The Karate Kid

Even with what seems like an over-indulgent running time of 140 minutes, the film actually mimicks the core plot, which focuses on laying down a foundation for Dre Parker to learn and train in Kung-Fu by Mr. Han.  Dre Parker is a young 12 year old who has been transplanted to Beijing China due to his mother's job relocation, and Dre gets picked on by other students trained in Kung-Fu, and a reticent apartment maintenance man, Mr. Han, eventually comes to help Dre deal with his issues.

Jaden Smith plays Dre, and does a believable job in his major starring role, and Jackie Chan, playing Mr. Han, is getting older, but also wiser.  The rest of the supporting cast of "good" and "bad" and "conflicted" give a good performance to sell the stakes involved in the film.

It was a treat to see some of the footage of China in the film, and it'll have a wide demographic appeal, even if it's a remake, it's bigger in its scope at times, but it can also be very local and small to earn some emotional points as Dre learns the value of respect and discipline and honor.

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.