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One Last Great Action Trailer for Jackie Chan's The Karate Kid

by Alex Billington
June 8, 2010
Source: MySpace

In one final attempt to draw people in to theaters this weekend, Sony has released an action trailer for The Karate Kid (via MySpace), directed by Harald Zwart (watch our interview) and starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. I'm supporting this movie as well because I want people to go see it this weekend and give it a chance, as it's actually a fantastic new version of a classic film we all love (read my reaction at ShoWest). This is just one of those re-edited trailers with a focus on action and intensity. I just hope it convinces a few of you to actually go see it this weekend! At the very least, all the kung fu fighting in this is worth watching.

Watch the final action trailer for Harald Zwart's The Karate Kid:

You can also watch the final Karate Kid trailer in High Definition on MySpace

The Karate Kid, directed by Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2), stars Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, and Taraji P. Henson. Smith plays Dre, a skateboarding video game buff who moves to China after his single mother is forced to go there for work. Unable to speak Chinese, Dre finds it hard to settle in, and gets beat up by the local bully. Chan plays Mr. Han, a maintenance man who spots Dre's black-eye and offers to teach him both martial arts and Chinese, so he can defend against all the kung-fu students. Sony is bringing The Karate Kid to theaters everywhere starting on June 11th this week. The time has finally come - will you be seeing this?

Filed under Opinions, To Watch, Trailers

From around the web:

http://futurephilmmaker.blogspot.com/ FuturePhilmMaker

I'm not quite sure whether or not this movie will be worth seeing in theatres.
steeve

i am definitively in !!
JJ

I saw a media screening last night... this might be as good or slightly better than the original. Either way, it has the same great messages as the original. As a parent I say, there hasn't been too much like it for a male 8-13 demo in long time. Mr. T would approve.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

I'm still torn between this or The A Team for this weekend, but this trailer and the interview with Zwart definitely helped. It's a tough call so I'll wait til I hear something about The A Team first.
Lincoln

I can't stand Jaden Smith. Like at the Awards Will Smith was there in the background just to remember people "Oh, yeah he's Will Smith's son". It's really annyoing and has zero acting skills.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

@5... Regardless of your high standards for children acting, can you really say that he has zero skills? Honestly, I'd say he's the most talented American child actor working today. I'd even put him above Lautner and Pattinson not to mention Efron and Bieber; god the quality is low today... Which is why I'm glad Jaden at least has a mentor to teach him about the business rather than becoming some studio creation. Name me one American actor his age that is better and I'll cease and desist.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Sorry, Bieber is from Canada so don't count him.
Lindsey

Nope.
Carl

I can't wait to see it, it looks awsome but I still do not agree with the name they should have stuck to Kung Fu Kid.
Jaden Smith Ruins Movies For Me

I agree with #5 and if I have to pick straws with #6... Dakota Fanning can easily out act him.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Sorry I meant, male actors his age, I'll agree there are a few female ones, Fanning be one of them.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Fanning is 16 though and Smith is 12 so they're not really in the same category age wise.
Moviegimp

I see no point in watching a remake. I liked the original but not all that much that I want to see it done again by other people. It's nice that families have a movie though. I'll be at the insanity of the A-Team showing myself.
SkaOreo

#10 Well you do realize that Dakota Fanning has had a shit load more experience than Jayden Smith in terms of acting. So I don't even see the reasoning in comparing the two of them, unless you believe all child actors should start out with the same acting abilities as Dakota Fanning. From what I've seen of the trailers, he looks fine. Perhaps not incredible, but definitely not terrible. And with time, could in fact become a genuinely good actor. #8 I've never understood people with this attitude. Like, "HOW DARE YOU CLAIM THAT THIS MOVIE IS AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL MASTERPIECE." The fact that people honestly believe that The Karate Kid is some amazing movie that should never have a remake is ridiculous, and slightly hilarious, in itself. I understand why people have this attitude, being that they grew up with it and the powers of nostalgia makes everything that happened in the 80s 10x better than they really were. I get it, but at the same time: The Karate Kid? Seriously?
max s.

I don't care what they put out i'll be at A-Team either way but it does look good probobally rent on netflix
arjones

#6 Josh Hutcherson. He may have been in some corney movies but check out Little Manhattan and Bridge To Terabithia he is an exceptional young actor and has been in a list of movies the length of my arm.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Hutcherson is 18 so he doesn't count, come on people I'm looking for a 10-13 year old.
Jaden Smith Ruins Movies For Me

#14 You go as far as stating that "he's the most talented American child actor working today" and then request for someone to "Name me one American actor his age that is better and I'll cease and desist." You should take a slice of humble pie when someone calls you out on your nonsense. P.S. Dakota Fanning was nominated for a SAG award at the age of 7... before all that "experience".
Jaden Smith Ruins Movies For Me

@Peloquin "I'd even put him above Lautner and Pattinson not to mention Efron and Bieber". You are the one providing examples of actors older than him and then comparing, so I will be fair and ask what are the parameters going to be when we are going to provide examples to destroy your argument?
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Wow, the internet can be downright nasty. I was just trying to start a friendly conversation and you guys took it as me trying to "destroy you". I said he was better than Lautner and Pattison because I couldn't think of one other male American child actor his age and was just trying to say that he's half their age and still better so he's obviously not a bad actor. The examples were older because I cannot think of anyone his age who is as good as he is so I opened it up to the boards to see if there is someone because I'm genuinely curious. No need for the anger, here are my parameters: Male Age 10-13 American And Fanning is great, I never said she wasn't, but my point is that right now American cinema is fucked for the future; not that it used to be okay.
GuidoSarducci

Sorry, not worth my 10 bucks. The problem isn't necessarily that there is some "holy ground" that films stand on that should make them immune to remakes, it's that remakes and plot thievery are dominating the industry. There are a metric ton of original, intriguing scripts out there that money could be spent on (Good Omens, anyone?) and instead they go back to rehash some other commodity because they want to try and milk the IP. Well I'm done with that. I vote with my dollars, and my vote is to end this constant stream of remake hell. Give me new content and I'll be interested. But count me out of any Spider Man reboots or A-Team (which might have been a perfectly good movie if they hadn't tried to shoehorn people into names), Karate Kid, Conan, Back to School, Footloose, Short Circuit, Red Dawn, Logan's Run, Flash Gordon, Last Starfighter travesties.
jjboldt

Okay, the first time I heard about this movie, I thought it was a dumb idea. Really dumb. However, I have to admit every time I see a new trailer, it makes more of a believer out of me. I think they have done a very good job of marketing this. I work for radio stations and I know this movie has been a part of some contests. I hope it's as good as the trailers make it look. I've actually become a little excited to see this.
Janny

i will teach you real kung-fu so you can become the karate kid
Trip

Alex Etel. He is 16 now but his last big movie was "The Water Horse". He was also in "Millions". This kid can act. Jayden Smith has his foot in the door for obvious reasons but he has some work to do... Trip
Cream of Sumyunguy

I can't do it. I can't stand that little bitch ass kid.
almartva

Yawn, this will be bad. The action might look awesome but it lacks the heart of the original, flashy moves does not make up for lack of heart.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

I found a list of the top ten 12 year old actors, but it includes both girls and boys, still pretty slim though: http://movies.toptenreviews.com/actors/list_1996_actor.htm
SkaOreo

#18 Except I wasn't the person that said he was the best young actor working today.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

yea 27, he mixed up the numbers, he was yelling at me, but hopefully my followup post calmed him down a bit.
Sabes

I rolled my eyes when I first heard of this, but after seeing the trailers I actually want to see it.
Duck

Can't wait
Professor Brian O'Blivion

I am a little surprised at everyone who was "blown away" with this trailer. There are very few new scenes in this trailer especially after two other mediocre trailers. It just felt really hollow and empty to me, something akin to that flick from a couple years ago "Never Back Down" (which was "Karate Kid" with mixed martial arts instead). @#14 The reason people get upset with these remakes is because the first time they were made it was a risk and actually took filmmaking to make it a good film. These remakes feel like one blacked out figure talking to another blacked out figure. "Lets just make the same movies again, we'll have a built in audience, we can't afford to take risks right now." #21 said it best in that these films had heart. This film looks very safe, little risks involved. Even this trailer was very safely cut on the beat, and stayed that way through the whole trailer. Nothing special here, this weekend is especially depressing because this is coming out alongside of the "The A-Team". Just a sad, sad time for Hollywood and going the the movies.
SkaOreo

#32 I'm sorry, but you make it sound as if the original movie was some movie that was so radically different, and was such a game changer at the time. It was a decent film, and I certainly enjoyed it but the way some people act (including your post) it's apparently some kind of epic. Seriously you give the movie too much credit than it actually deserves.
Dresden

I hated the original, this one looks intriguing, wife and I will be seeing it with our son.
arjones

#17 I realize hutcherson's not 12. I'm not an idiot. But at 12 he was making movies and is just as good if not better than Jaden Smith.
arjones

I apologize peloquin I got a little defensive.
cinemabandit

hey #9 The use of "Karate Kid" in the title is correct given the context of the movie. Jaden Smith's character is bullied and picked on precisely because he tries to use Karate instead of Kung Fu.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

No need to apologize arjones, I know people get passionate about what they love and they take it personally when it's attacked. I love talking film though and any time you disagree with me please say so, it helps to learn others opinions and grow as cinephiles; just do it in a calm manner ;o)
Lincoln

@ peloquin: David Dorfman at his age
Black Dynamite

When did it become Jackie Chans Karate Kid!!!!? I'll watch it with my son and pray it's better than what I think it's gonna be.
max

I'm with #6. The Boy can act. He does more with just a look than Pattinson and Lautner have yet achieved. (But the girls like 'em.) Anyway, Its not worth comparing actors. Jaden Smith is the right actor for this "time'"and Movie.My kids are totally excited to see it so there you go.
Handsomepig

The movie is just plain wrong, as if thou writers or director is very confuse with Karate and Kung Fu. Is wrong to be begin with the title. I dont think is gonna be worth watching, movies from Jackie Chan with hollywood has become bad to just plain lame. As for the kid his acting to me seems mediocre, credit to him at least he train for this movie. Verdict for me... when i am really bored i will watch it.
therandomguy

the child is too young... so i guess the movie is interesting for little children his age but as somebody aged 18+ i think you just cant get any connection with some 12 year old child that tries to fight some unimportant childtournament and tries to win a girls heart to hold hands with her... so i fact the wouldnt have hurt to name the movie "kung fu kid" because most of the people that loved the old movies cant related to it and the children that wanna see it dont know the original.
Ladisoldier

I just saw this movie today, and coming from the generation of the first one with Ralph Macchio, I have to say at least as good and probably better than the original. Jaden Smith was entirely believable and adorable, and seriously, I'd love to have Jackie Chan teach me Kung Fu! More believable than Mr. Miaggi. The kids (and probably several adults) in the crowded theatre applauded at the end of the movie. Okay, maybe I was one of the old farts applauding. LOL It's entertaining and feel-good with a lingering echo of nostalgia for those of us who experienced the original, but different enough not to be a ridiculous carbon copy. IMHO.
Christian

Just seen it and it's way better than the original! Having it filmed in China with Jackie Chan filling in Mr Miyagi's role was pure genius! The scenery in the film is very visually rich and rewarding to the viewers. I loved it and so did my girls friend! 2 thumps way up for sure!
http://firstshowing.net kt lew

i totally agree the movie was way better than expected and jackie chan and jaden smith both did a superb job.will smith and company should be applauded for the way they crafted the movie.they have to make a part 2 .so everyone who was trashing the movie before it was even released should really feel stupid now. the fighting was great,as in all jackie chan films and the acting was very good. when i heard for the first time that will smith was going to collaborate with jackie chan,i said to myself GREAT IDEA. now the film grossed 65 mil. on its opening weekend way more than i expected GREAT MOVIE