Even hours before today's screening of The Karate Kid, Sony was setting itself apart from the rest of the studios showing films at ShoWest. The main ballroom where lunch was served was decked out in Chinese imagery and a giant statue of the film's logo, and wandering the halls of the convention center were masses of women in red traditional Chinese dresses.

But as it turned out, that was just the very, very beginning. Before the screening began over 100 performers took the stage, wearing masks and dragon costumes and uniforms, carrying spears and drums, doing everything from turning cartwheels at the center of the stage to simply flanking the entire audience. It was a remarkable spectacle, capped off with a shower of confetti from the ceiling and a parade back out. The only thing imaginable that could have topped it was a star like Will Smith taking the stage-- and as it turned out, that's exactly what happened.

Along with Karate Kid director Harald Zwart, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sony exec Rory Bruer, Smith was on hand to present his son Jaden with ShoWest's breakthrough star award. Jaden, who would be showing plenty of the family star power in the movie to come, kept it brief onstage: "My dad prepared a whole speech for me and it had a bunch of funny stuff in it, but I'm 11 and I'm nervous. So thank you!"

In The Karate Kid, though, Smith had no trouble talking, playing the smartass Detroit kid Dre who winds up living in Beijing when his mom (Taraji P. Henson) takes a job there. If you've seen the 80s classic this movie is based on, you know what happens next-- a wise martial arts master (Jackie Chan) takes Dre under his wing not only to teach him kung fu, but to help him survive in this strange new culture. Filmed on location in Beijing and the surrounding area, The Karate Kid carries a great sense of Chinese authenticity and a great late-career performance from Jackie Chan, who is moving on from martial arts star to wise guide-- a smart move. As for Smith, he's still clearly learning the family trade, but the Smith genes travel-- kid holds his own.

It's hard to say exactly what the movie's run time was, given that it was preceded by the giant dragon spectacle, but it felt at least two hours long, which is far too long for a very devoted remake of The Karate Kid. I would expect to see a good bit of the film cut before its June 11 release, putting more focus on the fight scenes and the relationship between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Nothing in the new Karate Kid makes a convincing argument to leave the original behind, but with a little bit of streamlining Sony could easily make this a hit for both the people who loved The Karate Kid the first time around and their children.