Yup, another new release I didn’t see the weekend it opened because my girlfriend wanted to see it. Now, honestly, I am not the biggest Karate Kid fan. I saw the original two way back when, but none of the other movies after that. I likewise haven’t seen and don’t really have any interest in Cobra Kai. That could change, I suppose, but in the meantime, here’s Karate Kid Legends, a movie that links the old movies with Ralph Macchio and the late Pat Morita, and the remake thing that had Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith which I guess now is not a remake but a spin-off? Or something?
I don’t know. I’ll have to decide between the John Wick spinoff and the Wes Anderson movie tomorrow.
Young Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a kung fu enthusiast living in Beijing and training in the school run by his uncle Mr. Han (Chan). Due to a tragedy involving his older brother’s death, Li’s mother (Ming Na-Wen) doesn’t want her son doing anything involving fighting, and as she is a doctor, she decides to take a new job in New York City, moving herself an Li halfway across the world. Not long after arriving, Li befriends Mia (Sadie Stanley), the daughter of a former boxer-turned-pizzeria owner, Vic (Joshua Jackson), who owes some money to a local loan shark (Tim Rozon), who also runs the dojo where Mia’s ex-boyfriend Conor (Aramis Knight) trains. Conor is the multi-year winner of a city-wide martial arts tournament that may or may not be an underground thing (it’s a little hazy on that point).
It isn’t long before Li takes to training Vic as Vic, to get the money to pay off his debts opts to go back to the ring. Due to complications, Han comes to New York and feels the best thing for Li would be for him to enter the martial arts tournament and win, and to get additional help, Han recruits Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) to help train Li because of connections between Han and the late Mr. Miyagi. Can Daniel and Han get Li to the point where he can win the tournament?
There’s this longstanding practice in Hollywood to repurpose original scripts into sequels for other movies. I don’t have any proof that Karate Kid Legends started off that way, but it sure does feel like it did. Chan’s Han disappears for long stretches, and much of the first half or so of the movie deals with Li and his budding romance with Mia as he and Vic train for the boxing ring, all while his mother wants him to prep for the SAT. Conor is off scowling and being a general asshole, but the movie doesn’t seem a whole lot like a Karate Kid movie. It feels like a different movie, and quite frankly, it was a charming movie. Wang is a charismatic lead here, and he and Stanley have some good chemistry.
That actually means the stuff that was the whole point of the movie–the LaRusso/Han training of Li for a big tournament–is less effective. I don’t think the movie gains or loses anything for having Macchio in it. He doesn’t appear for a good chunk of the movie, and his role is not as vital as it could be. I did enjoy the way Macchio and Chan’s characters locked horns in the best ways to train Li, but it wasn’t as much fun as the first half or so. It just feels like two movies grafted together, and while I had fun, that doesn’t shake that feeling that it maybe wasn’t always a Karate Kid movie.
Grade: B
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