In the summer of ’84, movie fans met Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who showed his new young friend Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) how to use karate to handle bullies in The Karate Kid. Now, over 40 years later, the spirit and legacy of that first film are revived on the big screen in Karate Kid: Legends.
Karate Kid: Legends begins with Mr. Han (Jackie Chan, reprising his role from the 2010 remake) teaching kung fu to students at his dojo in Beijing. Han lets his nephew Li Fong (Ben Wang, American Born Chinese) practice, even though it’s against Li’s mother’s wishes. Looking for a fresh start, Li’s mom (Ming-Na Wen) moves with Li to New York City with a new rule… ”No fighting!”
Li quickly makes friends with Mia (Sadie Stanley, Cruel Summer), a neighborhood girl whose father, Victor (Joshua Jackson, Doctor Odyssey), is an ex-boxer who owns a small but popular pizzeria. Trouble quickly finds Li when Mia’s ex-boyfriend Connor Day (Aramis Knight, Into the Badlands) spots the two of them riding the subway and is filled with anger and jealousy. Connor overreacts and sucker-punches Li as he and Mia are leaving. Mia warns Li to avoid Connor because he’s an expert at karate who happens to be the current champion of the 5 Boroughs Tournament, a karate competition for big money.
Life gets more complicated for Li when he starts to fall for Mia and gets to know her dad. Li finds out that Victor is in big debt to Connor’s karate teacher/MMA trainer O’Shea (Tim Rozon, Surreal Estate) and could lose the pizzeria.
Mr. Han surprises Li and his mom by visiting unannounced. When he learns what’s troubling Li, Han advises Li that he must train to compete in the karate tournament to help Mia, Victor, and himself. Mr. Han’s aware that Li’s kung fu skills won’t be enough to defeat Connor, so he takes it on himself to get help.
Mr. Han visits Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in Los Angeles, and here’s where the big connection to the original 1984 film comes in. It turns out Han and Mr. Miyagi were friends many years ago, not long after Daniel was trained by Mr. Miyagi.
“Li means to me what you meant to Sensei Miyagi. I want Li to learn Miyagi karate,” says Han. “I’m sorry, Mr. Han, I wish I could help you,” replies Daniel. “You will,” says Mr. Han.
Daniel insists he’s not going to New York, but Mr. Han remains undaunted. “I will see you in the Big Apple,” says a cheerful Mr. Han, fully aware that Daniel won’t be able to resist helping him.
Of course, Mr. Han is right. Daniel shows up in NY, and together he and Mr. Han instruct Li on a combination of kung fu and karate that will ultimately make him the new Karate Kid.
Exceptionally well directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Karate Kid: Legends is a crowd-pleasing, classic root-for-the-underdog film that has exciting fight sequences and captures the nostalgia of the ‘80s. It’s a feel-good, audience-cheering movie.
Jackie Chan steals almost every scene he’s in as Mr. Han, the Kung Fu master who has a surprise connection to Mr. Miyagi, played by the late, great Pat Morita. Chan infuses both humor and heart into his scenes with Macchio and Wang.
Ben Wang is perfectly cast as Li, the good-natured, extremely likeable young man who is trying to make a new home for himself in New York while still struggling with guilt he feels from a recent family tragedy. Wong has a true presence on the screen and real chemistry with all his fellow cast members. He also has very impressive martial arts skills.
Another big plus is the impressive fight choreography, making it look incredibly fast but also real, except for the scene involving debt-collecting thugs in an alley. The fight scenes do not, however, surpass those in the original film, which remain legendary.
One of the few drawbacks that might have fans of the Cobra Kai series a little disappointed is that Ralph Macchio’s character doesn’t appear in the film until well into the second half. Still, Macchio owns the role of Daniel LaRusso, and to see him pair up with Jackie Chan is martial arts magic. The scenes with Daniel and Mr. Han training Li and trying to one-up each other are cinema gold.
Charming and exciting, Karate Kid: Legends stands out as the best sequel to the original film to date. Fans of The Karate Kid franchise and the Cobra Kai series will walk away entertained.
GRADE: B
Rating: PG-13 for some language and martial arts violence
Release Date: May 30, 2025
Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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