Bow to your Sensei with this cool Karate Kid merchandise

A modern take on the original Karate Kid.

The Karate Kid is a classic eighties movie that holds an important place in our hearts. But, as with all great films, it’s been remade in Hollywood (and China) as a vehicle for Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith. The Fresh Prince and his wife are producers on the project, which also stars the awesome Jackie Chan in the Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) role. While you might think this is just another re-imagining of a retro film, The Karate Kid is actually a great modern take on the story. And Chan admits that it should have been called The Kung Fu Kid, but that’s not got quite the same cultural ring to it.

Taking the original tale of a kid who moves to a whole new town to the extreme, The Karate Kid sees Dre Parker (Smith) and his mom (Taraji P. Henson) relocate to Bejing, where not knowing karate (or kung fu) is not his only problem. Dre takes a liking to a local girl, but finds himself the target of bullies who also happen to go to the same school as him. But luckily the maintenance man from his building, Mr. Han (Chan), offers to teach him kung fu and convinces the bullies to take him on in a proper match at a later date.

Smith shows he’s got what it takes and even Chan was impressed by his kung fu skills before filming started. There’s plenty of references to the original film without copying it outright; Han pulls out a bottle of car wax and tries to catch a fly with chopsticks, eventually opting for a swatter. The premise and plot are the same but moving the setting to China and using Chan have worked in this films favour. The stunning views, including the Great Wall of China, and endearing qualities of Mr. Han make the film bearable rather than embarrassing (even if it is a bit long.)

Smith seems to be taking after his dad by both acting in the movie and featuring on the soundtrack, with Justin Bieber. Check out his moves below.

Inspired by the remake we’ve been revisiting the original, and we’ve found loads of cool Karate Kid tees online. Whether you want to join Cobra Kai or Wax on, Wax off you can show your love for Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) on your chest.