Karate Belter

He's got some moves ... Jaden Smith plays Dre Parker in The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid
(PG) 140mins

IT should really be called the Kung Fu Kid, what with that being the martial art 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) learns.
But there wasn't a huge 1984 hit movie of that name ready to be given a 2010 makeover.

Bags of potential ... Dre attends martial arts school

After Dre's mum (Taraji P Henson) is relocated for work from Detroit to China, he finds himself the victim of a group of bullies led by the particularly vicious Cheng (Zhenwei Wang).

Mr Han ... Jackie Chan

The initial beating he gets is no play-fight - kicks and throws have a bone-crunching reality to them and it's initially quite shocking to see two kids go at each other so hard.
As the bullying continues at school, you are desperately willing him to meet his mentor, learn some sweet moves and get his revenge.
Soon enough, said mentor comes along, no Mr Miyagi this time but Mr Han instead (Jackie Chan).
The janitor at the apartment block where Dre lives, he's a man whose training techniques are as obscure as the original's "wax on/wax off".
Chan is already a legend but, free from so much of the comedy clowning he does in most of his Hollywood output, he plays Mr Han as a tragic, subdued man whose relationship with Dre is as important for him as it is for the boy.

As Dre, Jaden Smith is the perfect mix of cockiness and vulnerability and, taking after his old man Will, the kid can deliver the funnies too.
The relationship between Chan and Smith's characters drives this film, a step up for director Harold Zwart who gave us the dire Pink Panther 2.
If only he'd cut down the flabby two hours plus running time - the film could have done with being as lean and mean as its promising young star.
Rating: Three out of five