultural sensitivity completely intact, though, sadly, what we’ve been left with is the most dishonest title since The Neverending Story.

Young Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) is a young boy fleeing America for China with his mother after the death of his father years earlier. We know his father is dead because Dre marked it on the wall (along with his height) as a ghoulish tribute to his passing, though one must admire the courage of a young boy who still manages to measure himself on the day his dad kicks the bucket.

Arriving in China, Dre is quick to make friends – and enemies. A break-dancing demonstration to a local girl, Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), brings him to the attention of the local bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) who promptly kicks the shit out him. A unfortunate run-in at school the next day confirms it – Dre has a bully problem. And not just your regular bully. Cheng happens to be a black belt in Kung Fu. Luckily for Dre, the maintenance man of his apartment block happens to be Jackie Chan who not only takes on the bullies in a six-on-one battle, but also teaches Dre (through many training montages) the mystical martial arts. To anyone who’s seen the original Karate Kid, you know the rest (although there is no “wax on, wax off” here.) To its credit, the bullying subtexts are heartfelt, and something that many kids can relate to.

But should you even take your kids to see this film?

Frankly, I’d be apprehensive about letting any child under the age of 11 watch Karate Kid. Some of the fight scenes are quite graphic, especially the scene in which Dre rips the heart out of Cheng’s chest and shows it to him before he dies (metaphorically speaking). Although the fighting only really bookends the film, I haven’t heard bone-crunching sound effects this realistic since Fight Club.

The direction by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2) is sadly personality free. Even though the Chinese scenery is frequently breathtaking, Zwart finds little to do there, and prefers to kill the exotic nature of the landscape with Western pop music right out of Cliched Movie Soundtracks Volume 3. For those keeping track there’s even the inevitable dance montage (although, thankfully, we are spared a trying-on-zany-hats montage.) It would have been nice to see a competent director inject a bit more Chinese exotica into this film. All too often it just feels like a high-definition music video clip (which Zwart has previously directed).

The most impressive aspect of the film is the acting. Jaden Smith is quite likeable as Dre, and Jackie Chan is fantastic as a maintenance man with a dark secret. Although he won’t be in line for any Dolly Teen Choice Awards, it’s nice to see Jackie Chan show some acting chops underneath his goofy Mr. Nice Guy exterior. The pain evident as he speaks of his lost wife is quite moving.

Unfortunately the film is a little too violent to recommend to kids,  and the lead actors perhaps a little too young to recommend to teenagers. Ironically, though, for an anti-bullying film it may inspire more bullying towards the children not allowed to see it.

PASS.