The 2010 Karate Kid remake is quite possibly one of the most globally known karate movies. Directed by Harald Zwart, Karate Kid tells the story of a young boy relocated to china because of his mother’s job. Through a variety of challenges and difficulties, he is pushed to embrace the Kung Fu teachings of his mentor. The movie stars famous martial arts star Jackie Chan as Mr. Han, the sensi, and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker, the young mentee.
12-year-old Dre Parker has relocated to China because of his mother’s new position and is very reluctant to go. He finds himself as a fish out of water, finding it difficult to fit in anywhere. He befriends a fellow classmate Mei Ying, which makes him an enemy of Cobra Kai leader, Cheng. Cheng begins to attack and harass Dre, and he is saved by Mr. Han, the maintenance man of Dre’s apartment. Mr. Han signs him up to compete in a Kung Fu competition and continues to train him fiercely.
Dre realizes that Mr. Han is not just a simple maintenance man but also a Kung Fu master and champion who shows him the art of self-defense and peace, over pain and bloodshed.
Although they are learning Kung Fu, while the movie is called Karate kid, real martial arts is present throughout the film. Before Mr. Han allows him to practice hand to hand combat, he requires him to make the repetitive motion of dropping, picking up, hanging up, taking down, and putting on his jacket. The specific action of doing that is incredibly accurate to the muscle memory of punching and learning to fight. The same format sometimes being used in private martial arts lessons between an instructor and a student. Although it was just a movie and all of the fight scenes were choreographed, the motions and hits were entirely reminiscent of real kung fu.
The 2010 Karate Kid remake is not only a great movie but an excellent example of martial arts on the Hollywood set. The usage of both choreography and casting really adds to the effect of real kung fu training and competing.