On June 22, 1984, director John G. Avildsen gave us a family film starring Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio as Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso. The film is an underdog film with a strong family theme with Karate providing the action. This film spawned two sequels starring Pat and Ralph and then an additional film with Pat and a young Hilary Swank (The Next Karate Kid). Since then, we have seen Jackie Chan (Han Shifu) and Jaden Smith (Dre Parker) in a reimagining of the story set in Beijing, China (The Karate Kid, 2010). Ralph Macchio hooked up with his co-star/ex-nemesis of old (William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence) in 2018 on the small screen for the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
Now, the film and TV franchise has returned to the big screen. In this film, Shifu Han (Jackie Chan) is instructing Li Fong (Ben Wang) Kung Fu in his hometown of Beijing, China, when his mother takes a new job at a hospital in New York City. Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen) feels this is a good way to distance Li from the sport that cost the family Li’s older brother. Like Daniel before him, Li is NOT happy to be moved to a very new place.
Karate Kid: Legends follows the general storyline laid out in the original film with boy meets girl. Boy meets girl’s ex-boyfriend. Then Boy gets his tail kicked by said ex-boyfriend in public.
The story has differences that enhance the story for those of us who saw the first film opening week (yes, I did!). Instead of one teacher, we have both Sensei LaRusso and Shifu Han helping Li prepare for his climactic fight at “The Five Boroughs” competition with his nemesis, Conor Day (Aramis Knight). As a side note, Conor happens to have won this competition the last five years in a row.
Director Jonathan Entwistle used the talents of Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio and newcomer Ben Wang to perfection in this story of family, young love, and honor. The martial arts action is excellent. Frankly, I loved it. It will be joining the rest of the franchise in my collection in the near future.
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
Cast: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for martial arts violence and some language)
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Runtime: 118 Min.
Release Date: 05/30/2025
Language: English
Genre: Action/Drama/Family/Sport
Trailer: KARATE KID: LEGENDS Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.