A spoilt American kid is transplanted to China in this fun remake of the 1984 children's favourite. Dre (Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett) moves from Detroit to Beijing with his widowed mother (Taraji P Henson of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), only to find himself up against the school bullies in a martial arts tournament. Jackie Chan keeps his usual ebullience under wraps as Mr Han, the quiet janitor who becomes Dre's reluctant trainer. The action sequences, as expected with Chan, are amazing. These, along with a snappy pace, stunning locations and credible performances, counterbalance the film's overlong running time. Thanks to a tight script, even fans of the original franchise will find the ending stirring and surprising. Sticklers will, however, love pointing out that what Mr Han teaches Dre is not karate, but kung fu. |
Director: Harald Zwart
Cast List: Mr Han : Jackie Chan Dre Parker : Jaden Smith Sherry Parker : Taraji P Henson Meiying : Wenwen Han Master Li : Yu Rong Guang Meiying's dad : Zhensu Wu Meiying's mom : Zhiheng Wang Cheng : Zhenwei Wang Dre's Detroit friend : Jared Minns Liang : Shijia Lu |