Hey everyone and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be taking a look at the newest entry in the Karate Kid saga, Karate Kid: Legends! This is a franchise that has been around since the 80s with the first movie being iconic in its own right and being one of the textbook underdog stories. Since then, it has spawned multiple follow ups, a remake in 2010, and most recently an immensely successful TV show in the form of Cobra Kai, which follows up the events of the original films many years later. I myself am a big fan of the series as the original is one of my favorite sports/underdog stories and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching Cobra Kai throughout its six seasons. So when it was announced that a new film was in the works that would crossover the original series of movies with the Jackie Chan starring remake (which I really like), I was intrigued and curious as to what would come of it, with the trailers furthering my interest. Now that it has arrived, was it able to be among the best around? Let’s jump right in and see what moves this legacy sequel has up its sleeve!
After a prologue that shows how the 2010 remake connects with the original series of films, we follow a student of Mr. Han’s (and his great nephew) at his Kung Fu school named Li Fong who has just recently found out that his mother got a job position in New York. They then have to move there much to Li’s disappointment and his mother forbids him from using Kung Fu no matter what due to a past tragedy. While adjusting to his new life, he ends up befriending a young girl named Mia, as well as her father, Victor, who owns a pizza shop that currently owes some money to some loan sharks. From there Li learns about a Karate tournament known as the Five Boroughs tournament which can help in providing his friends with what he needs, meaning he must use both the skills he has and learn new ones with the aid of some powerful sources.
If one just looks at the marketing that has been released for the film, one would assume that this follows the Karate Kid playbook pretty much to a tee with an emphasis being put on the legacy characters coming in to aid our protagonist. That’s certainly part of the film, however there ends up being more to it. For a majority of the picture, director, Jonathan Entwistle, and writer, Rob Lieber, are more interested in exploring idea of what if the student was teaching someone else their skills, which in this case is Li helping Victor out to earn money to pay off his debt. I found this to be a refreshing change of pace for the series, playing with the formula, while also just being a fun premise in and of itself. It’s a clever way of updating the story and is a great way to explore how older generations have plenty they can learn from those younger than them. It helps that the film is light on its feet and very charming. I enjoyed just spending time with these characters and their witty banter with one another which provided a lot of amusement.
I also thought the underdog angle of it all was handled well as I feel the film does a good job setting things up so that the pay offs feel earned for the most part. By time we get to the climax, it leads to a nice satisfying conclusion that’ll leave audiences feeling happy. What holds the movie back for me though is it’s pacing. From the beginning, it just moves at a rapid fire speed, going by it’s plot points quickly so it can move on to the next scene. Now there are times, where I was fine with it as it made certain parts get by efficiently, but then there are other times where I just wish the movie took it’s time to breathe so that the audience can enjoy the character moments more. It also left certain aspects feeling a bit underdeveloped, especially once we get to the third act which is essentially just one long montage, a thankfully enjoyable one for most part, but still felt like there was so much left on the cutting room floor. This is honestly a film that would’ve benefitted from a longer runtime as with it, I feel like it would be even stronger than it already is.
One other aspect I enjoyed about this film are the stylistic choices that Entwistle makes in order to give the proceedings a greater sense of fun and a lot of energy. This includes the various scene transitions help make the rushed pacing go down better, add life to the training montages, and with the various showcases of New York as a location, it makes the setting feel more lived in and presents the immense change this is for Li in terms of his life style. Justin Brown’s cinematography is very colorful, which fits the light hearted feel and I loved the use of 2D animation to present certain scenes as well as the video game like touches to some of the fighting scenes which makes the film feel like a test run for the upcoming Street Fighter film. Speaking of which, when it comes time for those scenes, they do deliver the goods. I thought they sported fight solid choreography that was entertaining to watch unfold and were coherent with nice use of environments (one scene in an alleyway being a very good one in this regard). Also like how the fighting would implement different forms of fighting from kung fu to karate to even boxing. It helps in making this entry stand out from all the others.
Also making this film work on its own term is what I would argue is a star making performance from Ben Wang who plays Li. He absolutely shines here, bringing an endless amount of charm that serves him well while also knowing when to be vulnerable. He makes Li into a very likable screen presence and a character one would want to root for. He comes onto every scene with a lot of confidence and is able to sell us that this young kid knows a lot when it comes to martial arts. Li’s arc of learning to come to terms with his past while doing what is right to help his newfound friends is a familiar, but in this case well told and executed story that I enjoyed seeing. Now the big hook Sony has been intent on selling when it comes to marketing this flick is that we have the return of Jackie Chan as Mr. Han as well as Ralph Macchio coming back as the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, on the big screen. For those hoping for big parts from them… you will likely be disappointed as Chan appears in bits throughout until the third act and Macchio doesn’t appear until much later on. Now Chan is wonderful as always and proves to be a fantastic screen presence at 71 years of age. He gets less dramatic stuff to chew on than the 2010 film, but I enjoyed seeing him in this sort of role again. Macchio also brings his usual charisma, even if he is a victim of the rushed pacing as it feels like there was more for him to do that got cut. I wish he was utilized better, even if the squabbles he has with Chan are amusing.
That being said, this does mean we get a lot of focus on Li and the new faces as well which is a net positive as I enjoyed spending time with them. Sadie Stanley also brings some nice charm as Mia, having a very nice chemistry with Wang and selling their friendship/potential romance nicely with the complications they face together being understandable. Joshua Jackson is also very fun as Victor, somehow being more relaxed and less stressed out than his daughter most of the time. I like the humbleness Jackson brings to the character and the mentor-mentee relationship between Li and him is very nice and one of the highlights of the feature with a lot of the interactions between them bringing in both heart and humor in equal measure. Their training sequence together is also among the more memorable of the entire franchise with how certain items are utilized. Ming-Na Wen is also very good as Li’s mother, Dr. Fong, and their scenes together register and once can understand her concerns. It’s just that I would have liked to have seen more of them as she ends up feeling underserved by the end (though I did appreciate how their relationship was portrayed as Li shows to be understanding of her at times). I also quite enjoyed Wyatt Olef’s turn as Li’s tutor and friend Alan, who ends up becoming his wingman of sort. On the villains side, there not much there as Aramis Knight is mostly there to just be a stereotypical bully character as the karate prodigy, Connor, who also happens to be Mia’s ex. I guess I appreciate that we didn’t get bogged down in evil dojo stuff (as if we haven’t seen other films in this franchise a well an entire series deal with that), but there’s still not much on this front.
In the end, I had a fun time with Karate Kid: Legends as it serves as a nice addition to the franchise. It suffers from some very rushed pacing, certain plotlines not being fully developed, and an underutilization of certain characters. However it has a lot of charm, the underdog stuff is executed well, the fights deliver, the style is fun, and the cast is great with Ben Wang being a terrific lead. Die hard fans, expecting more from some of the legacy aspects will likely be disappointed (don’t expect many Cobra Kai connections), however those in the mood for a fun, feel good, crowd-pleaser will likely come out enjoying it. Honestly, with a longer runtime that let the film breathe, I think this could’ve been one of the best of the series. However, I still got something out of it and appreciated that it went in it’s own direction for the most part. It’s just nice to see Karate Kid come back in various forms (both on the small and big screen) and telling different stories that both work in their own right. Whether or not more is done, the legacy of this franchise will, like Cobra Kai, never die!
Rating: B
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 