贾登?史密斯7岁时就曾在其银幕处子作《当幸福来敲门》中亮相，同他的父亲、好莱坞传奇人物威尔?史密斯在剧中饰演一对父子。1961年，同样年仅7岁的成龙进入中国戏剧学校学习；他的师傅于占元在该学校执教，向一些少年学生传授武术的招式和技巧。两位演员都了解童星表演的规则，并知道如何吸引观众，而在最新版的《功夫梦》中他们更是将这些技艺发挥得淋漓尽致。

 

　　Directed by Harald Zwart, of the Netherlands, the new movie duplicates the original story of the 1984 movie. But the new version is set in China, where the title character, a 12-year-old named Dre Parker (Jaden Smith), has moved with his widowed mother Sherry Parker (Taraji P Henson).

 

　　新版影片翻拍自1984年的同名电影，由荷兰导演哈罗德?兹瓦特执导。但新版影片将场景设置在中国，片中12岁的主角德雷?帕克（贾登?史密斯饰）随单亲妈妈雪莉?帕克（泰拉吉?汉森饰）一同移居中国。

 

　　It was filmed almost entirely in China–mostly in Beijing. There are visits to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and a mountain temple, but mostly there is the lively bustle of Beijing. The dull settings make the long movie (2 hours and 12 minutes) a little dreary.

 

　　该片的拍摄足迹几乎遍布整个中国，大多数取景来自北京。尽管这其中有长城、故宫以及山中寺院的风景，但大部分取景都体现出北京的活力与喧嚣。沉闷的剧情设置使这部时长2小时12分的电影略显乏味。

 

　　Dre and Sherry have moved from Detroit, fleeing sad memories of Dre’s father’s death and seeking new job opportunities. It’s a rough transition for Dre. He becomes the victim of a group of bullies whose ringleader is Cheng (Wang Zhenwei), a star pupil at a kung fu academy. Dre’s crush on Mei Ying (Han Wenwen), an aspiring violinist, is not promising either, since she’s a childhood friend of Cheng.

 

　　德雷和雪莉来自底特律，为了摆脱德雷父亲去世的悲伤记忆并寻求新的工作机会，他们来到中国。对于德雷来说这是一次痛苦的转变。他遭到以程（王振伟饰）为首的一群男生的欺负，同时程也是这所功夫学校的风云人物。德雷喜欢上了很有抱负的小提琴手梅英（韩雯雯饰），但他们感情进展得并不顺利，因为梅英是程的发小。

 

　　A few losing rounds with Cheng and his gang send Dre on his journey to find himself, with help from Mr Han (Jackie Chan).

 

　　与程及其同伙交手屡屡失利后，在韩先生（成龙饰）的帮助下，德雷决心去寻找自我。

 

　　You don’t have to be familiar with the first Karate Kid to know what will happen. There will be rigorous training, beginning with the repetition of a simple, boring task–in this case taking off and hanging up a jacket (rather than the car waxing of the first movie). There will be revelations, misunderstandings and montage sequences that somehow do not make the story go any faster. Then the final showdown with the bad kung fu kids.

 

　　你不必为了弄清剧情而去重温老版《功夫梦》。影片中会有严酷的训练，由重复一项简单乏味的任务开始——一遍遍地脱掉并挂起一件夹克（不同于老版中给汽车打蜡的场景）。剧中还会发生泄密、误解以及蒙太奇桥段，以此来放慢叙事速度。然后结局定会和反派功夫小子一决胜负。

 

　　While the clichéd plot may bore some audience members, the chemistry between Smith and Chan gives the film some fresh air.

 

　　老套的剧情可能会使一些观众感到乏味，但小史密斯和成龙之间产生的化学反应却为该片带来一些新鲜气息。

 

　　When a child star is cute and has a few instinctual acting moves, that’s probably enough for him to get by. Smith scores on both counts. It’s no surprise the camera loves him, and he certainly has presence.

 

　　当一个可爱的童星本色地出演了一些动作片，这很有可能已经足够让他通过大众的评审。小史密斯在这两方面都表现不俗。毫无疑问他是镜头的宠儿而且确是气度不凡。

 

　　With his father currently out of the movie business (he has made no pictures since Seven Pounds in 2008, and has nothing come out until a Men in Black sequel in 2012), Jaden may even have to carry the burden of family celebrity.

 

　　由于近年来他的父亲淡出大银幕（2008年拍摄《七磅》后，他再无新作问世。而他最近的一项拍摄计划是2012年的《黑衣人》续集。），贾登可能真的要肩负明星家庭所带来的重担。

 

　　For Chan and his worldwide fan base, The Karate Kid is a homecoming of sorts. At 56, Chan’s body is battered after decades of movie fights. He has wisely decided that less is more. Since the buddy film Little Big Soldier (《大兵小将》), he is relying more on inward acting and charm than on action choreography. His Han is a broken man, always hiding the pain of his old wounds, and needing a child to teach him that his life still has value, if he can only pass along what he has learned and endured. In a sense, that is Chan’s mission here.

 

　　对于成龙和他的全球影迷们来说，《功夫梦》是一部风格回归之作。经过几十年的银幕武打生涯，56岁的成龙身上伤痕累累。他聪明地选择了“少即是多”的原则。自打合作拍摄《大兵小将》时起，他就放弃了过多的动作设计，而是选择更多地依赖内心戏的表演魅力。他饰演的韩先生经历坎坷，总是去掩饰旧日伤痛；他只能靠向一名少年传授自己的技能与耐力，来重拾自己的人生价值。从某种意义上说，这也是成龙本人的使命。

 

　　The Karate Kid has some neat martial maneuvers, but at its heart is the bond created by two “child actors”, raised in dramatically different circumstances half a world and nearly a half-century apart. Their connection is strong, sweet and worth applauding.

 

　　尽管《功夫梦》设置了一些流畅利落的武打场面，但影片中心是两位“童星”的关系，二人的背景大相径庭——来自不同半球，年龄也几乎相差半个世纪。他们的对手戏感情热烈、温馨甜美，值得称赞。