The Karate Kid, known as The Kung Fu Kid in China and Best Kid in Japan and South Korea, is a 2010 martial arts remake of the 1984 film of the same name. Directed by Harald Zwart, produced by Will Smith, the remake stars Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. Principal photography for the film took place in Beijing, China; filming began around July 2009 and ended on October 16, 2009. The Karate Kid was released theatrically in the United States on June 11, 2010. The plot concerns a 12-year-old boy from Detroit who moves to China with his mother and incurs the wrath of the neighborhood bully. He makes an unlikely ally in the form of his aging maintenance man, Mr. Han, a kung fu master who teaches him the secrets to self-defense.
12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) arrive in Beijing from Detroit to start a new life. Dre develops a crush on a young violinist,
Mei Ying, who reciprocates his attention, but Mei Ying's classmate
Cheng, a kung fu prodigy whose family is close to Mei Ying's, attempts
to keep them apart by beating Dre, and later harassing and humiliating
him in and around school. During a particularly brutal beating by Cheng
and his friends, the kindly maintenance man of Dre's building, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), comes to Dre's aid, revealing himself as a kung fu master who adeptly dispatches Dre's tormentors.
After Han mends Dre's injuries using fire cupping,
they go to Cheng's teacher, Master Li, to attempt to make peace, but
the brutal Li, who teaches his students to show no mercy to their
enemies, challenges Dre to a fight with Cheng. When Han declines, Li
threatens him, saying that they will not be allowed to leave his school
unless either Dre or Han himself fights. Han acquiesces, but insists
the fight take place at an upcoming tournament, and that Li's students
leave Dre alone until the tournament. The amused Li agrees.
Han begins training Dre, but Dre is frustrated that Han merely has
Dre spend hours taking off his jacket, hanging it up, dropping it, and
then putting it back on again. After days of this, Dre refuses to
continue, until Han explains to him that the repetitive arm movements
in question were Han's method of teaching Dre defensive block and
strike techniques, which Dre is now able to display instinctively when
prompted by Han's mock attacks. Han emphasizes that the movements Dre
is learning apply to life in general, and that serenity and maturity, not punches and power, are the true keys to mastering the martial arts. During one lesson in the Wudang Mountains, Dre notices a female kung fu practitioner (Michelle Yeoh, in an uncredited cameo
) copying the movements of a cobra
before her, but Han informs him that it was the cobra that was
imitating the woman, as in a mirror reflection. Dre wants Han to teach
him this technique, which includes linking Han's hand and feet to Dre's
via bamboo shafts while practicing their forms, but Dre's subsequent attempt to use this reflection technique on his mother is unsuccessful.
As Dre's friendship with Mei Ying continues, she agrees to attend
Dre's tournament, and does Dre her upcoming recital. After sharing a
kiss at an outdoor festival, Dre persuades Mei Ying to cut school for a
day of fun, but when she is nearly late for her violin recital, which
has been rescheduled for that day, Mei tells him that her parents have
deemed him a bad influence, and forbid her from spending any more time
with him.
When Dre finds Han drunk and despondent, he learns that it is the
anniversary of his wife and son's deaths, which occurred years ago when
he lost control of his car while arguing with his wife. Dre reminds Han
that one of his lessons was in perseverance, and that Han needs to heal
from his loss, and tries to help him do so. Han then assists Dre in
writing a note of apology to Mei Ying's father, who, impressed, allows
Mei to attend the tournament.
At the tournament, the underconfident Dre is slow to achieve parity
with his opponents, but soon begins to best them, and advances to the
semifinals, as does Cheng, who violently finishes off his opponents.
Dre eventually comes up against Master Li's students, in particular a
classmate of Cheng who is instructed by Master Li to break Dre's leg.
When his student insists that he can beat Dre, Master Li sternly tells
him that he doesn't want him beaten, but broken. During the match, Li's
student delivers a devastating kick to Dre's leg, along with a series
of brutal follow-up punches. Although Li's student is disqualified for
his illegal strikes, Dre is incapacitated, which means Cheng will win
by default.
Despite Han's insistence that he has earned respect for his
performance in the tournament, and that he needs to learn when to walk
away from a fight, Dre convinces Han to use his fire cupping technique
to mend his leg, in order to see the tournament to the end. Dre returns
to the arena, where he confronts Cheng. Dre delivers impressive blows,
but Cheng counters with a debilitating strike to Dre's already injured
leg. Dre struggles to get up, and adopts the one-legged form he first
learned from the woman on the mountain, attempting to use the
reflection technique to manipulate Cheng's movements. Cheng charges
Dre, but Dre flips, and catches Cheng with a kick to his head, winning
the tournament, along with the respect of Cheng and his classmates,
both for himself and Mr.Han.
SOURCE:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karate_Kid_(2010_film)
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