Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan
Direction: Harald Zwart
Rating: 1 1/2
A fatherless 12-year-old African-American boy (Smith, energetic enough) moves to Beijing when his mom (Taraji P Henson) takes a job there. At his new school, the kid runs afoul of the class bully.
Next: He enters martial arts training under the tutelage of a Yoda-like kung-fu master (Chan).
Originality and excitement are sorely missing in this remake of the popular 1984 chopsocky flick. Locations in Beijing and around the countryside, including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, are underutilized. The extended final tournament is clumsily staged. Moreover, the unduly lengthy running time of nearly two-and-a-half hours is a deterrent.
If The Karate Kid merits a dekko, it’s only for Jackie Chan who re-invents himself with each new film.