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The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid

Action · Adventure · Drama · 2010

12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

Movie details

The Karate Kid

“A challenge he never imagined. A teacher he never expected.”

2010 Action · Adventure · Drama 2h 20m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Karate Kid?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Harald Zwart

Written by

Robert Mark Kamen · Christopher Murphey

Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith

Dre Parker

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Mr. Han

Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson

Sherry Parker

Wenwen Han

Wenwen Han

Meiying

Zac Wang

Zac Wang

Cheng

Yu Rongguang

Yu Rongguang

Master Li

Wu Zhensu

Wu Zhensu

Meiying's Dad

Court is in session

Put The Karate Kid on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.