‘Karate Kid: Legends’: Nostalgia Without the Knockout Punch

Synopsis: After kung fu prodigy Li Fong relocates to New York City, he attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso.
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
Stars: Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Ralph Maccchio, Sadie Stanley

Somewhere along the line, I became a mark for the Karate Kid franchise. I thought that the Netflix series Cobra Kai would just be another silly and unnecessary reboot/continuation, but I was wrong. It took the baton from the popular films and never looked back. Appealing to multiple generations, it was well received, and when the show wrapped earlier this year, one couldn’t help but wonder if that was the end of the franchise?

Short answer, no—but a new film does try to capture that same nostalgic magic.

The film begins in Beijing, China, where we meet Li (Ben Wang). He is studying Kung Fu under Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). His mother Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen) informs him that they are moving to New York City (NYC). She wants them to have a new start, as they are dealing with some skeletons.

Li says goodbye to Mr. Han and his fellow kung-fu trainees, and he’s off to New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made.

As his mother and he settle into the big city, he goes to the neighbourhood pizzeria, where he meets the owner, Victor (Joshua Jackson), and his daughter, Mia (Sadie Stanley).

Mia rolls out the red carpet to Li, and they are starting to form a bond. She agrees to help him get adjusted to NYC, and he agrees to teach her some Mandarin so she can improve her negotiating skills in Chinatown.

Things seem to be going well until they run into her ex, Conor. Conor is the local baddie, having won the annual karate tournament several times (there’s always a tournament, isn’t there?)

Li’s Mom doesn’t want him to participate in any fighting, but sometimes the fight just comes looking for Li.

If the Karate Kid films followed a recipe, this movie hits most of the key ingredients. There’s Li, our underdog protagonist—check. Conor, the classic bully—check. A love interest in Mia, who channels serious Julia Stiles energy—check. An evil sensei teaching Conor with shortcuts—check. And of course, those hallmark scenes where ordinary tasks transform into unexpected lessons in karate—check.

The biggest issue with this film is that it seems rushed. Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso character doesn’t show up until late in the film, minimizing his impact. There is a connection between Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han and Daniel’s mentor, Mr. Miyagi. Han inexplicably goes to California to recruit Daniel to help train Li. Then, even more bewildering is how he manages to get Daniel to agree to come to New York City. All of this with one week for Li to train for this tournament. Um . . . ok.

The performances themselves are fine. Ben Wang is a breath of fresh air and he already has some anticipated titles on the horizon.

At 71, Jackie Chan is an icon. His mere presence on screen is always enjoyable, and this film does offer some of that old Jackie Chan magic.

Ralph Macchio can play Daniel LaRusso in his sleep. He has been doing it for over 40 years. That being said, his performance doesn’t feel mailed in. It’s as routine as a superhero putting on their outfit . . . time to go to work.

Understanding that there will be many people seeing this film who haven’t seen the previous films or Cobra Kai, more time could have been spent developing the story as opposed to taking what seems like a shortcut through the third act.

The film just feels inconsistent overall. Karate Kid: Legends is destined to blend into the series and won’t stand out amongst the others. The secret sauce that enabled Cobra Kai to attract new viewers is lost here, and coming off such a great series, that’s disappointing. The film is somewhat predictable and the rushed third act doesn’t do the movie any favours.

Karate Kid: Legends isn’t a terrible movie, just a satisfactory one.

Grade: C

Watch the movie trailer: