Martial arts neophyte Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) takes on opponents in a scene from The Karate Kid. (Jasin Boland/Sony Pictures)

Back in the '80s, I doubt anyone would have predicted that The Karate Kid would be a movie that would live to see a 21st-century remake. Passing up the ubiquitous virginity-losing storylines of the Reagan era in favour of a revenge-of-the-nerd plot with clunky zen-master dialogue, John G. Avildsen's teen version of Rocky seemed dated even in 1984.

Jackie Chan gives the trickiest performance in The Karate Kid, but this is by design Jaden Smith’s movie.

But that very innocence is what made The Karate Kid a fan favourite, and director Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks) is clearly among the film's devotees. While his modern, big-budget revamp features high-tech kung fu and the precocious offspring of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, it also retains enough of what was good in the original to ensure the popular franchise keeps right on kicking.

Things begin where they did 26 years ago, with a fatherless boy preparing to endure a cruel summer. When we first meet scrawny, 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith), he's saying goodbye to his Detroit friends, bound for Beijing thanks to his mother's new job. Though the culture shock and language barrier prove tough for the kid, he's cheeky and smart enough to hold his own. That is, until his flirtation with Meiying (Wenwen Han) arouses the wrath of a pack of bullies at his new school.

Enter Mr. Han (Jackie Chan, doing nice dramatic work – really!), the maintenance man at Dre's Beijing apartment building. When the reserved old coot stops by to fix a hot water problem, he's perceptive enough to see what Dre's mother does not. Sporting a poorly concealed shiner and practicing kung fu in front of the TV, the wiry little tyke is prepping to defend himself against some kind of antagonist, and before long, Mr. Han is schooling Dre in some Jackie Chan-style martial arts.

Throughout, Zwart remains faithful to the source material, tweaking it gently, so that the infamous crane kick is now modeled after a swaying cobra, and the oft-quoted "wax on, wax off" line now morphs into a more involved life lesson. As Mr. Han repeatedly instructs Dre to put a jacket on and take it off again, the rugrat finally learns to drop his Detroit street sass and learn about patience.

Some of these updates actually serve to improve upon the original. As Dre's mom, Sherry, Taraji P. Henson brings some welcome warmth and earthiness to a once-troubling parent role. In the original Karate Kid, the mother character was so self-absorbed it bordered on neglect, but in 2010, Sherry's a justifiably overwhelmed single mom, who still makes time to hang out and champion her kid. She's not clueless, just scattered, and Henson's terrific comic reaction shots will provide some laughs for the parents in the audience.

The film's transition to the more glamourous Beijing setting is shakier. To his credit, Zwart is mostly reverential, pausing to study an ornate puppet show, the gnarled beauty of the National Stadium and explain the ancient healing technique known as cupping. Sherry and Dre even take a real stab at learning the language. But the film occasionally falls back on stereotypes, shrouding every mountaintop in mystical mist and saddling Dre with a meek, tittering Asian girlfriend, whose only defining trait seems to be her commitment to practicing violin. She's a beauty, but she'll still make you long for the bubbly Elizabeth Shue.

Dre seeks guidance from the wise Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) in The Karate Kid. (Jasin Boland/Sony Pictures)

These mixed attitudes about Eastern culture reach their apex in the figure of Master Li, the sadistic kung fu teacher responsible for brainwashing several of the young monsters who are now terrorizing Dre. This baddie’s mantra is "No weakness! No pain! No mercy!" and he isn't kidding. The fight scenes in this new Karate Kid are flinch-inducing, never more so than when young Dre finally faces his tormentors at a heavy-duty kung-fu tournament. The sound is mixed in such a way that during the Matrix-y fight scenes, you'll hear every bone crunch and thud as the tiny runt hero gets pummeled, and some of the film's amped-up violence comes close to torture porn. Thank goodness the subdued Mr. Han is nearby to remind the audience about the importance of fighting fair.

In spite of the ultra-modern violence, the film's well-staged showdown is pure old-school entertainment, and you’ll probably find yourself rooting for Dre in spite of yourself. Jackie Chan gives the trickiest performance in The Karate Kid, but this is (by design) Jaden Smith's movie. He doesn't quite have the chops to pull off weighty crying scenes, but he's got enough raw charisma to make you care about what happens to his character.

Together, Chan and Smith deftly sidestep some of the splashier flourishes in this remake, and work together to remind viewers of the mushy heart that was always at the centre of The Karate Kid. As Mr. Han observes, "Life will knock us down, but we can choose, man or not, to get back up." In 1984 or 2010, it's tough to resist that kind of underdog message — especially if that underdog keeps flashing Will Smith’s dimples.

The Karate Kid opens June 11.

Lee Ferguson writes about the arts for CBC News.