Plot: A boy, Dre (Jaden Smith), and his Mom (Tariji Henson) move from Detroit to Beijing, where Dre is picked on by the local kids, and where he meets a girl, Meiying (Wen Wen Han). After he gets beaten up, a local man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), teaches him Kung Fu. After he learns Kung Fu, he fights in a big tournment.
Review: You really can't trust movie reviews for kid's movies. This film had great reviews, and it was bad.
The beginning was like an afterschool special; everything was so stereotypic and so unlikely that I couldn't bear to watch. The first hour was especially bad. The ending was especially predictable.
The flirty romance and the Chinese travelogue made the movie bearable. The training scenes dragged on forever. Mr Han (Jackie Chan) was unrealistic and odd. I suppose they were attempting to make him quirky and tormented, but that did not work for me.
I liked Jaden Smith and the smiley young girl Wen Wen Han. All the other child actors were wooden.
I can't figure why the rest of the audience liked this movie. There were some good songs though.
Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan
Directed by: Harald Zwart
Rating: 1.5 flasks. Some scenes aspire to be 2 flasks, but they did not overcome the unbearable parts.
More: Karate is Japanese (Okinawan) not Chinese. It should be the Kung Fu Kid. The film was partially produced by Sony, so I am sure they thought it was OK. Apparently, the first syllable of Karate means Chinese.
Even more: I liked the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers T-shirts
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