I wasn't sure what to expect with the remake of the Karate Kid.  We know the ultimate ending, but not this particular journey.  Dre Parker played by Jaden Smith ( AKA Daniel Larusso part in the original) is forced to move to China from Detroit when his mother takes a job in the Auto business there.   Almost at once he falls for a young Chinese girl and gets into the trouble we are expecting with some bullies. 

Not withstanding all the Kung Fu training, mental preparation, and of course a young boy of 12 trying to come to grips with his own fears, culture shock,  lack of knowledge odf the culture and language, the movie is actually mentally and emotionally engaging.  What some people will notice and most critics have all mentioned, is the movie didn't have to be well over 2 hours long. 

What is mixed in,  is a promotional  travel film! There must be at least 15-25 minutes of panoramic vistas and several shots of happy people throughout the cities. All this is surrounded with a plethora of different music and music types that will appeal to the largest possible audience.   We are to believe the country is a happy place to live in, the schools with guards at attention are safe, people are all productive ,prosperous and safe.  What's wrong with view of life in China!  Oh that's right they have no political freedom, dissidents and politically opposition views are not tolerated.  So we have a pretty one sided...lopsided... view of life in China. 

Well the Karate Kid is a fairy tale to begin with so it does seem to fit. 

With that minor notation , Jackie Chan fills in for Pat Morita and does an excellent job. We might get a new phrase, " Shirt on Shirt off" or some such nonsense for " wax on wax off".

I liked the movie as it did it's job , was entertaining and engaging and showed off China in it's best possible form even if it is a fairy tale at this point in time.