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…?
Protagonist Li has two very capable mentors… Courtesy of Jonathan Wenk/Sony
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.
Li and his great-uncle, Mr Han – played by the legendary Jackie Chan. Courtesy of Jonathan Wenk/Sony
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.
Core cast of Karate Kid: Legends // Courtesy of Jonathan Wenk/Sony
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.
Cobra Kai fans got a small nod // Courtesy of Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix
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.
Over two decades on from the 2002 animated classic, Lilo and Stitch is back on the big screen! With a live-action depiction this time around, does the beloved story still hold up?
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Writers: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes
Starring:Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis and Chris Sanders
Warning: This review contains spoilers for Lilo and Stitch (2025). Please keep that in mind if you haven’t seen the film.
First things first, I was an ardent Lilo and Stitch fan growing up. Spanning the film, television series and various spin-offs. So, for that reason, I was very interested to see how a live action version would work.
Like many fans, I had two key questions. Why mess with a cherished favourite? Would the story translate as well?
Speaking to Deadline, director Dean Fleischer Camp opened up about why he wanted to make live-action Lilo and Stitch.
He said: “It’s always been my favourite Disney animated film, and it’s always been the one that I felt like I could do a live-action adaptation of.
“Because when I saw the original in theaters, I was in high school, and it didn’t look like any other animated Disney movie I’d ever seen.”
Having watched the film, I do think it succeeded in certain areas. Other components, however, totally missed the mark.
A solid – although not perfectly cast – ensemble
Image courtesy of Disney
Credit where credit’s due, the filmmakers assembled an impressive cast to bring this story to life. No question about that.
And it’s clear they took the casting process seriously. Lilo actress Maia Kealoha told Entertainment Tonightthat she’d auditioned 15 times for the role.
That, in my opinion, shows a commendable amount of investment in ensuring they found the right lead star.
In many ways, it feels like they did. Although Daveigh Chase’s vocal performance remains iconic, Maia Kealoha felt like what a live-action Lilo would be.
She had the heart, the humour, the personality. Even “chemistry” with fellow title character Stitch.
But, considering the established Lilo and Stitch canon, some of the other actors felt quite miscast.
Zach Galifianakis, for instance, is a top draw comedic performer. But his interpretation of Dr. Jumba Jookiba didn’t seem to fit the character.
Original voice actor David Ogden Stiers brought slightly unhinged “mad scientist” energy to his performance
Whereas Galifianakis’ Jumba simply just didn’t land the same way. The new Jumba came across as more whiny, petulant and narcissistic – but this is clearly for reasons that we’ll address later.
Jumba is a legendary character from the original. But the lack of a Russian-esque accent and the new version’s general demeanour just made it fall flat.
So, overall this element of the film felt disappointing as a viewer.
Lilo and Stitch (2025) Cast
– Maia Kealoha as Lilo – Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch – Sydney Elizabeth Agudong as Nani – Billy Magnussen as Pleakley – Hannah Waddingham as The Grand Councilwoman – Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles – Zach Galifianakis as Dr Jumba Jookiba – Amy Hill as Tūtū – Kaipo Dudoit as David Kawena – Tia Carrere as Mrs Kekoa
To some extent, the film also could have better used Courtney B. Vance’s talents for Cobra Bubbles.
Although he appeared in a different capacity – as a CIA agent rather than social worker – the character felt less naturally involved and more shoe-horned into the story.
Some might argue he filled the role of original villain Captain Gantu. Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in the 2002 film, he was omitted entirely from this version.
Rather than a social worker, he became an agent on the sidelines hunting down Stitch. Does that sound familiar?
While I could buy this from the animated Cobra, Courtney B. Vance’s iteration just didn’t come across as intimidating.
Without his presence, however, the filmmakers instead made Jumba into the antagonist.
To some degree, you can tell where the filmmakers are coming from. It somewhat made sense in theory. Jumba is an “evil scientist” after all.
However, crucially, this decision also broke 20+ years of established canon. If any more films follow, it would likely be very difficult to get Jumba into his familiar role.
On the flip side, Billy Magnussen proved very well suited to Pleakley. It’s not the exact same character as before – more of a spin on it. But the essence of the character was very much there.
Longtime fans will no doubt notice the film removed Pleakley’s trademark penchant for cross-dressing.
For their human disguises, Jumba and Pleakley used alien techology as a disguise to appear human.
Sure, on some level, this afforded more screen time for Galifianakis and Magnussen. However, this decision also took something away from the film’s magic.
The character’s true, alien forms appeared sparingly. In fact, the audience may well have spent more time with the disguises.
On the other hand, adding Tūtū (Amy Hill) in this rendition worked really well. Ohana remains synonymous with the franchise. Having someone embody that for Lilo and Nani was a nice touch.
For those unaware, Hill previously voiced elderly Mrs Hagasawa throughout the animated franchise.
Introducing Mrs Kekoa (Tia Carrere) was also a nice twist on the story. Although it did reduce/half Cobra Bubbles’ role.
Rather than Cobra’s imposing figure, Mrs Kekoa’s compassionate behaviour towards Nani proved refreshing.
Not to mention, Carrere actually voiced Nani in the animated franchise. The two characters’ scenes together comprise a nice, full circle, passing-of-torch vibe.
And of course, franchise co-creator Chris Sanders knocked his Stitch reprisal out of the park. From developing the character in the 80s, voicing, writing/directing the original film and now this, Sanders’ ties to Stitch continue to evolve.
Also: Jason Scott Lee (who voiced David in the original) also pops up. Bonus points if you know who he played in this remake.
Story/Plot Changes
Image courtesy of Disney
Another notable change came with the ending – which differs greatly from the 2002 film.
Having explored Nani at a deeper level, the filmmakers put her on a journey exploring her own ambitions. It allows her to have Nani own menaingful journey, while her love for Lilo remains very much the same.
Although commendable in its efforts, Lilo and Stitch (2025) falls short of the original’s high standards.
It makes for a nice, pleasant time at the movies, but ultimately doesn’t represent the story in the best way.
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