Kung fu master Jackie Chan emphasizes in Karate Kid: Legends that kung fu and karate are just two branches of the same tree. In a sense, Legends is just the latest branch of the Karate Kid tree, but it’s getting a bit repetitive—and like so many ’80s sequels, too nostalgic for its own good.
Legends works best when it leans into its new characters and new twists on the story, particularly a role reversal in which the “karate kid” is actually training an adult. After having seen the movie, I read that this was the original idea for the film, and the additions of Chan and Ralph Macchio were grafted in to increase the interest.
But again, it’s the new characters that shine brightest: particularly Joshua Jackson as pizza shop owner Victor and Ben Wang as the new “karate kid” Li Fong. Jackson is the stand-out for me as the former boxer in financial trouble who turns to Li for training in an attempt to gain an edge in the ring and win enough prize money to save his shop (and his physical safety from goons from the rival gym/loan sharks? that he owes money. We’ll get there).
Wang does the best he can with the material provided and is instantly likable despite suffering from a lack of sufficient characterization. He is easy to root for and is great in the fight scenes and effortless in the drama and comedy beats.
Chan and Macchio have a fun bit where they are both training Li for the upcoming 5 Burroughs karate tournament and have differing methods, turning Li into a punching bag for their bickering. But Macchio in particular feels shoehorned into this narrative and the need for these nostalgic franchise figures steals valuable time that could have been spent fleshing out the new aspects of the story.
Sadie Stanley is very likable as Mia, the daughter of Victor and love interest of Li, but she too often serves as just a plot device and the plot generally relies too heavily on very convenient relationships—like how Mia happened to date NYC’s karate champion and psychotic bully Connor Day (Aramis Knight). Connor trains at that rival gym where her dad owes money (remember that?) and while she is giving Li a tour of the Big Apple, they conveniently walk past that gym with Mia dumping exposition: “Ooh, these guys are bad news, stay away from these guys.”
Connor Day is a caricature of a bully with no depth or exploration, yet we somehow have to believe this otherwise smart and kind girl Mia once dated him as part of a “rebellious phase” against her father. OK, let’s hand-wave that. But the Legends dips its hand into the near-unforgivable trope bag of Li seeing Mia and Connor together smiling and talking and Li assumes Mia must still be into Connor after all. An earlier scene where Connor bullies Li makes this whole affair ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes.
Li’s mother, Dr. Fong (Ming Na-Wen), is simply a complete shell of a character that exists solely to provide the “no more fighting” rule to Li. That rule turns out to have a kind of ridiculous backstory honestly, that is way too dark to go as unexplored as it does in the movie. Another tropey moment early on sees the mom scolding Li when he comes home with a black eye, scolding him despite the fact that he did not fight anyone to earn that shiner. But Li doesn’t explain that, and the misunderstanding lingers unnecessarily. Worst of all, the mom’s adamant stance against fighting is later overcome with practically zero resistance and no real explanation for how she was so easily swayed.
The final training scenes and tournament breeze by; they are basically montages, and there’s not really any sense of doubt or conflict about where this is headed. Obviously, Li must get to the finals and face Connor, and use what he learned in training to take him down and save the day. There’s really little drama or stakes to give this any weight.
One great addition to the film is Wyatt Oleff, who plays Li’s tutor-turned-pal and has great chemistry with Wang and comedic timing.
If you’re a fan of Karate Kid, you’ll probably have a fun enough time watching this. I did, and I am not even a huge franchise fan. It’s snappy and easy to watch, but there’s not a whole lot going on beneath the surface.
