Karate Kid: Legends Is a Fresh and Fun Take on a Familiar Story
I have to confess: I was fully prepared to be disappointed with Karate Kid: Legends. As an '80s kid who watched Karate Kid in the cinemas and crane-kicked in classrooms, I wasn’t a fan of the 2010 reboot with Jackie Chan, which, although not a bad film, felt like it simply shouldn’t have been called ‘Karate’ Kid when Kung Fu Kid would’ve been more appropriate. It felt disrespectful to the martial art of karate and seemed to disregard (what was then) a four-film franchise’s legacy by not having any ties at all to the old films. Karate Kid: Legends changes all that by not only making the 2010 movie with Jaden Smith canon, but it also directly connects to the popular Netflix series Cobra Kai that started on YouTube.
To say that I wasn’t disappointed is an understatement. I came in with low expectations as a Karate Kid fan and came out of the theater with a grin and a renewed love for a franchise that manages to keep doing new things with old tropes. The film opens with a scene taken directly from Karate Kid 2, where Mr. Miyagi (the late, legendary Pat Morita) tells the tale of how Shimpo Sensei, the first Miyagi to bring karate to Okinawa, drunkenly got waylaid during a fishing trip to China, where he learned kung fu. The film retcons this scene by adding the story of how karate is a direct offshoot of kung fu and that Miyagi and Han Shifu (Jackie Chan) are old friends. In Karate Kid 2, this exchange is absent, and Mr. Miyagi pulls out a den-den daiko, a little Japanese drum toy, and talks about Miyagi karate. It’s an extremely well-done retcon that’s both respectful and remarkably accurate, as karate actually developed from kung fu.
Jackie Chan and Ben Wang in 'Karate Kid: Legends' (2025)
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The film has all the elements of a Karate Kid story—a young protagonist, Li (Ben Wang); a love interest, Mia (Sadie Stanley); an arrogant bully, Connor (Aramis Knight); a wise, affable master (Jackie Chan); and a martial arts tournament where it all comes to a thrilling climax. But Legends puts a few twists on a tried-and-tested formula that keeps the story fresh, such as a student becoming the master or when one master becomes two. Pat Morita passed away almost 20 years ago, so the role of the master falls to his beloved student Daniel, played by the equally iconic Ralph Macchio, whose appearance in the film officially establishes the 2010 reboot as part of the same Karate Kid universe.
Ben Wang as Li, Jackie Chan sa the master, and Ralph Macchio as Danny LaRusso
Legends also subtly introduces the line, “everything is kung fu,” the way Mr. Miyagi made everything, even ordinary chores, karate. I can’t tell you how many times I was excited to clean our windows with the wax on, wax off motion, or how I pretended that shining our floors with a bunot or coconut husk with a repetitive back and forth motion was training for karate kicks. The title may be Karate Kid, but since karate is just an offshoot of kung fu, everything is kung fu, setting the stage for fancier, more dynamic martial arts sequences in future stories. The element of using everyday activities as part of training is in Legends, in this case making pizza, but it doesn’t spend too much time with it the same way the 1984 original or the 2010 reboot does, because viewers already know what it represents.
Legends pays homage to the Karate Kid legacy without pandering to fans. It includes just enough familiar elements to satisfy old fans, but it’s clear that Legends is forging a new path forward. It’s definitely not Cobra Kai. The Netflix series milked nostalgia for all its worth over six, hugely popular seasons, and the series finale aired last February. Character arcs, new and old, came to an end, and Danny LaRusso’s and Johnny Lawrence’s (William Zabka) story, which began in 198,4 came to a satisfying close. Legends is a new chapter in the whole saga, and it has all the right things going for it.
The Shanghai-born Wang is the first Asian lead character in a Karate Kid story and unlike Macchio or Smith, is actually proficient in several martial arts, including taekwondo and kenpo in addition to karate and kung fu. Wang portrays Li with a confident charm that plays off very well against Stanley’s well-adjusted and responsible Mia. The two have youthful energy and chemistry that, should the franchise stop treating love interests like a sushi carousel, lays a solid foundation for possible future stories. Legends has such a remarkably good supporting cast that Li and Mia’s or even Han Shifu and Li’s relationships are only part of what makes the film work so well. Joshua Jackson is a pleasant surprise as Mia’s dad, Victor, a former boxing champ who now runs an Italian pizzeria. Li and Victor’s relationship is an unexpected twist on a familiar trope, and it’s just one of the ways Legends manages to surprise audiences. Even Alan (Wyatt Oleff), Li’s tutor, contributes to the story with such a small yet endearing role. Legends moves beyond the usual focus on the relationship between master and student and establishes the hero as belonging to a greater whole.
Joshua Jackson and Ben Wang
The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai stories are set in California and have always exuded a West Coast vibe. Legends is set in New York and immediately feels very different from the sunny and spacious San Fernando Valley. Instead of bright sun and palm trees, Li is cramped in by buildings and the singular bustle of New York; instead of the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Li joins the battle of the Five Boroughs. The editing is snappy, punctuated by graffiti-inspired graphics and video game sounds.
Legends has all the elements of a Karate Kid story without being beholden to tradition. This is a new Karate Kid for a new generation—light, feel-good fare with a capable lead, interesting supporting characters, and a story with nods to the past and an eye towards the future.
