- Date of Release: 30 May 2025
- Genre: Action, Drama, Sports
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Karate Kid: Legends
Introduction
In a scene in the English show The Studio, you have the character of Matt pondering on the selection of a director for his new film, which itself was a remake of a particular film. Ironically, the new English film Karate Kid: Legends falls in this exact same category. Traditionally, you could call the Karate Kid franchise to be a direct spin-off to the Rocky franchise where the underdog character remains the same but boxing is replaced by Karate (or Kung Fu). But what do you even say when the same story is repeated in the name of a fresh film, while serving even staler ingredients in the name of a delicious dish. If Karate Kid Legends was a boxer, it wouldn’t take long enough to pin him down, or alternately even have a knockout because the film itself is pretentious. It aspires to be a Jackie Chan film but is under-threat of being knocked down even by a kindergarden kid, in the wake of some shoddy filmmaking, shoddy editing, and worst of the lot, shoddy writing!
Story & Screenplay
If you still care, Karate Kid Legends follows the story of Li Fong (Ben Wang) who has to relocate from Beijing to New York with his mother, in order to start a new life. And like the films of this franchise tell you, new life equates to new obstacles, and new obstacles are generally in the form of losers who wish to take on the protagonist. The basic mistake with regards to the writing is that it is hell-bent on going from zero to one hundred in a matter of minutes (or a few scenes), a theme that is woefully repeated throughout the film. So while Li Fong starts to acquaint himself in the new city, you see him stumble upon a pizza shop owned by Victor (Joshua Jackson) and his teenage daughter Mia (Sadie Stanley). And BOOM! Instantly, there is a connection brewing between Li and Mia, a sequence reminiscent of so many Hindi film from the 90s where the couple exchange glances, fall in love and instantly break into a song. Yes, there is no song here because English films are never ‘That’ imaginative, but the mediocrity thrives in both industries at the moment!
The writing follows a stereotypical trope here – where there is love, there will also be a third wheel in the form of an a*shole who would automatically classify as a nemesis for the protagonist. Here, the symbol of toxic masculinity is Conor (Aramis Knight) who is a tried ‘karate kid’ himself. And herein lies the worst creative decision – Li Fong knows Kung Fu and exhibits his moves, although unsuccessfully. The core of an underdog story lies with the ability of ‘underdog’ to be deprived of any superpowers, only for him to work his way up and in turn, have a connect with the viewers. But the impact is halved instantly here because the protagonist is familiar with the craft, leaving him room just to hone the skills.
On a side note, the ability of the protagonist to adapt to the language in a new city, felt far too artificial and eerily convenient. The protagonist seemed to be straight out of the Didi (2024) movie, while giving an impression that he has stayed in the city for a while. And so, the idea of examining the cross-cultural significance of the drama, which played such a big part in the earlier films of the franchise and also the show Cobra Kai, is immediately dismissive here, even while trying to cram in a lot of information in the runtime of 95 minutes. There is even a subplot of PTSD that the protagonist suffers from, following the death of his brother, but the pain and angst never quite make it to the screenplay in an impactful manner.
One interesting little subplot included Li Fong mentoring Victor, just so that the latter gets back to fighting his way through the debt. Honestly, this little passage of play did spark a sense of hope in me that perhaps the film indeed had something new to offer. But then like every subplot in the film, my hope was short lived even as Victor is knocked out and Li Fong sucked as a mentor! In films belonging to the franchise, there is always room created to infuse a sense of nostalgia, irrespective of whether the film requires it or not. Here, the nostalgia is in the form of two characters – Mr Han (Jackie Chan; how can you possibly go wrong with him in a film?) and LuRusso (Ralph Macchio; shows you how long and unending this franchise has actually been).
The writing tries to infuse moments of laughter at the most inappropriate places possible that reminded me of the blunder of an underdog film Chandni Chowk To China (2009). The moments during the training needed to be far more intense with no room for frivolous moments, but the writing clearly thought to disagree. The idea of gearing Li Fong for a bout in the ‘most dangerous’ Karate competition was itself a far-fetched idea – and I couldn’t bring myself up to think that LuRusso and Mr Han would train Li enough in just a week’s time. And this is also when the drama felt like a Youtube video moving in 2X speed – it goes from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds with Li winning the bouts and setting up his ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ clash with Conor ‘Shekhar Malhotra’ Day. And the finale is so lame and tiring, that I actually gave up on the film altogether. And this sums up the screenplay that is poorly penned and thrives in the sea of mediocrity, in yet another IP-driven Hollywood outing.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
Even the dialogues aren’t spared from the ‘Rocky’ influence, even as you see Jackie Chan giving a Rocky speech to pump up Li, in the lamest way possible. The BGM is hardly inspiring, doing nothing to elevate the drama at any given point. The action choreography is good but honestly, I expected more here. The cinematography comprises of frames that are so poorly stitched, that they lack the flair or imagination for a sports drama. The worst technical aspect of the narrative is reserved for the editing that is piss-poor! In a fast moving sports film, you expect longer takes that would translate into several moments of awe. But the patchy editing has so many jump cuts, and frequently shifting POVs in between the fights that the impact is not only flattened but outright atrocious! Director Jonathan Entwistle misses the mark here by a countrymile. The direction is so poor that it even convolutes a basic plot here, without accounting for any high moments in the screenplay. Neither the world building nor the characterization are impressive, and the wow moments of the drama are non-existent even during the Karate scenes. This will probably go down as the worst pieces of direction that I have come across in recent times, simply from the point of view of the plot that was utterly basic to execute in the first place!
Performances
The performances are just mid by the members of the cast. Ming-Na Wen as Li Fong’s mother is alright but has very little to do. Sadie Stanley as Mia looks pretty and has a good screen presence but simply disappears in the second hour. Aramis Knight as Conor is a character designed on a single note of having to oppose Li while massaging his superiority complex. Jackie Chan as Mr Han and Ralph Macchio as LaRusso are used as mere tools of nostalgia, and utterly wasted. Joshua Jackson as Victor is infectious with his onscreen personality and definitely manages to leave a mark despite not quite having a character arc to boast of. Ben Wang as Li Fong is just about decent here wherein his performance never rises above the script. The layers tagged to his character never quite find their way to the script, while Ben doesn’t hold shape in terms of the pain and angst of his character. Even the combat sequence seems a bit flat, thereby summing up his performance that was underpar.
Conclusion
Karate Kid: Legends is a shoddy sequel featuring shoddy filmmaking and shoddy writing submerged in a shoddy sea of mediocrity that is now officially the new pandemic in Hollywood too! Available in a theatre near you.