'Karate Kid: Legends' took me back to the '80s. For the tweens I watched with, the film packed an emotional punch.

This post contains spoilers. Don't say we didn't warn ya.
Hello, Yahoo Entertainment readers. My name is Suzy Byrne, and I've been covering entertainment in this space for over a decade — and longer elsewhere, but … details!
I am not the cinephile who sees every big, splashy new release the moment it hits theaters. What brings me big-screen joy are kid-friendly flicks — like Lilo & Stitch, which had humor and heart, with my ohana.
I'm a tenderhearted moviegoer who doesn't need two hours of explosions/violence/death. But also, as a busy working parent, getting two hours to turn off my phone, put up my feet and eat whatever I want while my child is fully entertained is the definition of movie magic.
So that's what this is — one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old + friends — seeing family-friendly fare, indulging in film-themed treats and replying all, to you, about the experience. Welcome to the kids movie club.
'Wax on, wax off' — those were the last words I heard, courtesy of the guy behind me, as Karate Kid: Legends started and our party of six (three moms, three kids, ages 8-10) settled in to watch.
With a 41-year-old franchise — which has spawned six films and the Netflix show Cobra Kai — there's a lot of familiarity with the martial arts franchise from different eras.
I remember seeing Karate Kid in the theater during the summer of 1984 — and doing crane kicks on the beach for the rest of my vacation when I wasn't trying to catch flies with chopsticks. When I went home, I cut out photos of Ralph Macchio from Teen Beat and taped them to my bedroom wall. I also vividly remember someone giving me what they claimed was 20-something-year-old Macchio's phone number and calling it — on a corded phone, youngsters — with my friends. I'm pretty sure we hung up on whoever answered.
While to this day I could recite most of the film, with all the life lessons Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel-san, you don't have to have seen it or any of the others to enjoy Legends — and my daughter hadn't. Though it makes for a better watch. One mom-daughter pair in our crew saw the original the night before, and the tween yelled 'Johnny!' in delight during the mid-credits scene. My kid had no idea who Johnny (William Zabka) was. (He's come a long way, baby.)
This installment of the martial arts franchise, which I enjoyed while sipping a Ruby Red Kicker (a mocktail with ruby red grapefruit, cream of coconut, agave and lime), sees Macchio (Daniel in the first three movies as well as in Cobra Kai) and Jackie Chan (Mr. Han in 2010's The Karate Kid with Jaden Smith) reprising their roles as they come together to help Li Fong (Ben Wang) best his bully rival in the 5 Boroughs Tournament.
Li, who is Han's great-nephew, studied kung fu in Beijing before moving to New York City. However, his brother was fatally stabbed during a dispute they had with a kung fu opponent after a tournament. Li is haunted by that — and so is his mother, played by Ming-Na Wen, who doesn't want him to practice kung fu anymore.
And what's a Karate Kid movie without a love story? Li meets Mia (Sadie Stanley) — daughter of Joshua Jackson's Victor, a former boxer turned pizza shop owner who owes money to the wrong guys — and their PG relationship sparks trouble with her ex, karate champ Conor (Aramis Knight).
Legends takes place three years after Cobra Kai's series finale. It includes nods to its history, starting early on with a throwback scene of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) from Karate Kid II. It led to the explanation of the deep connection between Miyagi and Han. Han also visits Daniel at Miyagi-Do dojo in California, with the iconic yellow convertible parked outside, to convince him to come to New York to train Li. But there's lots of forward momentum to the story, down to the crane kick being replaced by the acrobatic, spinning dragon kick.
While the film may be lagging in box office expectations, the room of moviegoers I was with clapped at the end — and I can't remember the last time that happened.
Our young film enthusiasts again liked the funny parts: They laughed as masters Daniel and Han squabbled over which of their martial arts styles was better while training Li. ('What happened to two branches, one tree?' Li asked. 'One branch stronger than the other,' Han replied.)
They cracked up when Johnny brainstormed Miyagi-Dough pizza ideas with an exasperated Daniel. ('Olives on, olives off' was the funniest thing to the kids, despite none of them ever even trying one.) They also liked Li's tutor turned friend Alan (Wyatt Oleff) with his comedic relief.
While nobody needed comfort during the movie, the eldest girl in our group told me the PG-13 rated film was the 'most violent' and 'intense' movie she had ever seen. Moments included Jackson's character being knocked unconscious and hospitalized as well as a recurring flashback of Li's brother's death.
'I don't hate Karate Kid, but I don't love it because I'm afraid of violence,' she said. (The same kid also danced excitedly through the closing credits, so it was a range of feelings.)
My own child felt 'on guard the whole time,' telling me, 'I liked it, but it was not a relaxing movie. Everyone was jumping around. Fighting. The drama. The violence. The emotions. And it was so sad that Li's brother died.'
The adults lapped up all the nostalgic elements. Before we even got in the theater, we had gone from talking about Macchio in Karate Kid to 10 minutes on The Outsiders, which came in 1983, also featuring Macchio, and had the cast of the century.
It was all: 'I loved Johnny.' 'I loved Ponyboy.' 'Oh, Matt Dillon.' 'Ah, Rob Lowe.' 'Tom Cruise got so much better looking after that movie.' 'Emilio Estevez was my favorite.'
Speaking of teen heartthrobs, during Legends, I was amused when, after Jackson had already appeared onscreen several times, my friend leaned over and said, 'Ohhh my gosh, it's PACEY!' just realizing the Dawson's Creek alum was playing a middle-aged movie dad. Someone has clearly not been watching Doctor Odyssey.
Jackson was a nice addition to the film, and his pizza shop training with Li was a fun callback to Daniel and Miyagi of old, but then his character practically disappeared toward the end, even after all the training he did for the role.
The team behind Legends wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel here. While there were new faces and impressive martial arts moves, the story played out in a similar way to past films, with a big tournament finale as a defining moment.
In this one, Li bested Conor to win, and while he celebrated his winning moment, Conor came at him. Li not only stopped him, again, but then showed him mercy by not punching him when he could have. Li actually extended a hand to his rival. It reminded me why I liked the franchise in the first place, and it was a good lesson for the kids.
There are so many movies the kids want to see this summer (shortlist: Elio, How to Train Your Dragon, The Bad Guys 2, Smurfs), yet we were served a trailer for R-rated Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight followed by a Blair Underwood Lexus commercial. It was definitely not a preview to remember.
'We went home and googled the ages of Pat Morita when the first Karate Kid came out (52) and Ralph Macchio in the current one (63),' my friend wrote. For the last few days, I've been stuck on the fact that Daniel is now older than Mr. Miyagi.
Rule No. 1: Karate is for defense only. Rule No. 2: Googling your teen crush's current age as an adult is instant regret.

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