SYNOPSIS KARATE KID

By Wildan B.

12-year-old Dre Parker and his mother Sherry move to Beijing after she gets a job transfer. Dre meet a young violinist, Mei Ying, who reciprocates his attention, but Cheng,
a rebellious kung fu prodigy whose family is close to Mei Ying's, attempts to keep them apart by beating Dre, and later bullies him at school. During the attack, the enigmatic maintenance man of Dre's building, Mr. Han, comes to Dre's aid, revealing himself as a kung fu master who dispatches Dre's tormentors. Dre asks if Mr. Han could teach him kung fu. Han refuses, but meets Cheng's teacher, Master Li.

Li, who teaches his students to show no mercy to their enemies, challenges Dre to a fight with Cheng. When Han declines, Li says they will not be allowed to leave his school unless Dre or Han fights. Han acquiesces, but insists the fight take place at an upcoming tournament. Han promises to teach Dre "real" kung fu. Han begins training Dre, but Dre is frustrated that Han merely has him spend hours taking off his jacket, hanging it up, dropping it and putting it on again. Han emphasizes that the movements Dre is learning apply to life in general, and that serenity and maturity, not punches and power, are the true keys to mastering the martial arts.

As Dre's friendship with Mei Ying continues, Dre persuades Mei Ying to cut school for a day of fun, but when she is nearly late for her violin audition which was brought forward a day without their knowledge, her parents deem him a bad influence and forbid her from spending more time with him. Dre then works harder than ever to master kung fu. Han assists Dre in reading a note of apology to Mei Ying's father in Chinese ; he accepts and promises that Mei Ying will attend the tournament to support Dre. In the tournament Dre comes up against Liang, another of Li's students, who is instructed by Li to injure Dre's leg. Although Liang is disqualified for his illegal strikes and insubordination, Dre is badly injured.

Despite Han's insistence that he has earned respect for his performance, Dre convinces Han to mend his leg by using fire cupping in order to continue. Dre returns to the arena, facing Cheng. Cheng charges Dre, but Dre flips and catches Cheng with a kick to his head, winning the tournament along with the respect of Cheng and his classmates. Cheng instead of the presenter awards Dre the trophy, and the Fighting Dragon students bow to Mr. Han.