Movie Review: Karate Kid: Legends

The Freaking Film Fanatic with Nathan Unck

Karate Kid: Legends     Rated PG-13 for violence and language.

    I was five years old when the first The Karate Kid movie came out. I didn't see it in the theaters, but my dad rented the video tape, back when video rentals were still in its infancy. I loved it, and I remember seeing both the second and third movies in the franchise at the drive-in near our house. I really liked the second one, but didn't like the third one very much, but I still had the first two and watched them quite a bit.

    Then a few years ago, Netflix announced that they were making a Karate Kid series bringing back all of the original cast, besides Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi, Rest in Peace. It was interesting to watch that show and having my favorite characters back but also teaching a new generation of kids. My only complaint about the series is they go from a low PG-13 ratings guide to having R rated language in them. I thought it was inappropriate, but because they are swearing so much, as the show is geared towards tweens and teens, and the language doesn't even need to be in there, but I digress. The show actually turns enemies into friends, and the bad guys are even worse that they were in the films. 

   That brings us to Karate Kid: Legends. I don't know if this is a one and done, or the beginning of a new reboot, but taken on its own merits, the film is.... just okay. My wife attended the screening with me, and she thought it was fun, and it was, but there are plot holes, story elements that don't make sense where they assume you know what's going on. One example, the main character, Li Fong, played by Ben Wang, is competing in a Karate tournament called The Five Boroughs. You get to see some training montages, and chalk looking animations telling you how many days to the tournament, and it skips days 3, 2 and 1, and straight to the tournament, then after the first match, you go back to the training sessions again, but they don't tell you that the tournament is a multi-day event. 

    The story this time around is almost the same plot from the very first Karate Kid film, only this time, Li Fong, the newest karate kid, is from China, and is being trained by Mr. Han, played by the great Jackie Chan. His mother is a doctor and gets a job in New York City, so they move to the Big Apple. Li meets a pretty girl named Lia, who has a very jealous ex-boyfriend named Conor, who is also the best karate fighter, and bully, in New York. Obviously, Conor sees Li with Lia, and starts bullying Li. 

    We learn that Lia's father is an ex-boxer who owes some bad people some money, and it turns out, the bad man Lia's dad is in hot water with, is also the karate master at the dojo where Conor learns karate. Li helps fight off some of the henchmen, and then the film takes a half hour detour where Li is helping Lia's dad how to fight so he can box again so he can pay off the bad guys. The detour isn't terrible, but in a film that barely breaks the ninety-minute mark. I read an insider article that said that they cut 24 minutes of the film out, which makes me wonder if it would made the film better or not.

    I think that the movie is fun, and kids and teens will probably like it quite a bit, especially if they are into the Cobra-Kai show on Netflix, or fans of the original films. It actually leaves out the bad language that makes Cobra-Kai divide kids and adults. Outside of that demographic, I don't think that it will be something adults would go see for date night or just going out to the movies. I had fun, but it also was plagued by a few things that take it down a couple of notches for me. 

    I hope I didn't mention too much of the plot details, but at the same time, I needed to show why the plotline is close to the same as the original Karate Kid film, and the weird detours and assumptions it has for you to understand everything that is going on. With the summer break upon us, sending your kids to the movies to see Karate Kid: Legends isn't a bad choice.

    Karate Kid: Legends is rated PG-13 for martial arts violence, some fighting, and some language.