Movie Review: The Karate Kid (2010)

<p>The only differences between the 1984 original and the 2010 movie<br />
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Mr. Miyagi is played by Jackie Chan.<br />
The student isn't a 23 year old pretending to be 16, it's an 11 year old playing a twelve year old.<br />
The story takes place in China instead of California.<br />
It's Kung Fu, not Karate.<br />
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The beauty of the first movie is that Mr. Miyagi trains &quot;Daniel-san&quot; in the kodokan ways. The Kodokan is the greatest martial arts school in the world. It's 12 hours a day, six days a week, and you don't get in the front door unless you're committed to at least a six month training course.<br />
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The Kodokan teaches the two rules:<br />
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1) Martial Arts for defense only<br />
2) First, see rule number one.<br />
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Worst cardinal sin-intentionally injuring an opponent. Do it and you're out on your ear-no refunds.<br />
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With that said...<br />
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If you saw the TV series Kung Fu and you paid attention, you saw that&nbsp;true Kung Fu is a spiritual thing, it's not a means to beat up somebody. Unfortunately there are a lot of American martial arts dojos that just teach smash, kill, destroy. <br />
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So, the movie is anything but boring. The movie opens with the boy and his single mother relocating to Beijing. Soon after arriving, the boy befriends a Chinese girl. Local boys don't like it and they go out of their way to make his life a living hell. When Jackie sees the boy taking a beating, he intervenes and ends up as the boy's teacher. <br />
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Along the way, they discover some breathtaking Chinese&nbsp; scenery. This alone, is worth the price of admission. Experiencing the spirituality is rewarding as well. The behind the scenes features on the DVD will be special.</p>
<p>If you can find the time, experience the movie.</p>