Karate Kid: Legends

Only the final scene with Johnny (after the fight) was good. The rest felt like a long cinematic from a Need for Speed game. Too rushed, too irrational, too obious and boring, too... American.

A weak scenario, with chinese people speaking English between them - so the brain of the average American viewer doesn't get overwhelmed, listening to a foreign language for more than 10 minutes.

Cliché scenes, typical disney-channel-like smart-ass dialogues, leading to an emotianlly weak, typical "I'm proud of you" moment.

If you are over 13 years old, don't waste your time with it. Watch the original one instead!

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.

Karate Kid: Legends might be the only movie with such a rushed pacing that i still end up recommending, i completely understand why some people might not enjoy it, the pacing really is all over the place, and the story editing moves way too fast, but despite that, Ben Wang, Sadie Stanley, and the rest of the cast brought enough charm and authenticity to their characters that i found myself liking them in a surprisingly short amount of time.

And yes i was desperate with the movie when they trying to get Daniel finally on the screen, but when the time comes, it's a great relief, also lifted by the spark Jackie Chan brought to the film, his portrayal felt like another version of Mr. Han, not quite the same one who trained Jaden Smith in the 2010 Karate Kid remake, but still recognizably Jackie, wise, quirky, and effortlessly entertaining.

Ralph Macchio return as Daniel was brief, but enjoyable enough, there's a fun, short-lived chemistry between him and Jackie Chan, and that alone made parts of the movie worth watching, if only the film had taken a bit more time to develop its story and give these likeable characters more room to breathe, it could've been something really special.

The fighting sequences and choreography are exciting, charismatic, energetic, and fun, there are some genuinely funny moments too, and a fun surprise at the end that left me smiling.

Yes, it's incredibly rushed, and especially after watching the whole saga of Cobra Kai, what a weird timeline and little visit Daniel had during this whole movie, but in the end, i had fun, and maybe even more on a rewatch.

This Karate Kid movie is OKAY but unfortunately, the writers just went with the most classic combination of clichés, some examples without spoilers, just what you can see in the trailer:

-boy moves to a new city -boy is bullied -boy meets girl -girl loves boy -bully is the main boss

Yet, the movie manages itself to not be annoying and extense. The pace is certainly fast, but I insist, there's no character development because everything is just too obvious from the very beginning.

There are some Artificial Intelligence effects involved which really surprised me. This is just getting better and who knows? We might see a spin-off of a young Miyagi sensei one day haha.

All in all, I kinda enjoyed Karate Kid: Legends even though it was one of the most obvious storylines I watched.

PS: The best scene will come just before the credits. Trust me.

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.