★★★.5

starring: ben wang, sadie stanley, jackie chan, and ralph maccino

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REVIEWER: Lyall carter

After kung fu prodigy Li Fong relocates to New York City, he attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso.

Growing up, I must have missed the cultural phenomenon that was The Karate Kid but what I didn’t miss was Jackie Chan’s Hollywood movies. From Rush Hour to Shanghai Noon to The Tuxedo, as a kid Jackie Chan was kung fu. So twenty odd years later to be sitting in a theatre with a new karate movie with Jackie Chan starring in it I couldn’t have been more stoked. An action stacked family crowd pleaser, Karate Kid: Legends is a warm hearted flick brimming with energy.

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After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn't want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren't enough. Li's kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.

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For a run time of an hour and a half, Karate Kid: Legends narratively packs a lot in. Not just the story itself but Karate Kid: Legends has some of the best character development in a family film that I’ve seen for a long time. The pace of the development of the main characters is done so well that they are believable, coming to life. There is sure to be comparisons with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films not only because of the New York setting but it feels really homely like you really know these characters. 

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This is the perfect platform for the story itself, which, to be fair, is pretty simple and you’ve kinda seen it before. But what makes it all the more engaging and a breezy, fun watch, is that you’re now invested into these characters because of the great development done at the top of the show. 

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The karate is fast paced, pumping with energy and super entertaining with some moves that make you shake your head in wonder and how they could possibly have pulled it off. Ben Wang who plays Li Fong the lead is incredibly likeable and the beating heart of the film with the development of his relationship with Sadie Stanley’s Mia packed with chemistry.

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An action stacked family crowd pleaser, Karate Kid: Legends is a warm hearted flick brimming with energy.

★★★.5