Karate Kid: Legends continues on a beloved franchise with a 40+ year history – but does it live up to the hype?
Director: Jonathan Entwhistle
Writer: Rob Lieber
Starring: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight and Wyatt Olef
Warning: This review contains spoilers. Please bear this in mind if you haven’t seen the film.
No doubt about it, Karate Kid: Legends had high expectations to live up to. The film effectively serves as a bridge between Ralph Macchio’s original trilogy and the 2010 reboot starring Jackie Chan.
Daniel LaRusso, Julie Pierce and Dre Parker. Joining them as the next Karate Kid is Li Fong (Ben Wang), a young boy who’s recently moved from China to Brooklyn, New York.
Despite the film’s title, Li’s main martial arts discipline is actually Kung Fu. But don’t worry, karate still plays a huge role. And who better to teach him…?
Li is a likable protagonist, someone who’s easy to root for. He’s both an underdog, but also an already skilled martial artist.
The writers gave him a harrowing backstory to deepen that emotional investment – quite a dark twist. Overall, he’s a worthy successor to the Karate Kid legacy.
The film itself has a running time of 94 minutes – and this flew by in the movie theater. In particular, the build up to the final fight and the fight itself seemed incredibly quick.
Predictable… but in a good way?
As entertaining as they are, the Karate Kid movies usually follow the same formula.
A kid finds himself (or herself) living in a new place. A wise mentor helps them win a high-stakes martial arts contest, after being picked on. Sometimes they also earn said bully’s respect.
Familiarity brings comfort. Despite the hardships Li faces, the audience knows he’s likely to win.
Does that take away from the suspense of the final fight? Maybe a little, but if the film’s done its job right, that shouldn’t matter.
Combining Old & New
Karate Kid: Legends subverts the formula just enough to keep it refreshing. For a start, Li has not one, but two teachers. And what a pair indeed!
Mr Han (Jackie Chan) being Li’s literal family, as well as his shifu, was a nice touch. Everyone remembers Daniel and Mr Miyagi’s iconic bond, but having an actual great-uncle/great-nephew is an interesting twist.
Their pre-existing bond also helps enhance Li’s backstory. He is not a martial arts novice; already quite accomplished.
But Li promised his mother he’d stop fighting after his older brother was killed following a tournament.
Of course, in a different iteration, Mr. Han could have just been an empathetic shifu. Someone who merely felt sorry for Li and wanted to help him through the pain.
I find the personal connection adds to the emotional weight. It makes what Li’s striving for tied to their family, rather than just him.
Conversely, Daniel LaRusso has far less screen time with Li. In actual fact, this may be one of the film’s sticking points.
Despite being billed as one of the stars, Ralph Macchio turns up late into the story. He doesn’t have as much emotional investment in Li’s journey.
Regardless of this, Daniel’s presence in the film is still very much appreciated.
Aside from his sensei role, teaching Li the karate skills he needs, Macchio is also spiritually passing the Karate Kid to Ben Wang.
Although we’ve already seen Macchio train the next generation in Cobra Kai, it’s especially meaningful to have him doing it in a Karate Kid movie. It’s where the journey started – and Daniel truly does come full circle.
Remember what I said at the start about Karate Kid: Legends being a bridge? This fully comes together through a big retcon to the franchise’s mythology.
The Miyagi and Han families have a long-standing relationship. The phrase “Two branches, one tree” comes up fairly frequently.
This helps the story make sense, even if not hinted before. Why would Daniel leave the Valley, help a kid in New York that he’s never met?
But if there’s a connection to Mr Miyagi, it’s a no-brainer for him. Over 40 years later, the pair’s legendary bond lives on.
The Cast
As mentioned, Karate Kid: Legends combines iconic returning stars with new franchise faces.
Many of them fill familiar roles – Li Fong as “the hero”, Mia as “the love interest”, Conor as “the bully”.
However, differences to the story help balance this out. Li isn’t a pushover and is capable in a fight. Mia has an edge to her, beyond being a generic love interest.
I especially enjoyed Joshua Jackson’s fun supporting role as Victor – the owner of a pizzeria. What’s interesting here is that Victor, gets to occupy different spaces in the story.
Aside from being “the love interest’s dad”, he’s an older male figure for Li to look up to. Victor, a former boxer, also becomes Li’s student in Kung Fu. It’s an interesting, different dynamic to introduce to the story.
I also felt three cast members didn’t get enough screentime. The film cast the legendary Ming-Na Wen as Li’s mother and she had very little to do. Maybe her character could’ve had a martial arts background as well?
Similarly, Aramis Knight as the bully, Conor (nice name), didn’t really feel fleshed out. Sure, he had a couple of scenes antagonising, Li but nothing that showed any actual depth.
Especially as Mia had a line implying he used to be a nicer person – but the audience doesn’t really get to see that.
Last but not least, Wyatt Olef as Alan, Li’s tutor-turned-friend. He brought a fun, quirky energy to the movie and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of him.
Cobra Kai Ties
Ralph Macchio told Variety that Karate Kid: Legends takes place three years after the events of Cobra Kai.
Despite the show’s huge popularity – and the fact it only ended recently – there’s very few ties to it in this film.
Of course, one could argue that it’s been years from Daniel’s perspective, so why dwell on a specific point in the past too much? Not to mention that shoehorning Cobra Kai characters into the film probably wouldn’t have worked out.
The big nod comes during the credits – where Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) makes a cameo appearance.
Although Johnny originates from The Karate Kid, so this may be more of a nod to the first film, rather than the show.
Final Thoughts
For an overall experience, Karate Kid: Legends is a fun, enjoyable movie. It builds on the Karate Kid legacy, while combining nostalgia with new elements.
Although I feel the fillmmakers could have dug deeper into some characters, Legends is ultimately a fun addition to the Karate Kid franchise.
As mentioned, the 94 minute runtime seems to breeze past – the story moves along reasonably fast. But this doesn’t make it any less enjoyable, rather wanting more.
Follow writer Conor O’Brien on X.
A lifelong TV and Film buff, Conor founded Courageous Nerd in 2019. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for the site, as well as written comprehensive feature articles on a variety of topics. You can find him on X: @conorrcn.
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