'Karate Kid: Legends' Delivers a Crane Kick to the Legacy of the Franchise

‘Karate Kid: Legends’ receives 5 out of 10 stars.

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Related Article: 'Karate Kid: Legends': Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang

Initial Thoughts

Coming off the heels of the extremely popular Cobra Kai’, the prospect of a new ‘Karate Kid’ movie was quite welcomed. Especially when news came that the film would feature Ralph Macchio reprising his role as Daniel LaRusso from the original series and Jackie Chan returning as Mr. Han from the 2010 remake, which is now cannon to the entire franchise. However, the result is a misguided and painfully familiar story that does very little to continue the legacy of the franchise.

The bright spots in an otherwise forgettable film are Ben Wang and Sadie Stanley’s performances as Li Fong and Mia Lipani, respectively. The two young actors lead the film quite well and have a strong chemistry together. But the movie suffers from a lack of any strong antagonists, and a bizarre subplot involving Li teaching Mia’s father (Joshua Jackson) Kung Fu for a boxing match (what?), so he can pay back a loan shark who also happens to be the Sensei of Li’s rival.

The movie tries too hard to retcon Mr. Han into the original franchise, going as far as to use a scene from ‘The Karate Kid Part II’ to explain that Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) and Mr. Han were always offscreen friends. Chan doesn’t even appear in the film as much as d, and Macchio’s role is nothing more than a glorified cameo, leading the movie to feel more like a standalone sequel to the remake, rather than a celebration of the entire franchise.

Story and Direction

As previously mentioned, the film begins with a flashback to ‘The Karate Kid Part II’, where Mr. Miyagi (the late Morita) explains the history of Miyagi Karate to Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and how it eventually made its way to China and was integrated with Kung Fu. The story then moves to present day China, where Li Fong (Wang) is studying at Mr. Han’s (Chan) Kung Fu academy and is hiding from his mother (Ming-Na Wen). Li recently lost his older brother due to fighting, and therefore his mother wants him to stop training, especially after she gives him the news that they are moving to New York City.

Once in New York, Li gives up Kung Fu, but quickly finds himself at odds with a local fighter named Connor Day (Aramis Knight), after he befriends his ex-girlfriend Mia (Stanley). Mia’s father (Jackson), who owns a local pizza shop and is a former boxer, owes money to Connor’s Sensei, and asks Li to train him in Kung Fu so he can compete in a boxing match and win the money he needs. But when his opponent cheats, Mia’s father is sent to the hospital and Li decides to enter the Five Boroughs Tournament, against his mother’s wishes, so he can win the money they need and have his revenge against Connor.

Mr. Han travels to New York and meets with Li’s mother to convince her to let Li compete in the contest. Once she agrees, Han visits Daniel LaRusso at Mr. Miyagi’s house in California to ask him to help train Li. It is revealed that Miyagi and Han were friends, and Miyagi had told Han about Daniel and their life changing friendship. Daniel reluctantly agrees and begins teaching Li karate, while Han teaches him Kung Fu. But now, Li must come to with his brother’s death and use the knowledge Han and LaRusso have taught him so he can overcome his fears and win the tournament.

Fans of ‘Cobra Kai’ hoping for a big screen version of the popular TV series will be very disappointed by ‘Karate Kid: Legends’. In fact, the film is more like a sequel to 2010’s ‘The Karate Kid’ with a storyline that is basically the same as the original movie. The film also tries to flip the script in the second act, having Li train Mia’s father, which goes nowhere and just confuses the main plot. The relationship between Li and Mia is solid, and so is the “fish out of water” aspect of Li’s character, but the movie never really capitalizes on either, changing the focus to Han and LaRusso in the third act.

On paper, the idea of making the 2010 remake cannon and combining the Han and LaRusso characters into one movie seems promising, but in practice it falls short. The film tries too hard to retcon Han into the original franchise, and his sudden history with Mr. Miyagi seems forced. Jackie Chan is good in the role, but I wish more time was spent focusing on his relationship to Li, rather than reintroducing Daniel and exploring their shared history with Miyagi. In fact, Ralph Macchio is not in much of the movie at all, basically relegated to a glorified cameo, and the character deserves better.

Jonathan Entwistle’s direction is average, and with amazing settings like New York City and Beijing, he does nothing to make those locations look like anything more than stock footage. In fact, there are several times when it becomes glaringly clear that they are shooting on a soundstage and not NYC. And for a movie in the ‘Karate Kid’ franchise, I was shocked by how boring and uninspiring the martial arts sequences were. Entwistle does nothing to elevate those scenes or bring style to the fight sequences.

Finally, several subplots were completely unneeded, such as training Mia’s father for a boxing match, Li’s turmoil over the loss of his brother, Mr. Han’s connection to Mr. Miyagi, and his recruitment of Daniel. Not to mention  a disappointing cameo by William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, which is played for laughs and not enough to win over ‘Cobra Kai’ fans.

Cast and Performances

‘American Born Chinese’ star Ben Wang makes the most of his big screen lead debut and carries the film very well. As Li, he brings confidence and charm to the role and works well off Chan, Macchio, and the rest of the cast. He is also the best thing about the otherwise poorly directed martial arts sequences and is quite believable and likable in the role.

Besides Wang, actress Sadie Stanley, last seen in the Ray Romano directed film ‘Somewhere in Queens’, is the best thing in ‘Legends’. She also brings a charming confidence to her role as Mia and has great chemistry with Wang. While at times the screenplay does the actress no favors, she finds a way to elevate the material and you completely believe that Li would put so much on the line to help her.

Jackie Chan is a living legend and its always great seeing him on screen. He brings warmth and gravitas to the role, but the script doesn’t spend enough time exploring his relationship with Li, instead trying too hard to retcon him into the larger franchise. Chan is also not given a chance to show off his own martial arts skills in the movie, which seems like a real missed opportunity. It would have been nice to have a scene where he protects Li from the bullies, the way Miyagi protected Daniel in the first film.

While he has limited screen time, Ralph Macchio does have some strong scenes with Chan, but they feel more like fan-service than rooted in Li’s story. With Miyagi actor Pat Morita ing away in 2005, pairing Macchio with Chan was a way to recapture some of the magic of the first movie, but it falls short of expectations. One could also criticize Macchio’s believability as a karate master, but since that is baked into the overall ‘Karate Kid’ franchise, I digress.

Ming-Na Wen does her best as Li’s mom but is not given any room to really explore the character and never rises above the disapproving mother role. Actor Joshua Jackson seems to be in a completely different movie and his performance is distracting. Finally, ‘Ms. Marvel’ actor Aramis Knight is unable to uplift his role and portray Connor Day as anything more than a generic bully.

Final Thoughts

In the end, ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ works too hard to combine the movie franchise’s two main characters, overlooking the themes of friendship and mutual respect between teacher and student that resonated so much throughout the first film. Despite Ben Wang and Sadie Stanley’s strong performances, the movie ultimately gets its legs swept out from under it.

What is the plot of ‘Karate Kid: Legacy’?

In Karate Kid: Legends, after a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn't want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. 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 (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.

Who is in the cast of ‘Karate Kid: Legacy’?

• Jackie Chan as Mr. Han
• Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
• Ben Wang as Li Fong
• Joshua Jackson as Victor Lipani
• Sadie Stanley as Mia Lipani
• Ming-Na Wen as Dr. Fong
• Aramis Knight as Connor Day
• Wyatt Oleff as Alan
• Shaunette Renée Wilson as Ms. Morgan
• William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence

List of Movies and TV Shows in 'The Karate Kid' Franchise:

• 'The Karate Kid' (1984)
• 'The Karate Kid Part II' (1986)
• 'The Karate Kid Part III' (1989)
• 'The Karate Kid' (1989)
• 'The Next Karate Kid' (1994)
• 'The Karate Kid' (2010)
• 'Cobra Kai' (2018 - 2025)
• 'Karate Kid: Legends' (2025)

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