Film review: ‘KARATE KID: LEGENDS’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

Since the charming original 1984 movie first gave us young Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) crane kicking exploits, The Karate Kid franchise has become a pop cultural phenomenon. Mixing Rocky-style underdog triumph, a relatable battle against bullying, teen romance and the unforgettable character of Pat Morita’s wise, venerable, testicle kicking Mr Miyagi, it has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved Gen X touchstones. The success of the highly entertaining spin-off TV series Cobra Kai has now made the Karate Kid world a multi-generational favourite.  What some considered an ill-advised detour in the franchise was the 2010 remake with Jackie Chan as the Miyagi-like mentor Sifu Han and Jayden Smith as the bullied child. Although it offered some novel elements – it’s probably one of the few films in history to show an African American youth walking through the streets of Beijing – it failed to capture anything like the original film’s appeal.

Now comes Karate Kid: Legends which attempts to unite the Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan branches of the Karate Kid universe. The result is an energetic and amiable but erratic film that will probably impress youngsters but have older fans sniffing an unnecessary cash-in and unwanted tinkering with their beloved franchise.

This film is essentially another remake of the original. Here the decent young guy on a collision course with an arrogant bully is Chinese youth Li Fong (Ben Wang) nephew and student of Sifu Han in Beijing.  Like Daniel in the original film, he is whisked off by his single mother to live in a new city, this time New York.  Having just met the perky and forthright Mia (Sadie Stanley) all seems to be going well for Li Fong but we know that has to change. Mia is of course the former girlfriend of local bully and teen karate champion Connor Day (Aramis Knight) who does not take kindly to anyone hooking up with his former missus. When Mia’s dad (Joshua Jackson) becomes dangerously in debt to local gangsters who weirdly enough are connected to Connor, apparently the only way to help him is for Li Fong to try to win a lucrative karate tournament called The Five Boroughs where he will inevitably face its current champ, Connor. To confront his nemesis Li Fong must call on master Han who, in a questionable rationale, ropes in our old mate Daniel as fellow trainer.

This is a reasonably well-made retread of the original film but just can’t conjure its ineffable charm.  A big problem is that Li Fong is already adept at kung fu when he arrives in New York which means that, despite being a likeable kid, he isn’t as vulnerable and sympathetic as Daniel was in the original film. It also leads to some infuriating inconsistent toughness as one minute Li Fong is beating the snot out of a trio of armed gangsters sent to harass Mia’s dad then the next he’s being effortlessly whipped by Connor.  This clumsy scripting threatens to sink the film at one point but director Jonathon Entwistle just manages to right the ship.

One of the best aspects of the original film was the pacing and how, without slowing the action, director John G Avildsen carefully crafted each sequence so that it propelled the story, said something meaningful about the characters and resulted in iconic scenes that still resonate today and were appropriately celebrated in the Cobra Kai TV show.  Legends, on the other hand, feels oddly rushed, particularly the tournament so there’s little tension in the build-up to the finale.  Also, we only occasionally see Connor in the lead-up to the tournament so Aramis Knight doesn’t have enough opportunity to create a really memorable villain although Connor is still pretty obnoxious.

Another glaring problem is that the tournament is unrealistic. It offers $50,000 to the winner but is fought on the streets and rooftops of New York. Also, the fighting features some ridiculously extravagant acrobatic techniques like flying spinning kicks that we’re unlikely to see in a bruising competition.  Additionally, there are too many close-ups and jerky cuts for us to gain us a clear perspective on the action.

Despite contending with some erratic scripting and at times, messy action, the cast do a decent job.  Ben Wang and Sadie Stanley are appealing leads and it’s unlikely audiences would object to seeing the couple in future adventures.  While they’re relegated to secondary roles, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio still have a magnetic presence whenever they’re on screen.

Set aside from any expectations, this is a reasonably warm, occasionally exciting and at times funny film but it lacks the Miyagi magic touch.

Nick’s rating: ***

Genre: Drama/ Action/ Romance/ Comedy.

Classification: PG.

Director(s): Jonathan Entwistle.

Release date: 5th June 2025.

Running time: 94 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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