Karate Kid: Legends – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Karate Kid: Legends – Martial Arts in the Big Apple: I Fight for Family

Nostalgia … it is a feeling that pulls at our heartstrings through various means.  From going out to your favorite restaurant to visiting a place from your childhood, nostalgia hits with a certain rush of joy.  In film, this can be used to grip us to many titles and franchises, breeding new life into things that were popular long ago.  For better or worse, films that pull from the past are numerous … and all we can hope is that any new entry can bring out the best in the property.  In this review, I look at the latest film that pulls at nostalgia.  A sequel and reboot of sorts, it is a familiar journey with new wrinkles.  Even if it plays to a common formula, Karate Kid: Legends still brings the heart in what it means to be … champion. 

When a young martial arts prodigy moves to a new city, will he be able to find his place or fall prey to sins of the past.  When it comes to film, pulling at a person’s heart becomes a matter of building up situations that are familiar … even with new elements.  With the Karate Kid franchise, it plays within ideals of competition, heroes vs. villains and coming-of-age elements.  Within its various entries, it is a matter of unique twists to try to add new dynamics to the formula.  With this latest entry, it becomes a bridge between two parts of the franchise … but done in a way that is organic, familiar but genuinely full of heart.  In the beginning, we meet Li Fong (Ben Wang), a young prodigy that is being trained by his Uncle Han (Jackie Chan) in Beijing.  After a few conversational moments, he learns that he will be moving because his mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen) has taken up a new position at a hospital in New York City.  After another series of transitional scenes and characterized moments, we watch Li try to transition to his new life in the Big Apple.  He makes friends in a Local Pizza Shop owner, Victor (Joshua Jackson) and his daughter, Mia (Sadie Stanley).  This leads through a series of off-the-cuff conversations, action sequences and coming-of-age stylings that provide a characterization unfamiliar to the franchise.  It is in this first half the ’Karate Kid’ formula takes on a new twist that shifts the teacher-student dynamic into an element that twists the fish-out-of-water cliché.  This characterized focus on Li, his new home and the changing of the guard showcases the raw conflicts of the past and present.  This helps in leveling out the formula, but also builds up a better foreshadowing to the martial arts (in the film) and a future conflict with the local bully/NYC Prodigy, Conner (Aramis Knight).  As things continually progress, the journey brings about a situation that catalyzes Li into a crossroads that starts the transition to the typical underdog tale familiar to the franchise.

As Li finds fault and semblance in his new home, this leads to a second half that builds up the underdog tale.  Propelling this situation is done by his Uncle Han, but also the addition of learning a new form of martial arts from Sensei LaRusso (Ralph Macchio).  It is here where nostalgia meets convenient plot armor, a bridging of new and old elements in the franchise.  Even when things are sped up through the training montage and hero vs. villain motif, the underdog tale provides enough emotional layers to add value to these sequences.  With everything shifting between simple one-liners and melodrama, we head into a finale that builds up the tournament, leading to the ultimate fight between Li and Conner.  This then builds through an amazing choregraphed fight, expected climax and fun epilogue.  Karate Kid: Legends plays it safe, but does enough for a fun-filled journey.  If you are a fan of the franchise or like underdog tales, this is one for you.  I think there is enough here for a good time at the theaters.

Full Score – 3 out of 5 (Theater Discount)