Following some first official images, Columbia Pictures has released the first trailer for The Karate Kid (formerly titled The Kung Fu Kid), the remake of the classic '80s movie. The film stars Jaden Smith (son of megastar, Will Smith) as Dre Parker who, because of work pressure for his single mother, moves to China and soon thereafter comes up against a bully. His misfortune catches the eye of Mr. Han (read: this new version's Mr. Myagi), played by Jackie Chan. Mr. Han then teaches young Dre karate, presumably in order to defend himself.

There's been much negative fan reaction to this Karate Kid remake, some people citing Jaden Smith playing the lead role as their problem, others just generally hating the idea of remaking such a classic movie that a lot of people hold dearly from their childhoods (myself included). This trailer starts out alright, but the further it gets into it, particularly when that annoying and cliched rap music kicks in, the more it looks very "blah" to me.

I won't say anymore for now, check it out for yourself, courtesy of Yahoo below.

You can watch the trailer in HD over at Yahoo.

Well, I must admit it doesn't look as wretchedly awful as some (myself included) were expecting it to be - but it doesn't completely squash my apprehensions about it, either. I hate that they've thrown in a hip-hop feel (whatever that means :P ) and the more grown-up (since The Pursuit of Happyness) Jaden Smith doesn't have the instant likability and charisma to pull off the role, particularly to make those few lines he utters in that trailer seem cool, something I imagine was the intention.

Perhaps the biggest mistake made about this project (apart from giving the it the greenlight :P ) was getting Harald Zwart to direct it. Why's that? Well, he was responsible for the Pink Panther sequel with Steve Martin, as well as Agent Cody Banks with Frankie "Malcolm in the Middle" Muniz (ouch on both accounts). Of all the directors they could have chosen, I have no idea why they went for Zwart. It's almost as if they wanted to give themselves a challenge!

Anyway, enough from me, what are YOUR thoughts on our first proper look at The Karate Kid remake? Does the trailer inspire confidence that it may be decent? Or does it confirm previous suspicions that it's going to suck, muddying the legacy of the original Karate Kid?

The Karate Kid is set to kick its way into theaters on June 11th, 2010.

Sources: Yahoo (thanks to Cinemablend)