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James Mottram

2.5/5 stars
Following the success of Netflix spin-off show Cobra Kai, The Karate Kid franchise rumbles on.
The latest big-screen instalment, Karate Kid: Legends – the sixth movie since the 1984 original, which starred Ralph Macchio – is like a greatest hits compilation.
We have Macchio back as Daniel LaRusso, now living in what appears to be a shrine to Mr. Miyagi, the serene war veteran who taught him how to use martial arts to defend himself.


Jackie Chan returns as Mr. Han, previously featured in the 2010 reboot produced by Will Smith and starring his son Jaden.
Based in Beijing, Chan’s character is a revered sifu teaching kung fu to youngsters including Li Fong (Ben Wang), soon to be uprooted by his mother (Ming-Na Wen).
Once in New York, Li befriends Mia (Sadie Stanley), the daughter of a former prizefighter, Victor – played enjoyably by Joshua Jackson – who now runs a pizza parlour.
In debt to some heavies, Victor wants Li to teach him kung fu – a nice twist on the mentor-pupil dynamic. There is further intrigue when Li comes up against Mia’s ex-boyfriend, a karate prodigy named Connor (Aramis Knight).

The plot of the film, which is directed by Jonathan Entwistle, is fuelled by moments that leave the viewer incredulous. Macchio, at the behest of Han, coming all the way from LA to teach Li “Miyagi karate”, when he must take on Connor in The 5 Boroughs tournament, is a hard one to take.
There are three separate training montages, the baddies all wearing black and visuals that frequently annoy, as the camera zigzags its way through the streets of New York as if on amphetamines.
For all its flaws, however, Karate Kid: Legends has a good heart. The Mia-Li relationship is sweetly rendered, especially when their friend Alan (Wyatt Oleff) serenades them.
While Macchio is a little wooden, Chan is excellent value, especially in a kitchen fight using pots and pans as weapons; rest assured, the 71-year-old Hong Kong star still has it.

Wang is also a charming lead, and athletic enough to justify Mia calling Li “the Chinese Peter Parker” in one of the film’s more amusing gags.
The inevitable showdown on a New York rooftop looks spectacular, although it is a pity most of the fights have an unfortunate video-game aesthetic. Graphics are intercut between the moves and, as if to labour the point, there is even a poster for Tekken 8 on a subway train.
Somehow, Karate Kid: Legends has enough to keep you watching, even if it’s a case of too many legends spoiling the broth. In truth, it desperately misses the LaRusso-Miyagi relationship that powered the original movie to glory.
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Jackie Chan shows he still has it, Ben Wang makes a charming lead, but despite Ralph Macchio’s return the Miyagi-LaRusso dynamic is missing


Jackie Chan shows he still has it, Ben Wang makes a charming lead, but despite Ralph Macchio’s return the Miyagi-LaRusso dynamic is missing.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Jackie Chan shows he still has it, Ben Wang makes a charming lead, but despite Ralph Macchio’s return the Miyagi-LaRusso dynamic is missing

Jackie Chan shows he still has it, Ben Wang makes a charming lead, but despite Ralph Macchio’s return the Miyagi-LaRusso dynamic is missing