Karate Kid: Legends

I took my dad to see this and overall we both enjoyed it. I guess this is what Karate Kid is, pit main person in a different environment that makes said protagonist new and awkward but with a love interest linked to the bully who will challenge protagonist to some big tournament where main protagonist wins.

So formulaic is the best way to describe this movie but maybe it's about the journey itself. It's about this kid named Li and his mom moves out of Beijing to New York because his mom wants away from Jackie Chan who reprises his role as Mr Han from that other Karate Kid movie.

So when Li gets to New York he finds his love interest at a pizza place of all places after asking about stuffed crust. Believe it or not, his love interest is actually wonderful in this role. Shes very good and full of personality. In fact, both leads are really good.

Then a bunch of stuff happens and then you realize that the trailer you saw of Mr Han and Daniel-San interacting is scarcely absent. I don't even think they even show up until an hour into this movie.

But the characters are very likable. I really like her dad who is the best character in the movie. He has this story about owing money and challenging at a boxing match which is a strange distraction in the film.

But even though I enjoyed the film, I'll most likely forget it existed. It just doesn't offer anything new other than seeing two world collide when Daniel-San teams up with Rumble in the Bronx.

I thought the film was fine. It doesn't leave you with much but I'm glad I saw it. I hope the filmmakers makes a film that gives a good sendoff to the characters. I'd see it.

What Karate Kid Legends attempts is, in theory, an interesting experiment. It tries to pick up the thread left dangling at the end of Cobra Kai, while also tying it to a completely separate reboot from 2010 that never quite earned its place in the franchise. The result is a film that looks like it should have emotional weight but somehow feels like a corporate brainstorm session disguised as a sequel.

The nostalgic pull that once powered Cobra Kai is back, at least in intention. The show began with something rare, a sense of care for its legacy characters. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka were never reduced to sentimental walk-ons. They were fully fleshed-out leads, still shaped by their past but stumbling through the present with a level of emotional realism that surprised people. For a moment, it worked. The first two seasons had a charm that honored the original films without pandering. You could tell the people behind it actually loved the material.

But when Netflix stepped in for Season Three, something shifted. What began as a lean, character-driven revival turned into an overcrowded, hyperactive drama designed to feed on algorithmic success. It became more interested in spinning off plotlines and inflating rivalries than in deepening the characters it started with. The show leaned heavily on Karate Kid Part III, arguably the weakest installment of the original trilogy, and replicated its mistakes on a larger, glossier scale. What should have been emotionally intimate became bloated. Too many characters, too many arcs, and not nearly enough patience.

By the time the show ended, it was clear that the heart of Cobra Kai still resided in the performances of Macchio and Zabka, but the storytelling had been handed over to a different agenda, one that prioritized noise over nuance. The younger audience loved it, but there's a difference between engagement and emotional investment. Reddit may still be debating the motives of every secondary character, but that obsession with quantity says more about the current media landscape than it does about the story's quality.

So when Karate Kid Legends announced itself as a continuation, expectations were mixed. The decision to set the story three years after the series hinted at a deliberate effort to create space, to reset the tone and allow something new to develop. There is one well-placed cameo that acknowledges the past, but otherwise the film steers clear of the show's tangled narrative. This could have worked. The idea of Macchio returning as a mentor in a stand-alone story held potential. A full-length feature could offer emotional clarity that episodic television no longer had room for. This was a chance to return to character, to quiet moments, to storytelling with restraint.

But instead of using that opportunity, the film makes a strange and ultimately misguided decision. It chooses to merge its narrative with the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, the one starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. That film, while technically competent and commercially successful, was not a continuation of the original saga. It took the brand name, moved the story to China, and replaced karate with kung fu. Will Smith's production company had purchased the rights, and unsurprisingly, his son was cast in the lead. The film had moments of charm but lacked the emotional architecture of the original. It was a different story entirely, built on different values.

Bringing those elements into Karate Kid Legends creates a dissonance that never resolves. The new protagonist, Ali Fong, arrives in New York from China with his single mother. He is already highly skilled in kung fu, which undermines much of the tension that should come from a student's journey. The familiar beats are all here, a school setting, a love interest, a group of bullies, but they feel recycled rather than reinterpreted. When Mr. Han, played again by Jackie Chan, enters the picture, he brings warmth and screen presence, but not the emotional gravity of Mr. Miyagi. That role, once inhabited with deep humanity by Pat Morita, is impossible to replicate, and this film doesn't find a new angle on the mentor figure to justify trying.

Ralph Macchio returns as Daniel LaRusso, and as always, he treats the character with respect and dedication. He remains the connective tissue of the entire franchise. But the script gives him little to work with. He appears not as a natural evolution of the character but as a symbolic nod to nostalgia. His presence feels obligatory rather than essential. The emotional center never quite finds its balance, and what could have been a meditation on mentorship becomes a checklist of familiar tropes.

The film borrows from Cobra Kai's tone without its tighter emotional stakes. It borrows from the reboot without any real thematic bridge. The action scenes are competent but inflated. And the ending, rather than resolving anything, leaves the door open for more, as if the story has become less about telling something meaningful and more about keeping a brand alive for one more round.

This is not a terrible film. It is watchable, sometimes even entertaining. But it feels like a missed opportunity, a film made by people who knew what worked once but didn't know how to recreate it without repeating themselves. It wants to mean something. It just doesn't earn it.

Ralph Macchio, through all of this, remains a figure of sincere affection. He holds onto the character of Daniel with quiet dignity, and for many people of a certain generation, that is enough to keep watching. But if this franchise wants to move forward, it needs to stop looking sideways. The heart of The Karate Kid was never in the fights or the callbacks. It came from how seriously the story was taken. The sincerity, that created. A coming of age movie that looked the characters and the audience in the eye, is what carried this story for forty years.

KK legends, tried to do it but it got lost on the way.

Still, Ralph Macchio, if you're reading this, you'll always be the Karate Kid to me.

It was a typical boy meets girl, girl has crazy ex story but it worked well.

I liked the combination of king fu and karate and liked that they also threw in some boxing too.

Jackie chan added some humour to it which was good.

Would have liked to have seen Daniel in it more but overall I was very impressed with the movie. Wasn't sure what to expect after cobra Kai and thought they would destroy the karate kid universe with this new film but I think it stands as a good film to join the universe of Miyagi Do.

Loved the very beginning when it explains the tie between kung fu and karate and loved the end just before the credits....that was a great well thought out touch.

Still felt it would have been nice for some of the cast from cobra Kai to make a slight cameo but the film was very fast paced so not a huge amount of time I guess.

I'll deff watch it again and will deff get the blu ray to add to the collection when it comes out.

Listen, this film has it's flaws. But it does not deserve the hate it's getting right now. Is it the best karate kid movie I have watched NO. BUT it's not the worst either. People are saying this film is HEAVILY flawed. What? Did I just watch the same movie as other people YES. This film is good, just good, it has a very similar story but changed a few things which I liked not ALL of them but yeah. Yes I know they back half is rushed but we know the main character is gonna fight the villain at the end so why spend time for the climax when we know what's gonna happen?

Conclusion: Cinematography - 8 Acting - 6.5 Story - 6 Action - 10 Pacing - 6

That's my thoughts of Karate Kid : Legends.

To talk about this movie, we have to start by saying how amazing it was to see Karate and Kung Fu mixed in just the right way, creating a great film with an original story that manages to please both longtime fans and new audiences alike.

I'd also like to briefly share a personal story. Karate has been present in my family for years, and we gathered on Mother's Day to watch this movie, which made it even more special for me. We're big fans of the franchise, and I'm truly grateful for this film, which I consider just as great as its predecessors.

Speaking of the cast, the new Karate Kid, Li Fong, played by Ben Wang, proved to be a perfect casting choice. He's just as good as the previous protagonists. His story starts out similar to Dre's, but as we get to know him better, we see that it's more moving than we expected. The way he tries to move forward through martial arts is truly inspiring.

When we talk about the cast, it's impossible not to mention Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, who are now tasked with training a new Karate Kid. Seeing them together again made me incredibly happy, and they manage to captivate fans of both the original trilogy and the 2010 movie.

As for Mr. Han, it was amazing to see him again. Honestly, I'd love to learn more about how he became such a great Kung Fu teacher. His relationship with Li Fong is very special, and the story between them adds more depth to the movie than I expected.

Regarding Daniel's return-someone we've seen a lot in Cobra Kai-it's always a joy to see him back. I was genuinely happy, though I did hope he'd have more screen time. Still, seeing him again was wonderful, and especially the scenes where he and Mr. Han team up to train the new Karate Kid-those were so much fun.

About Sadie Stanley, I really liked her character and her relationship with Li Fong. It's sweet, lighthearted, and makes the audience root for them as a couple.

Joshua Jackson, who plays her father, also did a great job. His character is funny and interesting, and his scenes with Li are quite engaging. Speaking of fun characters, Wyatt Oleff's character also stands out, bringing a lot of humor and lightness to the story.

Every Karate Kid movie has had villains that make us really angry, and this one is no different. Connor, played by Aramis Knight, is a very compelling character who gets under our skin, all thanks to Aramis's excellent performance.

Regarding the story and script-it's much deeper than I expected. The way Li Fong overcomes everything is truly inspiring, especially with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso. On top of that, the fight scenes, as in every Karate Kid movie, are thrilling and incredible. All the professionals involved deserve praise.

So it's no exaggeration to say that this film is just as grand as the previous ones. It brings back nostalgic elements that longtime fans will appreciate, but also introduces fresh originality that can captivate even those who aren't fans of the franchise.

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone involved once again. I sincerely hope there will be future projects that are just as epic as this one. Thank you once again for being part of such a special moment in my life.