In a year of remakes, "The Karate Kid" was one of the biggest at the box office. This new version is more violent than the 1984 classic, with a younger "kid" and without the positive message.

Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) stars as Dre. He's a 12 year old boy, who moves with his mother (Oscar nominee Taraji P.Henson) to China, because she has been transferred from her job. Dre has a very hard time adjusting to his new home because he's getting beaten up by bullies.

Their maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), starts noticing what's going on, and wants to help Dre by teaching him Kung Fu. Dre ends up having to fight in a Kung Fu tournament against his bullies, but Dre and Mr. Han don't back down.

The first hour of the 2 hours 20 minute film (a little too long) is tough to watch, because it's mostly Dre getting beaten up in scene after scene. The middle part of the film is a little better, with Dre training with Mr. Han, and going through their ups and downs together. Chan and Smith have nice chemistry in those scenes and in the entire film.

The last part of the film is the tournament. I didn't like the fact that the script didn't have Dre's mother being concerned he might get hurt. There wasn't one single scene that had the mother arguing about whether Mr. Han should teach Dre kung fu.

Overall, the movie doesn't leave you with a good feeling at the end, even if the message is somewhat inspiring. At the tournament, the coach of the other team tells Dre's opponent to literally "break his leg". That certainly isn't a good message. And there are no laughs or light-hearted moments. The story could have used some, especially considering it's a family film geared toward kids.

"The Karate Kid" is rated PG, but it's definitely not for younger children. They will be scared by the bully aspect of the story and won't understand the violence, even in the tournament. And there's some adult subject matter. The movie is appropriate for kids over 10, but be warned: the fighting scenes are very graphic. And the fact that Dre has a girlfriend at 12 years of age is inappropriate.

Smith does a nice job in his starring debut. Chan's  performance is much better than in "The Spy Next Door". But the film overall, is only slightly better.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Karate Kid" gets a C.

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