The Karate Kid

"A challenge he never imagined. A teacher he never expected."

2010 2h 20m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 6,744

ActionAdventureDramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

“A challenge he never imagined. A teacher he never expected.”

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Cast

Jaden Smith
Dre Parker
Jackie Chan
Mr. Han
Taraji P. Henson
Sherry Parker
Wenwen Han
Meiying
Zhenwei Wang
Cheng
Yu Rongguang
Master Li
Wu Zhensu
Meiying's Dad
Wang Ji
Mrs. Po

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Harald Zwart
Writers: Robert Mark Kamen, Christopher Murphey
Languages: Mandarin, English
Countries: China, Hong Kong, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: China, Hong Kong, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Karate Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Harald Zwart, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joel Negron shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Harald Zwart directs. Roger Pratt behind the camera. James Horner scores. Joel Negron cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in China, Hong Kong, United States of America. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.0× over at the box office.
2Released 16 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
4International production across 3 countries: China, Hong Kong, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Karate Kid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Harald Zwart, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Joel Negron shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan and Taraji P. Henson carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "A challenge he never imagined. A teacher he never expected.".
11IMDB entry: tt1155076 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 11 themes, including "martial arts", "kung fu", "sequel", "reboot".
13Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Original score: James Horner
Editing: Joel Negron
Production design: François Séguin
Costume design: Han Feng
Makeup / hair: Camille Friend
Sound: Steven Ticknor
Stunt coordinator: Wu Gang
Runtime: 140 min · 2h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $359,126,022
Return: 898% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Karate Kid (2010)

Awards

Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Karate Kid Collection

The first three films follow Daniel LaRusso, who learns to use karate for good under the eccentric mentorship of a janitor named Mr. Miyagi. In the fourth and final installment of the original series, Mr. Miyagi becomes the guardian of his late friend's granddaughter in an effort to steer her away from trouble. A new era introduces new rivals and new characters. In the fifth film, Mr. Han, a kung fu master, passes his wisdom to his new student, Dre. In Karate Kid: Legends, the two continuities merge when the main character, Li, is trained by both Mr. Han and the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso.

Also by

Harald Zwart

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2015-03-03
★ 5/10
A Karate kid which practices Kung Fu for a bad re-make. Only Jackie Chan could be saved from this movie.
ohlalipop2017-02-09
★ 10/10
Well, the theme of the movie is the same as the original Karate Kid BUT this movie is actually not about karate but kung fu. The comedic parts and the dramatic parts are just right. The action is okay. There weren't much especially from Jaden. He just got some action in the end. But then it's enough for the film considering kids will be watching this movie. Jaden Smith is amazing in this movie. I kept on saying that Will and Jada Pinkett made a good investment in their son. Just like his parents, he's a great actor. He's good in both drama and comedy. He did well in this movie. There were even "kilig" moments with him. I just love him. Jackie Chan is of course amazing as well. His character was an older man but that didn't stop him from having a fight scene of his own. We all know he has great comedic timing but I was really impressed when he did his dramatic acting in this movie. It's a different Jackie Chan. And that's what makes him great. He has always something to surprise his audience with. Jaden's nemesis is also great. He's scary. But I like the pictures of behind the scenes in the end because it showed that he's not that scary after all. He looks like a nice guy who's friends with Jaden. My rate for this movie is A. It's a great movie for everyone and I'm not even surprised that it's a box office hit.
vasago2019-08-29
★ 2/10
I can not understand which was the purpose of this remake . A really bad choice . A movie which was 100 times worst than the original one . It was a waste of time for me . I am a huge karate kid fan but this one was one of the worst remakes i have ever seen .