REVIEW — “Karate Kid: Legends”

Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Karate Kid: Legends opens with a scene from 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II: a flashback to Okinawa where Mr. Miyagi gives a young Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) a lesson on the history of Miyagi karate illustrated in a dazzling animated sequence. Jumping to present day Beijing, we are reintroduced to Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han from 2010’s The Karate Kid remake.

Han now runs his own kung fu school where he secretly trains his nephew Li Fong (Ben Wang) away from the disapproving eye of Li’s mother (Ming-Na Wen). She no longer approves of martial arts after a violent tragedy took the life of Li’s older brother. “If you practice violence, you get violence in return,” she says. Since that incident, Li struggles with moments of panic during intense situations: he freezes. To avoid kung fu related violence and get a fresh start, she informs Han that she has accepted a job in New York City and is moving there with Li, who quickly becomes the Fresh Prince of NYC.

Once in the city, Li soon meets Mia (Sadie Stanley) and makes an instant connection. She helps her father Victor (Joshua Jackson) run the pizza shop next-door to Li’s apartment. Wang and Stanley’s flirtatious, budding romance is infectious and their onscreen chemistry is engaging. She even gives him the endearing nickname “stuffed crust,” while Victor calls him “Chinese Peter Parker.” But violence is inescapable in the Big Apple, as there’s a wannabe Cobra Kai dojo in the city run by bad guys and frequented by bullies.

One of them being Mia’s punk ex-boyfriend Conor Day (Aramis Knight), who does not like the attention she is giving to Li. After several taunts and unwarranted sucker punches get Li into trouble with his mom, Han flies in to help Li prepare to fight in a citywide competition called the Five Boroughs Tournament. However, Han needs help teaching his nephew karate, so he reaches out to the pupil of his former friend, Mr. Miyagi.

Macchio doesn’t enter until an hour into the film. While his presence connects the original film series with the remake, it’s mostly for fanservice as this film is more of a sequel to the Jackie Chan/ Jaded Smith-starring remake than anything else in the Karate Kid universe. However, both men share a Miyagi sized hole in their hearts, so it is nice to see them unite and become two branches of the same bonsai tree. Somewhere Pat Morita is nodding and smiling.

It’s also nice to see Joshua Jackson working in a big feature film. The former Mighty Duck is now a part of the Karate Kid saga, even though he couldn’t be bothered or wasn’t asked to join the recently canceled/disappeared reboot series Mighty Ducks: Gamechangers. As a former boxer turned pizza papa who is hounded by loan sharks, Victor realizes he needs Li’s help getting back in the game of self-defense after Li quick fighting skills helps resolve an alleyway fight with Victor’s thuggish debt collectors.

This is where the film cleverly kick-flips the script of the original series. Instead of being a bullied wimp, Li is already a skilled martial artist with an energetic, spastic and a animated fighting style that reminds of Rush Hour-era Jackie Chan. So the student becomes a teacher as Li trains Jackson to get back into the ring for a prize fight that will finally get him out of debt. What follows is an amusing and inspired training montage using buckets of pizza sauce and pounded pizza dough to transform Jackson’s character from pudgy dad to lean, mean, fighting machine. It’s a substantial role for the actor and TV star, and, thanks to this film, the transformation is real. Now the star of ABC’s Dr. Odyssey, Jackson is enjoying the success of his recent glow up into a fit kung fu daddy.

The biggest difference between this film and the recent goings-on in the Karate Kid universe is its tonal shift. While the antagonist-flipping spinoff series Cobra Kai reignited interest in the Karate Kid brand for its fresh take on the series from the perspective of former bad boy, Johnny Lawrence, it featured more of a PG-13 tone complete with F-bombs and mild violence. The series recently ended its successful run on Netflix, however, neither Cobra Kai nor Johnny really have anything to do with this new film. That’s because Karate Kid: Legends takes deliberate steps to return the series to its more wholesome, family-friendly roots. (But be sure to stick around for a hilariously crowd pleasing post title tag!)

While the film may dip here and there into the saga’s more predictable formula of an underdog kid making a comeback, it’s not super cheesy. The film uses clever humor, solid action and engaging characters to pull the audience in. It’s worth the price of admission just to see Jackie Chan on the big screen again. At age 71, the man is still a physical comedy genius and as charming as ever. Considering no one really asked for a sequel to what is mostly viewed as a failed, 15-year-old reboot starring Will Smith‘s son, Karate Kid: Legends is a delightfully entertaining and welcomed return-to-form for the longstanding, family-friendly saga. 3.5/5

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and some language, Karate Kid: Legends opens only in theaters May 30, 2025 with a running time of 1 hour, 58 minutes.