Karate Kid: Legends - Review
Nostalgia in Hollywood can be a powerful, but at times blunt weapon, in the hands of different people. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) showed that gloabl audiences were hungry for a sequel to the 1986 Tom Cruise-led classic, and the last two Ghostbusters sequels, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), showed how a mix of original and new cast could take the franchise in new directions.
Yet, there have been an equal number of misses. The last two Die Hard films, Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), tried but failed to live up to the original trilogy despite the presence of franchise lead, Bruce Willis, while the recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) failed to connect with audiences young and old, likely due in part to an ageing Harrison Ford, and the absence of co-creators Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
Then we have The Karate Kid , a wonderful 1984 film about a mother and her son, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) who moves away from home to a new city, meets a girl and gets in trouble with the girl's male friend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and learns karate from an old master, Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita), to defend himself. That film resonated with fans and spawned two sequels with Macchio and Morita, until a fourth movie saw only Morita return but with a new disciple.
Morita's death in 2005 would have led to the franchise's end, since he served as the mentor and heart of the series, but with Hollywood, what's death got to do with anything? A 2010 remake, starring Jackie Chan as the ageing martial arts master, Mr Han, was originally a remake of the 1984 film, which saw a mother and her son move from the US to China, only for the son to meet a girl and get in trouble with her male friend, and this time, he has to learn kung fu to defend himself.
Even though many lamented calling a kung fu-inspired remake The Karate Kid, that film was a hit, though no sequel ever materialised. Until 2018, when Cobra Kai , a streaming series revival focusing on Lawrence, made its debut alongside a long list of characters retruning from the original trilogy. The reunion of Macchio and Zabka, along with new characters, saw the series achieve almost universal acclaim among fans young and old.
Which leads us to Karate Kid: Legends , the first big screen outing that retcons previous narratives, as it places both Macchio and Chan's movies as part of the same narrative universe. The opening scene, which borrows heavily from a sequence from 1986's The Karate Kid Part II , expands on the original narrative that saw Miyagi and Han's ancestor establish relationship in China, to set-up how LaRusso and Han share a strong connection.
But this isn't their movie, because, and stop us if you're read this before, it's about a mother, Dr. Fong, (Ming-Na Wen, The Mandalorian) ) and Han's niece, and her son Li Fong (Ben Wang, American Born Chinese ), moving from the China to New York City, only for the Li to meet a girl, Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley, The Goldbergs ) and get in trouble with her male friend, Conor Day (Aramis Knight, Ms. Marvel ) and this time, he has to learn kung fu to defend himself.
In fact, aside from short appearances at the start, with archival footage of Macchio, and by Chan in events in China, the film spends the first half dealing with Li dealing with his new life in America, and saving Mia's father Victor (Joshua Jackson, Doctor Odyssey ) from loan sharks. It's a nice set-up that reverses the premise of the Macchio and Chan's first films, thereby setting up Li to swap out his kung fu capabilities for some karate chops. While the foundation of boy meets girl and pisses off her ex isn't new, it's nice to see some solid chemistry between Wang and Stanley, and of course, Wang's natural skills in Chinese martial arts. His scenes, fighting with others, and sparring with Chan are highlights.
Those skills come in play when Li plays shifu (master) and coaches former boxer Victor, leading Victor to a showdown that see him hospitalised. Aspects of the Fongs are revealed, and in comes Han who decides that the only way for his nephew to get past the trauma of fight or freeze, is to enter him in a karate tournament.
And it's the last half hour that fans will enjoy, when Han recruits LaRusso to train Li in karate. Narratively, this will only make more sense if you've seen Cobra Kai , and know that across six seasons of that series, LaRusso went from having given up on karate, to opening a dojo and training students. Otherwise, how does it make sense for a former karate champion audiences last saw in a 1989 film, to emerge from out of nowhere, to help train a student in 2025? It's this part where British filmmaker Jonathan Entwistle ( The End Of The F***ing World ) drops the ball somewhat, as he does nothing to little to introduce LaRusso and you need to be a fan of the 41-year-old franchise, to understand his significance to the movie.
But if you're a fan, you get to understand how quickly LaRusso adapts, to be able to learn how to support Han and combine two forms of martial arts – it's what he did on Cobra Kai , merging his and Johnny Lawrence's different karate style, to reclaim the glory for his new students in the streaming series. Yet, because this movie and that series are linked but creatively separate, it's this gap that doesn't show up in a flashback or montage, that skips telling audiences why LaRusso's input matters. Yes, he's Miyagi protege but the film doesn't show us the how and why. It's only in the start where you see footage from the second film to get a hint, but the absence of it is frustrating to longtime fans.
The ending is as anticipated, and not even surprising, as the finishing move was orchestrated from the get go, but it's nice to see some fancy footwork between Wang and Knight on screen.
If anything, the combined might of Han and LaRusso, sparring physically and verbally are the highlights that could have been better fleshed out. Fans are treated to the jacket on, jacket off, and jokes about which style or form of karate or kung fu is superior, and stay to the end for a cameo that again, ties back to the first movie and the recently concluded streaming series – you won't understand or appreciate it as much if you didn't watch all six seasons of it.
Summary
While the premise isn't fresh (it's already the third time it's been used), the links between Ralph Macchio's original and Jackie Chan's version are a nice touch. Fans of Cobra Kai will be pleased with how LaRusso is depicted, and equally upset that, aside from a cameo, the series is barely even referenced. Karate moves can be fluid, we get it, but having a strong foundation has always been the approach that works. Story - 7/10
Direction - 7/10
Characterisation - 7/10
Geek Satisfaction - 8/10
Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who's got time for those? Cobra Kai Jackie Chan Karate Kid Karate Kid: Legends Ralph Macchio Review
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Culture
2 days ago
- Geek Culture
Cancelled 'Dungeons & Dragons' RPG By 'Counter Strike: GO' Developer Leaked Online
Gameplay footage and concept art from developer Hidden Path Entertainment's cancelled Dungeons and Dragons RPG have leaked online, offering a glimpse at an open-world RPG that almost was. Hidden Path, the studio behind the Defense Grid series and co-developers of the 2012 multiplayer FPS Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , first started working on the project four years ago, as made known via a series of job listings by the studio for a 'AAA, third-person, open-world fantasy RPG that will be taking place inside the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.' The project, codenamed Project Dante , was unfortunately short-lived, as one of the studio's founders, Michael Austin, announced its cancellation in 2024 via a post on LinkedIn, stating that the studio had been 'in numerous active discussions to find replacement funding', and ultimately had 'no choice but to pause development on that project and reduce the company size until we have an opportunity to return to it', letting go 44 developers as a result. Now, an eight-minute video and various concept art for the doomed title have leaked online, offering a tease of what could have been. This leak comes from MP1st, with gameplay clips showcasing its third-person exploration and combat. The game would have featured a companion system, with the leaked video detailing the player character accompanied by two other characters, Kavir and Ri Om, who assist with combat and puzzle-solving. Early footage of its cinematics, voice work and even an entire song sung by NPCs were shown, although most were place-holders. A collection of concept art was also leaked, including various Dungeons and Dragons imagery like a five-headed hydra, a party facing off against a volcanic dragon, and an adorable white cat with wings, alongside art for the various characters players would meet in the game. According to MP1st, the game was believed to be near the final stages of its development when it was cancelled, with its unfortunate fate likely being a part of a series of five cancellations by publisher Wizards of the Coast in early 2023, making it a real shame that a project so far along in its development was axed so suddenly. Still, there are many more Dungeons and Dragons titles in the works for fans of the iconic tabletop franchise, including a single player action-adventure game from the former director of Respawn's Star Wars Jedi games, Stig Asmussen, and his new studio Gian Skull, alongside a magic-focused title from Ubisoft alumni Jeff Hattem's Invoke Studios. Let's hope these titles will actually see the light of day and not suffer the same fate as Project Dante . Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Dungeons & Dragons Hidden Path Entertainment Leaks
Geek Culture
2 days ago
- Geek Culture
Nintendo Switch 2 Faces Dire Third-Party Game Sales Despite Successful Launch
Despite enjoying a massive launch, the Nintendo Switch 2 is reportedly suffering from rather lukewarm sales of third-party games, as most players flock towards first-party Nintendo titles like Mario Kart World . This news comes from TheGameBusiness' Chris Dring, who went through the console's latest game sales figures surrounding its launch. Citing data from research companies Circana and NielsenIQ, Dring notes that 48% of physical game sales in the UK and 62% of sales in the US were first-party titles, when excluding the console's Mario Kart World bundle. If the bundle was taken into account, however, the figure would be further increased to 86% in the UK, although statistics for the US were not presented. Mario Kart World For context, the Nintendo Switch 2 launched with only three new physical first-party titles: Mario Kart World , and the two enhanced editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom . On the other hand, there were a total of 13 physical third-party games, including CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 , Konami's Survival Kids , and Square Enix's Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster . Speaking to TheGameBusiness, one unnamed third-party publisher noted dire sales figures for its Switch 2 launch sales, stating that it was 'below our lowest estimates'. Dring also noted that despite the newest console's figures being an improvement compared to its predecessor's launch, which saw 89% of physical sales at the time being from first-party games, most third-party Switch 2 games 'posted very low numbers'. As to the reason for such disappointing numbers, Dring suggested that this could be due to the console's enhanced backwards compatibility, leading to players jumping back into the original Switch's back catalogue, coupled with the fact that almost all of the third-party Switch 2 launch titles are ports of already released games, meaning they are likely titles already played and completed by players on other platforms. Survival Kids Despite this report, some sources are actually painting a different picture. US sales tracker Mat Piscatella, who works at Circana, for example, took to Bluesky to state that third-party sales of Nintendo Switch 2 games in the US were actually 'far better' than those of the original console when it launched. CD Projekt Red also shared the sentiment, reporting that Cyberpunk 2077 was the 'best-selling third-party game during the launch of Switch 2', and that the game did 'reasonable numbers'. Amidst the conflicting reports, Dring adds that he was told by many major publishers that Nintendo is 'actively trying to push third-party games this time around', with the hopes that sales will pick up in the coming months once other notable third-party titles like EA Sports Madden 26 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 are released. For Nintendo's first-party titles, the console has some big-hitters in its pipeline, including Donkey Kong Bananza , Pokémon Legends: Z-A and enhanced editions of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Mario Party Jamboree . Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Mario Kart World Nintendo Nintendo switch 2
Geek Culture
2 days ago
- Geek Culture
Star Trek Comic 'The Last Starship' Resurrects Captain James T. Kirk
Captain Kirk will no longer find himself in the grave, as he's set to return in a new Star Trek comic. The iconic character is back from the dead in Star Trek: The Last Starship , due out this September, with the modern Starfleet future serving as the new setting. Notably, this marks a departure from the usual fare, which places any story, screen, or comic before the character's death in 1994's Star Trek: Generations . Per The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming work is penned by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, who, alongside writing for Marvel, DC and other publishers, notched an Eisner nomination for their previous Star Trek title for IDW. Adrián Bonilla is onboard as illustrator. 'Forget everything you know about Star Trek. The Last Starship is a new crew, a new era, and a completely different tone; our aim is to be literary, intense, innovative, and most of all, accessible,' said Lanzing. 'We're bringing you into the Federation's darkest hour through the brilliant, noir-soaked lens of artist Adrián Bonilla with zero homework required. Longtime Trek fans will have a deep and fascinating reading experience, to be sure – this is a pivotal moment in Trek history that's never been even glimpsed before – but above all, The Last Starship is a dark and complex sci-fi you can hand to anyone,' he added. The series takes place during The Burn, a galaxy-wide disaster that caused the detonation of every active warp core and led to the near-collapse of the United Federation of Planets. Now mysteriously resurrected, Kirk will need to lead a new crew and ship to uphold Starfleet's mission of unity across the cosmos. The debut issue of Star Trek: The Last Starship launches on 24 September, featuring a primary cover by Francesco Francavilla and variants by Skyler Patridge and Michael Cho. Check them out below: Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. IDW Comics Star Trek Star Trek: The Last Starship
