Karate Kid: Legends Review: Jackie Chan & Ralph Macchio Deliver Entertaining Action
Kung fu meets karate, and kids meet legends in the latest movie that crane-kicks its way into theaters. Karate Kid: Legends serves as a continuation of Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) story that began in 1984 when Mr. Miyagi taught him karate and has continued for decades into the recently finished Netflix series Cobra Kai. Jackie Chan reprises his role as Mr. Han from the 2010 remake, merging him into a shared universe of martial arts. But at the center of this serviceably entertaining sequel is Ben Wang as Li Fong as the new kid who moves to a new place with his single mother, gets bullied, meets a girl, and faces off against his adversary in a martial arts tournament.
This classic story is a formula that’s stood the test of time. Daniel LaRusso went through this journey in 1984, Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) finished it fifteen years ago, and now Li Fong takes the stage as our next karate kid (disclaimer: Hilary Swank didn’t follow the formula the others did). Karate Kid: Legends knows the formula we’re used to, plays into some of it, and changes things up a bit. The film starts with a flashback to The Karate Kid Part II, incorrectly labeled as being set in 1986 because it only takes place a few months after the first movie. We then catch up with Mr. Han, who has moved up from maintenance man to a revered shifu teaching at a kung fu school. We have our references to “jacket on, jacket off,” and we find out one of his students is Li.
Li’s mother (played by the superb Ming-Na Wen) doesn’t want Li fighting, and she moves them to New York City. Eagle-eyed New Yorkers like me may notice that while the film uses NYC b-roll, the majority of the film is definitely not filmed in the Big Apple. As he’s a fish out of water in this new city, the movie leans into that formula, but also brings in the series’s first Asian lead. It’s a smart choice because it’s a franchise that’s always leaned into Asian martial arts, so seeing him as the new kid allows a new perspective, while also painting a new protagonist who already has a background in kung fu.
But knowing kung fu isn’t enough because he soon meets a girl named Mia (Sadie Stanley) and her psycho martial artist ex-boyfriend Connor (Aramis Knight). Connor is our new Johnny, and as he gets jealous of Li and Mia hanging out, he picks a fight that doesn’t end well for Li. Like all the movies in this series, it showcases how strong our villain is compared to our hero, and we have to root for the hero to learn more and become better in order to eventually face off against the villain and (hopefully) win.
Wang gives quite a good performance here. He’s not overdoing anything, and he genuinely feels like a kid who means well. He forms a genuine relationship with Mia with the potential of romance, and he’s funny, while also being an incredible physical performer. Many of the martial arts stunts in this movie are performed by him, and you really get the sense that he could be the next Jackie Chan if he picks his projects right. He’s already lined up for another high-profile supporting role in the next Hunger Games movie, and I’m excited to see what he does next. His work here is wonderful and the script allows him the chance to shine.
The film also makes him a bit more layered than the previous Karate Kids. Daniel and Dre were mainly upset as they moved into unfamiliar territory where they got bullied, so it was easy to pity them. Julie was acting out because her parents died, and even though Swank did a good job of portraying it, the script didn’t give her enough there. Here, Li is grieving the death of his older brother, who was killed after a martial arts match. He feels guilty for freezing and being unable to help him. He’s an interesting character who’s been traumatized by the incident, and when he’s put in a similar situation again, he makes the same mistake. Unfortunately, the script never really gives him a chance to fix his error.
The first hour subverts everything in an interesting way by having Li train Mia’s father Victor (Joshua Jackson) in kung fu so that Victor can go back to fighting matches and pay off some debts. While this is a fun subversion and it’s never boring, it feels so different from the rest of the movie, which is what was advertised. The main story here surrounds Li needing to get kung fu training from Mr. Han and karate training from Daniel LaRusso to fight Connor. But the film spends so much time on this subplot with training Victor, which ultimately leads nowhere and is so distant from the rest of the film.
It’s strange to have Victor be such a prominent character during the first hour, and then once the real story kicks in with Li, Han, and Daniel, he’s barely in the film at all anymore. It’s also funny to see Ralph Macchio billed so prominently here. While he’s just coming off of his lead role in Cobra Kai, Daniel doesn’t show up until about an hour into the movie. The last half hour is where Karate Kid: Legends picks up quite a bit. We have a lot of fights, and director Jonathan Entwistle throws in some style we haven’t seen before from this series, with slow-mo, freeze-frames, and comic book-style graphics. It was a fun style that won’t work for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
As far as legacy sequels go, Karate Kid: Legends is no Top Gun: Maverick. The tournament idea is less interesting this time around and feels like it’s thrown in there because Karate Kid movies almost always have one. Chan’s performance in the 2010 Karate Kid movie had some of his best dramatic work he’s ever put to celluloid, and while it’s always fun to see him on the big screen, he’s leaning more comfortably into his persona here. Macchio is just as good as Daniel as he always is. Stanley provides a wonderful amount of humanity to her role. Knight does a good job as the villain. He doesn’t have too much screen time, but he gets us to root against him. Wyatt Olef plays Li’s tutor, who’s written to be a humorous fan favorite, but his performance hits a double instead of a home run.
Overall, this movie may not be as good as the original Karate Kid from 1984 or its 2010 remake, but it is certainly the best Karate Kid sequel ever made. You’ll have a good time, especially if you’re a sucker for those feel-good underdog stories where a kid moves to a new place and becomes the best around.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Karate Kid: Legends review. It is out in US theaters on Friday.
Source: Comingsoon.net