Karate Kid: Legends

Retroactively combining the continuity of the original Karate Kid movies and it's 2010 remake, Karate Kid: Legends tells the story of kung fu prodigy Li Fong. After moving from China to New York City, Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates. He does manage to make some friends though, and when they're in desperate need of some help, Li decides to enter a karate competition in order to win them some prize money. But his skills aren't currently good enough to bank on a win, so with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso, he learns to merge two different styles of fighting for the ultimate martial arts showdown.

Now, that synopsis does sound incredibly simple and straightforward, but The Karate Kid has never been known for reinventing the wheel. I mean, part of its charm comes from it's simplicity, right? So Karate Kid: Legends is merely trying to tell the same feel good story that audiences fell in love with several decades ago, but to a brand new generation.

That being said, I'm not sure if the film successfully managed to speak to the new generation. After all, I haven't heard anyone from Gen Z talk about this movie. So I don't think the film has really resonated with any new viewers. And I don't think it resonated with many older fans either.

Sure, people may have been lured in by the appeal of seeing Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio together, but their team up wasn't interesting enough to make this story as engaging as it should have been.

Plus, Macchio's return as Daniel Larusso was probably undercut by the fact that his character has a huge role to play in Netflix's spin-off series, Cobra Kai; a popular show that, ironically enough, has seemed to resonate with older Karate Kid fans. So it's a shame that Legends decided to distance itself from that series. And it actually feels surprisingly distant from the rest of the franchise as well.

Despite the fact the film combines the two Karate Kid continuity by including Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, Legends isn't exactly a follow up to the original trilogy, the 2010 remake, or the Cobra Kai series. Which means that it exists in this weird kind of limbo; a middle ground that didn't really speak to any one group of fan in particular.

Plus, is it just me, or does the concept of winning your bully's respect by beating them in a fight feel like an outdated one? Like, no one ever overcame their bully by fighting them in a martial arts tournament, right? So maybe audiences were tired of seeing the same old plot being recycled over and over again. Especially one that seems so antiquated.

Fights escalate. They can get violent. People can get hurt or even killed. Especially if weapons get involved. And the movie briefly touches on the subject, but it doesn't really do anything with it.

Then, I thought the story was going to head in an interesting direction when Li entered the tournament on someone else's behalf, but his opponent ended up being the person who was bullying him throughout the duration of the film, so it was easy to predict how that story was going to end. And that predictability made it hard to engage with Li Fong's character.

I mean, I liked Li Fong, and I really liked Ben Wang's portrayal of the character, but he was probably the least interesting character in the entire film.

I was far more engaged with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio's characters, and they were barely in the movie! Jackie Chan doesn't even perform his own stunts! Ralph Macchio doesn't even perform any stunts! Yet, I still found their characters to be more compelling that Li's.

Hell, the film spends so much time on Li's love interest's father, that I even found his character to be more interesting. But that's what happens with the narrative spends a surprisingly large amount of time on his character for some reason. And fleshing out his character came with a cost, since the film actually rushes past Li's martial arts training. Which was disappointing. But none of that made the movie any bad.

Sure, the plot was predictably outdated, the characters were a little one-dimensional, and the tone was incredibly cheesy; but that's basically how you could describe any of the Karate Kid films, right?

So I think Legends does work as a Karate Kid movie. And since I happen to think the franchise (aside from the first film) is mostly fine, I must admit that I thought Karate Kid: Legends was perfectly fine as well.

But I'm really curious to see how hardcore Karate Kid fans felt about this movie. Did they enjoy it? Did they not? Did they even care?

More importantly, I want to know how the film's success (or lacktherof) will effect the franchise's future. Maybe we'll see Li's story explored even further in a direct sequel. Maybe another legacy sequel will be made in another 15 years time. Maybe Jaden Smith could actually return to the franchise. That would be interesting. But what do the fans want to see next?

I personally would prefer to see a direct sequel to this movie, because a sequel could potentially address all of the issues that I had with this movie.

But since I thought the film was fine anyway, I must admit that - even with all of its flaws - Karate Kid: Legends would still get a recommendation from me.