The Karate Kid:True Strength Comes From Within

Imagine that you are twelve years old, you have just moved to a foreign country with your parents and some of the local kids decide they do not like you and start beating you up and humiliate you at school. That is the exact problem that Dre Walker has after he and his mother move to China in The Karate Kid.

Superbly played by Jaden Smith, Dre Walker finds himself in a completely foreign city and a culture with which he is unfamiliar and  bullies who know Kung Fu that keep beating him up.

With help from an aging maintenance man named Mr. Han, Dre is rescued from the bullies. The two of them go to the Kung Fu school to ask that the bullies who are students there leave Dre alone. The instructor at the school suggests that Dre spar with each of them, but Mr. Han instead offers for Dre to compete at the Kung Fu tournament and the instructor accepts.

We then join Dre and Mr. Han, who is portrayed by Jackie Chan as they become teacher and student. As Dre trains with Mr. Han, he begins to change from a scared little boy to a young man who is strong both physically, spiritually and mentally.

The Karate Kid sets out to make an impression and does so effectively because it takes us to the heart of the story, telling us that true strength comes from within and by cultivating that strength through treating others right, greatness can be achieved.One of the best remakes that has come out this year and one of the few that is somewhat better than the original.