Karate Kid: Legends Review

Directed By: Jonathan Entwistle
Written By: Rob Lieber
Runtime: 94 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and some language.

Ben Wang – Li Fong
Jackie Chan – Mr. Han
Ralph Macchio – Daniel LaRusso
Sadie Stanley – Mia Lipani
Joshua Jackson – Victor Lipani
Aramis Knight – Conor
Ming-Na Wen – Mrs. Fong
Tim Rozon – O’Shea
Yankei Ge – Bo Fong
Shaunette Renée Wilson – Ms. Morgan

The Karate Kid franchise recently experienced a resurgence, mostly due to the success of the hit series Cobra Kai. Sony Pictures revives the franchise yet again, this time on the big screen with Karate Kid: Legends. The new sequel retroactively connects the original films starring Ralph Macchio as the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, and the late, great Pat Morita as his sensei, Mr. Miyagi, to the 2010 remake starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. The 2010 version was not a loose sequel, but thanks to some creative editing, a scene lifted from The Karate Kid: Part II connects the history of Miyagi-Do Karate to the Han family’s Kung Fu. Unfortunately, despite a strong cast, Karate Kid‘s nostalgia-heavy script fails to find its own identity and cannot choose a lane with its story.

The new story arc asserts teenager Li Fong (Wang) as the new Karate Kid, even though his chief discipline is Kung Fu, which he dutifully learns under his teacher, Mr. Han (Chan). Mr. Han appears to be prospering quite well after the events of the 2010 movie. Li’s mother (Wen) has decided to move to New York City with her son for a fresh start, after mourning the loss of Li’s older brother, Bo (Ge), who was murdered in a senseless brawl. Mrs. Fong wants Li to leave fighting behind, fearing it will lead him to a bad end. Shortly after the move, Li quickly befriends young Mia Lipani (Stanley), who helps her ex-boxer dad, Victor (Jackson), run his pizza shop, and sparks fly.

The trailers and marketing materials for Karate Kid: Legends fail to divulge the inversion of the longtime franchise formula, as Li becomes the unlikely master to his new student, Victor. Victor owes a heavy debt to the unsavory karate teacher, O’Shea (Rozon), who moonlights as a loan shark. Wanting to help Victor and Mia’s predicament, Li helps train Victor in the ways of Kung Fu in boxing so Victor can pay off his debts. Unfortunately, Victor getting seriously injured during his match forces Li Fong to enter the 5 Boroughs karate tournament, putting him on a path with the favorite, Mia’s belligerent ex-boyfriend, Conor (Knight). Then, Mr. Han seeks the assistance of Daniel LaRusso to instruct Li in Miyagi-Do Karate to win the tournament.

Considering the whole point is to bring Han and LaRusso together, the movie takes a long-winded, convoluted way to achieve that narrative goal. Writer Rob Lieber’s script wastes its first half and focuses on how Li becomes Victor’s reluctant teacher. However, that thread becomes a dead end before it reverts to the cliche route of Li entering the karate tournament for a showdown with Conor.

Frankly, Macchio’s entire presence in the story is relatively pointless. Li begins the movie as a seasoned and skilled Kung Fu practitioner. As a result, it plays like LaRusso has little to teach Li, and Li has little he can learn from him. The interactions and training montages between Chan and Macchio provide some brief amusement. However, Jonathan Entwistle and writer Rob Lieber fail to justify LaRusso’s role in the plot.

The problem with the storyline stems from the fact that Li never truly becomes LaRusso’s student or disciple. Li already has a shifu in Han. It would have been interesting to see a new Karate Kid story where LaRusso forms a bond with a young student, much like Mr. Miyagi did with him. However, that does not unfold here, rendering LaRusso’s part as little more than nostalgia bait.

The film’s main bright spot is Ben Wang as Li. Despite having to deal with a copious number of banal, cliche dialogue and material, Wang’s physical charisma shines through as Li. His martial arts prowess and ability provide some of the film’s more entertaining moments. But the fight scenes are shot so poorly and in spastic fashion making most of them difficult to enjoy. Wang does his best with what he is provided, which is not a whole lot. The same applies to Sadie Stanley, Wang’s perfunctory love interest.

As a legacy sequel to a franchise that has stood the test of time for over forty years, Legends brings little to the table. If the idea was to bring back the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, he needed a stronger role that justifies his presence. At its best, the film has its moments and some scenes of action-packed energy, carried by Wang’s unique physical charisma. At its worst, Karate Kid: Legends provides an uneventful franchise follow-up that does not trample over the previous films, but fails to elevate its storyline to past heights.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Ben Wang exhibits some definite star power and flashes of brilliance with some enjoyable moments in his fight scenes. However, a hackneyed script fails to find an appropriate role for the returning Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, whose role comes off as relatively pointless since he has little to teach a seasoned martial artist such as Li Wang. Li Wang and LaRusso do not form a strong bond like the connection he possesses with his true shifu, Mr. Han. The script's first half wastes time in a rather pointless subplot with Li training Victor, before ultimately forcing the more traditional, cliche narrative route. LaRusso was treated as an afterthought in the film. If the filmmakers intended to make a Karate Kid sequel where LaRusso becomes a teacher, he required a significant role. Karate Kid: Legends is not a bad film, but it's not especially good either.