Karate Kid: Legends

Grade: B-

As a child, The Karate Kid Part II was my jam. It’s the first one I saw. Afterwards, I gave The Karate Kid (1984) a try, but my attention span couldn’t tolerate it, and I stopped watching not very far in. I found it very talky – nothing like the exciting, action-packed far superior sequel from 1986. And “Glory of Love” on the soundtrack? Chef’s kiss from this under-10-year-old.

The “legacyquel” Karate Kid: Legends opens in present day Beijing, where Jackie Chan as Mr. Han is still teaching kung fu. His great-nephew, teenager Li Fong, is one of his students. Early on, Li’s mother swoops in and abruptly uproots him to New York City, where she’s recently accepted a job. “No more fighting,” she tells him.

Once we are in New York, the plot – I hear – basically becomes the 1984 movie again, just with different characters. There is Mia, a cute prospective girlfriend, whose recent ex-boyfriend a) seems to be in denial about the breakup, b) is having trouble moving on/letting go, c) is overprotective and wary of any new guys hanging out with her, and d) happens to know karate. Li is trying to keep his promise to his mother, but circumstances are pulling him back into the ring, so to speak.

It’s formulaic and has been done before, but the actors are appealing enough that I enjoyed following their story. Ben Wang ably carries the movie as Li. Mia is played by Sadie Stanley, who I singled out two years ago as a highlight of writer/director/star Ray Romano’s Somewhere in Queens. She has a million dollar smile, and is perfect for this kind of love interest role, even if I think she still could be doing better when it comes to material to work with. Her dad is played with sweet curmudgeonliness by Joshua Jackson. It’s fascinating to see what kinds of characters certain actors play as they age. Jackson’s turn here is like Alec Baldwin as the deadpan dad in Outside Providence in 1999.

Where it falters is in the lack of development when it comes to the original characters. I’d have been very interested to hear about what Daniel’s been up to after all this time, but Ralph Macchio is plopped into the movie with absolutely no update or recap. He’s there just to scratch the itch for the people who wanted to see him again. Ditto for the confusing cameo at the end. Somebody familiar shows up. I don’t know why they would be there, but hey! There’s that person again! Karate Kid: Legends has a sweet, well-fleshed out main story that makes us wish the same kind of attention had been carried over to the OG characters. But still, at around 90 minutes, it’s too short to become that objectionable. I’m recommending it a little bit. It’s a fine enough short burst.

Grade: B-