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Columbia Pictures has released the first teaser for the upcoming remake The Karate Kid, the rebirth of a fan favorite from the 1980s, which will star Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.

While many folks around here (myself included) were waiting to pounce on said trailer, arming up with insults and fancy ways of saying “sucks, toldja,” it appears as if we’ve been proven wrong — at least to some extent. The energetic, and mostly fun trailer plays fast and loose with the familiar story, but shows promise in some of the karate action. Young Jaden Smith, still not the prodigy that Columbia would like him to be, appears to be right at home on screen next to his legendary co-star. Chan appears at home as well, as a dirtier, poorer wise janitor version of Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. There’s no telling whether this Kid will have the heart and reverence for martial arts and culture that the original did, but we do know that it has some of the kicks. And for now, that’s good enough to stave off the assbeating that we in the press were ready to give it. Another day, remake. Another day.

The Karate Kid is in theaters June 11, 2010. It also stars Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow) and is directed by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2).