Film Review: Karate Kid - Legends
When Masters Unite, A New Legacy Begins
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Karate Kid: Legends. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition - but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher, Mr. Han, enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight; merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
REVIEW
Since I wasn’t an eighties kid, I didn’t grow up with The Karate Kid films. My earliest exposure to the franchise are vague memories of TV spots for 1994’s The Next Karate Kid. Neither my parents nor my movie-loving aunt (who took me to countless films back then) took me to see it. Over the years, I caught bits and pieces of the original films and watched the first season of Cobra Kai, but I wouldn’t call myself a full-on fan of the franchise. I had every intention of binging the movies before diving into this latest installment, but time and personal struggles sidelined those plans. So, I went into Karate Kid: Legends with less context than I would’ve liked.
This new film is a legacy sequel, meant to serve as a bridge between both the original trilogy and the 2010 reboot. The big hook? The return of Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han, the take on the wise mentor figure from the reboot. The idea here is to unite both branches of the franchise under one roof and introduce a brand-new “Karate Kid” for a new generation - Li Fong, played by Ben Wang.
Here’s the thing though, if you’ve seen the trailers or the posters and are expecting a movie centered on Macchio and Chan… dial back those expectations. The marketing is leaning hard on their presence, but they don’t become actual players in the story until the final act, maybe the last thirty minutes. Jackie Chan seems to be having a decent time stepping back into Mr. Han’s shoes, but Macchio, surprisingly, comes off as if he’s phoning it in. Which is a shame, because I’ve seen Cobra Kai, I know he’s capable of giving this character better depth. Here, it feels like he was dropped into a film that was already halfway through telling a different story and never found his footing.
That shoehorned feeling is pretty emblematic of the whole film. I don’t often use the word “uneven” when critiquing movies, but this is probably the best real-world example of what that looks like. The story structure is chaotic. The pacing jumps around like it’s being edited on a dare, and the story threads are introduced with zero regard for how they’re supposed to connect. It genuinely feels like a screenplay that never got beyond its second draft. I kept waiting for it to click into place, for some rhythm or sense of cohesion to kick in, but it never does. It stumbles constantly, often right when it seems like I’m on the verge of just going with it.
And that’s the frustrating part, there’s a better movie buried in here. One with charm, emotional beats that land, and fight scenes that actually leave an impression. I didn’t find that movie, but I caught glimpses of it, mostly thanks to young Ben Wang. He’s the film’s MVP, no question. Despite being saddled with underwritten scenes and a plot that moves like a drunken sprint, he shines. There’s a groundedness to his performance that made me want to root for Li Fong, even when the film does him no favors.
There are moments, just a few, where the movie hints at something more meaningful, something that could’ve honored both sides of the franchise while pushing things forward. But those moments are rushed, brushed past, or edited so abruptly they lose their impact. Even the finale, which should be this big emotional and physical crescendo, feels like it’s been fast-forwarded through. For a film about kung fu and karate, there’s surprisingly little of either, and what we do get is disappointingly forgettable.
Karate Kid: Legends feels like a classic case of “good ideas, bad execution.” The ingredients are there - legacy characters, a promising new lead, and the potential for a heartfelt story. But it all ends up feeling like a rough cut: rushed, clumsy, and undercooked. There’s a more polished, more engaging version of this movie that I wish I’d seen, especially for Ben Wang’s sake, and for the fans who’ve been waiting for something that respects different versions of the franchise.
I’m giving Karate Kid: Legends a mediocre C+. And to be honest, that grade would’ve been lower if not for the heart and effort Wang brings to the screen. He deserved a better movie. And so did we.
GRADING
