Karate Kid: Legends Review

A fun return for the franchise, but not without its flaws.

Credit: Sony Pictures

As someone who’s seen both the original Karate Kid and the 2010 remake, I came into Karate Kid: Legends with reasonable expectations. I haven’t seen Cobra Kai and I’m not a die hard fan, but I do have a fondness for the franchise and the underdog story it represents. In that sense, Legends tries to check all those boxes, but has the potential to be much better.

Let’s start with what works. Ben Wang, playing Li Fong, is a charming lead. He brings physical credibility to the role and he’s likable enough to carry the movie even when the script gives him little support. Overall, his performance feels genuine, even when the motivations surrounding him feel rushed.

The martial arts sequences are fun to watch. There’s clearly some care put into the choreography, especially during the The 5 Boroughs Tournament. That tournament also had a colorful palette, with animation that call to mind Street Fighter aesthetics (nice touch, considering Ming-Na Wen — Chun-Li in the 1994 adaptation — plays Li Fong’s mother here, whether intentional or not).

The movie looks good, too. Jonathan Entwistle brings energy into his direction, though his overuse of stylized editing (e.g. split screens, comic book wipes) gets distracting.

The biggest issue is that Karate Kid: Legends tries to do way too much in way too little time. At a brisk runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes (shorter than any other entry in the franchise), the film burns through its plot beats at breakneck speed. And that means nothing has time to land emotionally.

Fong’s central motivation is supposed to stem from the tragic death of his older brother, a kung fu idol he once looked up to, but the film never slows down long enough for us to process that. The brother is mentioned briefly, shown sporadically in flashbacks, then sidelined in favor of comedy. You can tell the film wants to hit that emotional note, but it keeps undercutting itself with quippy lines or montages before it can. As a result, Fong’s motivation feels hollow.

Then there’s his mother, who’s supposed to be the main force of resistance to Fong continuing his martial arts path, and she’s barely in the film. We’re told she disapproves, we see a scene or two of her worrying, but there’s not enough conflict between them for her opposition to feel meaningful.

I cannot stress this enough: Character arcs and major decisions are often jammed in between montages. In fact, there are so many montages that they stop feeling like moments of development and start feeling like shortcuts.

Worse still, the film seems afraid of its own franchise. While it features Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, they barely show up until past the halfway point. Their interactions (which are easily the best parts of the film) aren’t used enough. It’s baffling that the two most iconic characters are used so sparingly. If this is supposed to be a passing-the-torch film, then why does it feel like the torch is being passed while it’s not burning?

There are glimpses of set pieces and scenes that could’ve been great with more time. A festival is set up in dialogue, only to vanish after one brief scene, the tournament looks cool but skips over most of the actual matches, and characters like Victor (Joshua Jackson) — a washed-up ex-boxer who runs a pizza shop — are introduced with promise but end up feeling like afterthoughts. His mini training arc feels both unnecessary and undercooked, which is kind of the movie in a nutshell.

In the end, Karate Kid: Legends isn’t great, but it’s not without charm. The actors are likable, kids will stay entertained throughout, and adults will find it nostalgic.

The movie suffers most from what it lacks: time and patience. I think if it had just 20–30 more minutes to flesh things out, I would’ve liked it a lot more.

I do believe there’s something here worth building on. I’d even be open to a sequel, if they take the time to tell the story properly.

**Final Verdict: 5.5/10 **Karate Kid: Legends is a rushed but watchable summer flick that has its charming moments.