Karate Kid: Legends – Review

Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 34 minutes, Director – Jonathan Entwistle

Shortly after moving from Beijing to New York, Li Fong (Ben Wang) breaks his promise to his mother (Ming-Na Wen) to not fight, as he faces a karate-master bully (Aramis Knight) in a city-wide tournament.

Karate Kid: Legends has been sold on the return of both Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, the original film and remake joining together. Yet, this idea doesn’t come into play until almost an hour of the relatively short 94-minute run-time has gone by and we’re finally reintroduced to Macchio’s now-sensei Daniel LaRusso. With Chan’s Mr Han asking him to train his great-nephew in the ways of Miyagi-do karate; claiming that what Daniel was to the late-Mr Miyagi, Li Fong (Ben Wang) is to him.

The pair unite and bring about much of the Karate Kid core that you’d expect in training montages and the eventual fights as Li builds up to a city-wide tournament across New York, with the aim to make it to the final to fight young karate-master Conor (Aramis Knight). Until this point Li has been training pizza shop owner Victor (Joshua Jackson) the ways of martial arts to improve his boxing, to both defend himself and get back into competing so he can pay off debts he owes to violent karate teacher O’Shea (Tim Rozon), of whom Conor is a student.

There’s a likable unit formed between Li, Victor and his daughter Mia (Sadie Stanley), who are the first people the protagonist meets after arriving in New York City from Beijing. They’re interactions create a good few chuckles as training develops, and while there might be a bit of a Disney Channel feeling to the way Li and Mia’s relationship develops the tone is generally light and enjoyable. Even amongst the more conventional aspects such as Li’s mum (Ming-Na Wen) making him promise to stop fighting after they move, having lost his older brother (Yankei Ge) after a kung fu competition, there are still moments which have an emotional impact, even if slight.

Yet, as the training unfolds and the antagonism from Conor – who seems to be at least ten years older then Li but still goes to the same school – grows there’s a feeling that the film is somewhat basking in the glory of previous entries in the franchise. As if slightly on autopilot before properly kicking in once Li starts to receive his own training from Chan and Macchio – who themselves make for a good double act who I could have sat and watched bicker and try to one-up each other for the whole film. In fact, the best moments, which have been the main selling points, are largely confined to montages approaching and in the third act. It’s where a better flow comes into play as the film feels more invested in itself.

It’s as if the tournament gives it an extra spark as something bigger for the central character to build up to. Helping to see through the final half hour with a new kick brought about by the face-off that’s been gradually rumbling away in the background until this point. As a whole the film is generally likable family fare, but once it get to the points that it, and likely the audience, is most excited about it lands its punches with a solid amount of energy in both training sequences and the climactic fight.

While much of the narrative plays out basking in the glory of the Karate Kid name, Legends makes for likable and good-humoured family fare which grows a stronger kick once the development of the central character and his fighting skills takes centre stage, with help from Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s entertaining double act.