Karate Kid: Legends
In the small world of international kung fu, coincidences exchange punches with surprising regularity in this slick, likeable reboot.
The way of the dragon: Ben Wang
Photo by Jonathan Wenk, Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.
The legends in question are Jackie Chan and the original karate kid himself, Ralph Macchio. It’s been thirty-six years since Macchio played Daniel LaRusso on film, but while audiences are biding their time until Creed IV, this fight fest should plug the gap nicely. There’s a new kid in town, Li Fong (Ben Wang), all the way from Beijing, no less, whose mother, Dr Fong (Ming-Na Wen), has taken up a new residency in New York City. That means Li has to abandon his secret kung fu classes with Mr Han (Jackie Chan) and, if his mother has her way, to forsake fighting altogether. “You practice violence – you get violence in return,” she argues. And it’s true that Li’s older brother Bo was killed in a fight with local martial artists. But, as Li only knows too well, “the first rule of kung fu is everything is kung fu.”
As soon as they are in Manhattan, the Fongs stop speaking in subtitles and Li suddenly sounds like a native New Yorker. Popping out to explore the neighbourhood, he checks out the “stuffed crust” in a local pizzeria, only to be made fun of by its owner, Victor Lipani (George Clooney soundalike Joshua Jackson). As it turns out, Victor used to be the best fighter in the Big Apple and his daughter Mia (Sadie Stanley), coincidentally, is now dating Connor Day (Aramis Knight), the champion of New York’s ‘5 Burrough Tournament’. However, this cuts no slack with Connor’s father who is ready to put Victor in hospital for not meeting the deadline to repay his loan on the pizzeria. The first rule of kung fu…
Karate Kid: Legends is as formulaic as an algebra textbook, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Under Jonathan Entwistle’s direction, it zips along nicely, luxuriating in its pulsating soundtrack and energetic screen wipes, while Mia shows Li around town on a scooter to maximise the New York-friendly establishing shots. Mia and Li radiate a winning chemistry as the story idles in neutral before the inevitable narrative blocks slot into place to usher in Chan and Macchio. The neat thing here is that Jackie Chan is a master of kung fu and Macchio was once the Karate Kid, and the two martial disciplines don’t always gel. But two branches can make one tree, notes Chan sagely, before showing what a 71-year-old can do if he looks after himself. Remember children, “in life, you only have one question. Is ‘it’ worth fighting for or not?”
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Wyatt Oleff, Aramis Knight, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Tim Rozon, Olivia Yang.
Dir Jonathan Entwistle, Pro Karen Rosenfelt, Screenplay Rob Lieber, Ph Justin Brown, Pro Des Maya Sigel, Ed Dana E. Glauberman, Music Dominic Lewis, Costumes Mirren Gordon-Crozier, Sound Will Digby and David Esparza, Dialect coach Li Li.
Columbia Pictures/Sunswept Entertainment-Columbia Pictures.
93 mins. USA/Canada. 2025. UK and US Rel: 30 May 2025. Cert. 12A.
