Justin Bieber – Never Say Never (Official Music Video) ft. Jaden Smith

The Karate Kid
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Harald Zwart
Produced by	Jerry Weintraub Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith James LassiterKen Stovitz
Screenplay by	Christopher Murphey
Story by	Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Jackie Chan Jaden Smith Taraji P. Henson
Music by	James Horner
Cinematography	Roger Pratt
Edited by	Joel Negron
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	June 11, 2010
Running time	140 minutes
Country	United States China Hong Kong
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$359.1 million

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Karate Kid
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Harald Zwart
Produced by	Jerry Weintraub Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith James LassiterKen Stovitz
Screenplay by	Christopher Murphey
Story by	Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Jackie Chan Jaden Smith Taraji P. Henson
Music by	James Horner
Cinematography	Roger Pratt
Edited by	Joel Negron
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	June 11, 2010
Running time	140 minutes
Country	United States China Hong Kong
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$359.1 million

The Karate Kid, known as The Kung Fu Dream in China, is a 2010 wuxia martial arts drama film directed by Harald Zwart, and part of The Karate Kid series. It stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in lead roles, and it was produced by Jerry Weintraub, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz and Jaden’s parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The plot concerns 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) from Detroit, Michigan who moves to Beijing, China with his mother (Taraji P. Henson) and runs afoul of the neighborhood bully (Zhenwei Wang). He makes an unlikely ally in the form of an aging maintenance man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), a kung fu master who teaches him the secrets of self-defense. The screenplay by Christopher Murphey was from the story written by Robert Mark Kamen for the original The Karate Kid. Unlike the original, this remake is set in China, and, despite the movie’s title, features Kung Fu instead of Japanese–Okinawan Karate. The film’s music was composed by James Horner. It is an international co-production between China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Principal photography took place in Beijing, China, and filming began in July 2009 and ended on October 16, 2009. The Karate Kid was released theatrically worldwide on June 11, 2010, by Sony Pictures. The film earned $359 million on a $40 million budget.

On November 10, 2008, Variety reported that work on a Karate Kid remake had begun. Variety stated that the new film, to be produced by Will Smith, “has been refashioned as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith” and that it would “borrow elements from the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.” On June 22, 2009, Jackie Chan told a Los Angeles Chinatown concert crowd that he was leaving for Beijing to film the remake as Jaden Smith‘s teacher.

Despite maintaining the original title, the 2010 remake does not feature karate, which is from Okinawa (Japan), but focuses on the main character learning kung fu in China. Chan told interviewers that film cast members generally referred to the film as The Kung Fu Kid, and he believed the film would only be called The Karate Kid in America, and The Kung Fu Kid in China. This theory held true in the People’s Republic of China, where the film is titled The Kung Fu Dream (Chinese: 功夫梦), and in Japan and South Korea, where the film is titled Best Kid (Japanese: ベスト・キッド; Korean: 베스트 키드) after the local title of the 1984 film in both countries.

Sony had considered changing the title of the film, but Jerry Weintraub, one of the producers, rejected the idea. Weintraub was also the producer of the original Karate Kid.

The Chinese government granted the filmmakers access to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, and the Wudang Mountains. On some occasions, the filmmakers had to negotiate with residents who were not accustomed to filming activity. The feature started was being filmed in July 2009.

Music

Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson was originally hired to score the film, but he was replaced by American composer James Horner. The Karate Kid marked Horner’s return to scoring after his work on the 2009 film Avatar. The score was released on June 15, 2010.

The Karate kid 2010 – James Horner Music.mpg

The official theme song to the film is “Never Say Never“, a song written by Adam Messinger, Justin Bieber, Travis Garland, Omarr Rambert, and others, and produced by The Messengers (Adam Messinger and Nasri Atweh). It is performed by Bieber and Jaden Smith. The music video was released on May 31, 2010.

The film started with “Do You Remember” by Jay Sean featuring Sean Paul and Lil Jon.

Jay Sean – Do You Remember ft. Sean Paul, Lil Jon

“Remember the Name” by Fort Minor was used in the trailer to promote the movie. Parts of the song, “Back in Black” by AC/DC and “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, were also used in the movie. The song “Hip Song” by Rain is used for promotion in the Asian countries and it appeared in the trailer. The music video was released on May 22, 2010. “Bang Bang” by K’naan featuring Adam Levine

K'NAAN – Bang Bang ft. Adam Levine

and “Say” by John Mayer are also featured in the movie.

John Mayer – Say (Official HD Video)

It also features Lady Gaga‘s “Poker Face“

Lady Gaga – Poker Face (Official Music Video)

Flo Rida‘s “Low” and Gorillaz‘ “Dirty Harry” (being performed in Chinese). An abbreviated form of Frédéric Chopin‘s Nocturne No. 20 is featured, arranged for strings, in Meiying’s violin audition scene, along with Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s piano transcription of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Release

The film premiered May 26 in Chicago, with appearances by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, and a brief surprise appearance from Will Smith.

In the Mainland China version of the film, scenes of bullying were shortened by the censors, and a kissing scene is removed. John Horn said that the editing ultimately resulted in “two slightly different movies”.

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 66% based on 208 reviews, and an average rating of 6.17/10. The site’s critics consensus reads: “It may not be as powerful as the 1984 edition, but the 2010 Karate Kid delivers a surprisingly satisfying update on the original.” Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale, the highest of the franchise.

Ann Hornaday described Jaden Smith as a revelation, and that he “proves that he’s no mere beneficiary of dynastic largesse. Somber, self-contained and somehow believable as a kid for whom things don’t come easily, he never conveys the sense that he’s desperate to be liked. ‘The Karate Kid’ winds up being so likable itself.” Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it a positive review, rating the film three and a half out of four stars, and calling it “a lovely and well-made film that stands on its own feet”. Claudia Puig of USA Today and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly each rated the film a ‘B’, stating “the chemistry between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan grounds the movie, imbuing it with sincerity and poignance” and that the film is “fun and believable”.

Simon Abrams of Slant Magazine gave the film one and a half stars and noted “The characters just aren’t old enough to be convincing in their hormone-driven need to prove themselves” and “This age gap is also a huge problem when it comes to the range that these kids bring to the project” and noted the portrayal of the child antagonist Cheng includes an “overblown and overused grimace, which looks like it might have originally belonged to Dolph Lundgren, looks especially silly on a kid that hasn’t learned how to shave yet.” Finally, Abrams noted “What’s most upsetting is Dre’s budding romance with Meiying. These kids have yet to hit puberty and already they’re swooning for each other.”