It’s been 41 years since The Karate Kid crane-kicked its way into theaters and the hearts of filmgoers, with three sequels, an unexpected 2018 Netflix series, and a remake in 2010 spawning from it. The story usually stays the same: A meek teenager runs up against bullies and learns martial arts to defend him/herself, eventually gaining respect and self-confidence. Bridging the worlds of the original continuity and the 2010 remake is the latest in the franchise, Karate Kid: Legends, an earnest film held back by its thin script.
Do you need to be a fan of the movies or television show to have fun with this one? Not really, but it definitely helps color inside the lines that screenwriter Rob Lieber has left for us. At face value, it’s more or less the same plot as the remake: A kid is transplanted against his will across the world (this time, it’s from China to New York City) and has to find his place–and peace–through martial arts training and a showdown with the villain. It’s paint-by-numbers time, but there’s a little something else to show for it.
Here, Li Fong (Ben Wang) doesn’t have to waste time sticking out like a sore thumb, almost seamlessly integrating into Western life with little more than math tutor Alan (Wyatt Oleff) and schoolmate Mia (Sadie Stanley), the latter of whom Li meets on his first night in town at the pizza shop her father owns. We skip a lot of the “round peg, square hole” clichés that usually give us more of what defines characters like Li. There are no “screw with the new guy” pranks or getting lost on the subway, or even the typical “new guy gets shunned” antics that accompany these fish-out-of-water scenarios. Instead, he and his mother (Ming-Na Wen) are leaving behind a haunted past, which involves Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), his kung-fu school shifu, and a death in the family.
Lieber lays the groundwork through inference, initially never directly referring to the event forcing Li and his mother to relocate to New York. For the early goings, their trauma hangs like a shadow overhead, and it’s obviously something that’s holding Li back from being his full self. It takes Mia’s boxer father, Victor (Joshua Jackson), to bring it out of him after he saves Victor from bat-wielding debt collectors. Being honest with himself and his past is going to require more than just talk; it’s also going to involve the school bully, Connor (Aramis Knight), a vicious karate champion who hands Li a beatdown after Li tries to stop him from antagonizing other kids.
Yeah, it’s pretty much the 1984 film all over again. But somehow, we never quite feel at home with these characters the way we did 41 years ago. Karate Kid: Legends absolutely flies by at a pace where the end comes and we find ourselves saying, “That’s it?” The opening prologue is a harbinger of what’s to come: A scene from 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II is extended through animation and a voiceover (either a sound-alike or an AI clone of the late Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, and I severely hope this wasn’t done via AI) explaining how the Miyagi family’s karate was taught to them by the Hans, quickly tying the timelines together and speeding on from there. There’s a lot of talk in this movie, but it doesn’t feel consequential; director Jonathan Entwistle has the chops to direct this, but he doesn’t have what made the original films stick to your guts like a plate of Saturday night ribs.
We know that Li hasn’t come to grips with his past, but the film doesn’t take the time to show his growth to move forward. All that comes of it is a few quick-cut scenes and an insert shot or two at crucial points, along with Ben Wang emoting a troubled countenance when he needs to. An event such as this should weigh more, but it’s treated as just another motive for Li to pull out like a holdout ace in a poker game. Even his mother has a breakneck turn from “fighting bad” to “fighting okay”; it doesn’t feel earned or understandable, as it seems like she’s in the way until she needs to be out of the way. The romance story between Li and Mia is treated similarly, starting almost immediately and never getting any depth beyond what we see in the requisite “show you around the city” montage.
The student/teacher relationship gets a nifty turn and provides amusing visuals as Li trains Victor for an upcoming boxing match; for this first part of the film, things start to settle into a good groove. But it’s thrown away for the main event, the hastily mentioned 5 Boroughs street tournament, for which Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) join forces to train Li. It’s here where the film shifts into overdrive, as the training montages come fast and furious, along with a whole lot of humor and heartwarming bits. This is a different animal from the first film, as Li already knows kung fu and can hold his own; it’s through the betterment of his skills that the story takes a lighter turn, as Mr. Han and Daniel offer competing visions for Li’s progress. One almost wishes for Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio to have made earlier entrances to provide a little more than fan service, especially after seeing the kind of humor and spirit they give to the movie.
Of course, it’s an underdog story, and it wouldn’t be complete without seeing Connor slipped into these montages to show off what kind of threat he poses. But it’s a far cry from the well-developed Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who dominated the first film with his glowering presence. Aramis Knight is sidelined for much of the film, amounting to something in between a cameo and a side character; he’s only there to be the bad guy, and Knight does what he can with his limited screentime to claw his way out of being relegated to a two-dimensional character. Even so, Knight gives his best to this menacing role, shaping Connor into this insurmountable physical brute who doesn’t mind coldcocking sparring partners at his dojo out of spite.
This being said, Karate Kid: Legends is a love letter to fans old and new that incorporates themes (also story and plot) from its predecessors, rolls them up into a 94-minute fun ball, and throws it at the audience. While Entwistle keeps things moving, there are moments that land well, such as any scene showing the Fong/Han/LaRusso trio in training, or even Mr. Han and Daniel’s initial meeting. This isn’t a bad film, not by a long shot; it does what it needs to do and gets out of there just as rapidly and without much fanfare. It’s a very workmanlike film, never taking too long in any one setting and revealing what it has to reveal to keep the plot going. Even after a horrible mishap that results in Li freezing in fear and Mia alienating herself from him, their reconciliation is painted over hastily instead of offering a hand to the audience and drawing them into the film. I don’t say this a lot about films, but this could’ve used another five or ten minutes of just being with the characters to make it stick.
As it stands, though, Karate Kid: Legends is a speedball, mixing two stories into one shot and delivering it with haste. The characters are fairly arch, meaning that it won’t take much to get along with them or be put off by them. With that out of the way, Rob Lieber’s constructs build like skyscrapers around them, which is the film’s biggest fault; Li’s actions are more out of necessity, a reaction to the world surrounding him rather than planting himself in it, but that’s the point. He has to go through these moments to establish himself. Until then, he’s just a vessel, receiving from those giving to him; he does give of himself, but only reactively. But it’s in those moments where Karate Kid: Legends finds its value and footing, and had there been even a few minutes more, this would have stood proudly in the Karate Kid pantheon.
