Unremarkable but Entertaining
Summary
Karate Kid: Legends is elevated by newcomer Ben Wang who deserves a successful career as he is appealing on screen and has the moves in the fight scenes. Ralph Machhio feels tacked on and only shows up for about 30 minutes and the nostalgia bait is overdone at this stage. It’s still fun seeing him share the screen with Jackie Chan and there are a few funny moments, but that final scene is quite cringeworthy and feels a little desperate. Wait for streaming.
Plot: After moving to New York City with his mother, kung fu prodigy Li Fong struggles to let go of the past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition — but his skills alone aren’t enough. With help from Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso, he soon learns to merge two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Review: On our livestream last night, we were discussing how we were convinced this movie wasn’t real when it was announced and that it was an AI hoax or something. I can confirm that Karate Kid: Legends is indeed real and isn’t anywhere near as awful as I’d heard. It doesn’t add anything new to the franchise and relies too much on nostalgia bait (especially the very last scene), but still has some funny and heartfelt moments.
I still think it was an odd choice to make this film so soon after Cobra Kai. I thought that series wrapped everything up nicely and already milked the nostalgia to death. BUT what if we have a film with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio training a new student; isn’t that what everyone wants? Not really and I never hear anyone talk about Chan’s Karate Kid movie with Jaden Smith which I admittedly watched only once and had no desire to sit through again.
The best thing about Legends is the addition of Ben Wang who is our lead, Li Fong. He and his mother (Ming-Na Wen) move to New York from China, and it doesn’t take long for the local douchebag Connor (Aramis Knight) to pick a fight with him.
What’s cool is that Li Fong isn’t a novice and has some serious skills, giving us some of the best fights of the franchise. He’s also an appealing character and I like the side story that he actually trains his friend Mia’s (Sadie Stanley) father Victor (Joshua Jackson) to fight. It’s something a little different and one of the few original ideas this film has.
Ralph Macchio is only in the movie for about 30 minutes, and it does feel tacked on; did he really need to be there? Probably not, but I’ll admit it’s still cool seeing him and Chan on screen together.
Connor is a total one note villain and is nothing more than a cartoon character, but he’s smug enough that we hate him and the final showdown is satisfying.
Overall, Karate Kid: Legends is an unnecessary addition to the franchise, but I still found it entertaining enough as it has some enjoyable fight scenes and it has some funny and heartfelt moments too. Macchio and Chan are endlessly appealing on screen, and Ben Wang could be a potential future action star in waiting. This is still way better than The Next Karate Kid, but you can easily wait for streaming. On the plus side I got a free bandana at my screening which was awesome.