Karate Kid: Legends Movie Review Rating: 
Star Cast: Ben Wang, Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, and Aramis Knight
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
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What’s Bad: The cinematography, editing, and overall filmmaking quality are quite poor, and it doesn’t meet the standards of what a theatrical release should be.
Loo Break: The film is not that long, and because the movie is so formulaic, you can go, have a break, and come back without having missed much.
Watch or Not?: Watch only if you are a fan of the Karate Kid franchise or if you love the Cobra Kai TV show. If not, the nostalgia probably won’t kick in!
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 94 Minutes
User Rating:
Opening:
The Karate Kid franchise has been unique in the context of Hollywood. It molded itself around a very successful first film, only to then fall to irrelevance and emerge from the ashes with a very successful TV series. I have to say that personally, I really like the first of the Karate Kid films, and I love Cobra Kai. So, watching a film that combines all generations and versions of the franchise feels unique and entertaining, even if the filmmaking is quite flawed.
Karate Kid has never really been known for having very sophisticated screenplays or the most excellent dialogue ever, and Karate Kid: Legends is no exception with most of the film delivering the most canned lines of dialogue that you could expect and also creating a plot that feels like it follows the book step by step, not allowing any sort of discovery or surprises on the way. While this creates familiarity it also makes tons of dull moments where you can see things coming a mile away.
The film tells the story of Li, a young man from Beijing who moves to New York City with his mother to start a new life, but of course, that is easier said than done when Li’s past clashes with his future, and he is basically forced to enter a martial arts tournament to overcome his and his family’s issues. The plot is basically every single Karate Kid film ever, but this time, the film goes more into the Avengers route, gathering people from all over the franchise and making them interact with each other.
It is just wonderful seeing Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio in the same film, but sadly, most of the events concerning this gathering of legends feel too convenient and make the movie feel too artificial. In fact, the film is very similar in terms of writing to Cobra Kai, and while this injects tons of charm into the film, it also makes it feel cheap and, at times, too amateurish. The pacing is also quite rushed, and the story could have had a couple more scenes developing characters, especially the main villain, in order to make the pay-off more satisfying.
In terms of characters, they are all serviceable, but none of them will really make you go, wow. But they all do their job. Even the boring nerdy friend to the main character or the love interest are played by great actors, and it feels like they deserved more from the script. In conclusion, the writing is not the best, but the canned lines and character archetypes will make you feel right at home, if that is what you want from this installment.
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Karate Kid: Legends excels because it gathers several stars of the franchise in one place, but even so, this film is all about Ben Wang, who plays Li Fong, our protagonist. The young actor is charming and can lead the film with no problems. He also does well at the action choreography, even if the fights are not the best ever put on film. Wang really shines, and we can hope this film serves him as a calling card for more projects in the future.
Sadie Stanley, on the other hand, makes for a very charming love interest. Joshua Jackson makes a surprising appearance as a sort of mentor to Li, and the actor proves his charisma is still there. These performances carry most of the film, and without them, it would topple over, but thankfully, they are there. Jackie Chan, Macchio, and Zabka do their part, but they should have been a bigger part of the film for sure.
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If the performances are the strongest part of the film, then the direction feels like the weakest; the film looks cheap, there is no other way around it, and it is understandable. However, when you go to the cinema, the expectation that we will see something beyond the capabilities of television is always there, and sadly, the film doesn’t match or surpass that standard. The cinematography feels weak, and the way some scenes are short is quite boring. There is potential, but the rushed schedule didn’t allow much attention in this department.
The fights also feel weak, and there is no weight behind them, which is a shame, especially in a film that focuses on martial arts, or at least, that should focus on them, because most of the film focuses on Li’s teenage struggles and not much on what being a martial artist is.
Karate Kid: Legends feels like an extension of the TV series and not much else. It is a spin-off that, while charming, didn’t raise the bar the way we expect from a theatrical release. The performances are fine, but other than the charisma the actors bring to the table, there is only so much here for people who are already not fans of the franchise.
Karate Kid: Legends released on 30 May, 2025.
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