But Dre is sloppy and cocky - when an expat kid asks, "Know any Chinese?" he just responds, "Nah." "This is China," says the kid, "might not be a bad idea." - and in the battle between American ignorance and Chinese wisdom there can only be one winner. Han and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker in a still from The Karate Kid.įilms like this usually show the outsider learning something from the locals, and them learning something from him in return. At one point, Dre and Sherry watch in awe as hundreds of scarlet-robed martial artists practice their moves on a field of verdant green at Beijing's Shaolin Wushu School. Quite who covered Mr Han's janitorial duties during these little field trips is anyone's guess.Ĭhina's visual majesty is matched by its discipline. Other scenes show Han and Dre taking a train through the towering Wudang mountains - a mere 20 hours from Beijing, but who's counting? Once there, they climb up to the Golden Summit temple, where Dre sees a martial artist balanced on the edge of a precipice and dancing with a cobra, a lesson in reptile husbandry that, of course, will pay off in the film's climactic fight.įurther training sessions take place on the Great Wall. Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid.
Beyond showing off, there's no real purpose to the scene, but even the world-weary Dre seems vaguely impressed as the movie pauses to take it all in. "No mortal was permitted access, hence the name forbidden city," says a guide, helpfully. Early on, Dre and his new classmates are treated to a tour of the Forbidden City, not seen on screen since Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor back in 1987. The film does its best to bear this out, featuring some of China's most picturesque and impressive sights.Īccording to Smith Sr, a producer on the film, Chan's clout helped them secure permission to shoot in places most movies wouldn't be allowed to. "It's like we're brave pioneers on a quest to start a new life in a magical land," says Sherry, without a trace of irony.
There's a park outside full of smiling locals doing tai chi, and the janitor, Mr Han (Chan), takes Dre under this wing and teaches him kung fu. In most Hollywood movies, the joke would be that it's as far from luxury as it is from Beverly Hills, but it's surprisingly nice. Sherry's Beijing job comes with accommodation at the Beverly Hills Luxury Apartments. China may be many things, but derelict isn't one of them.
Henson), drive to Detroit airport bound for Beijing, they pass a derelict factory just as the credit for the China Film Group production company flashes on-screen. As young Dre Parker (Smith) and his mother, Sherry (Taraji P.