Karate Kid: Legends is a movie that came out of nowhere.
Not necessarily in the sense that nobody saw it coming because we’ve already had a couple trailers for it and I’ve even commented on the film a couple times… but rather in the sense that a couple weeks ago, a buddy invited me to join them and some pals to watch the new Karate Kid movie and my immediate reaction was “What new Karate Kid movie?”
Yes, despite having made a mention of this thing once or twice on this blog, the news that this movie was out in theaters threw me by surprise. Regardless, though, I said sure. They were kind enough to pay for all the tickets while I offered some drinks from the concessions which may have cost more than the tickets, but I digress. So after having seen this movie, what were my initial impressions of Karate Kid Legends?
Meh.
So I should provide some context here. I never saw the Karate Kid movies growing up. I’ve heard of them, I knew of them, and I knew some of the one-liners, notable moments, and noteworthy songs, but it wouldn’t be until years later that I’d actually get around to seeing these things. My first exposure to anything Karate Kid was through Cobra Kai – the revival series that began on Youtube and migrated over to Netflix. I enjoyed that series – you can read about that here – and at some point, decided to buy a DVD bundle with the Karate Kids movies before they eventually popped up on Netflix one time (they are no longer there… unless you wanted to watch the remade version with Jackie Chan, Will Smith’s kid, and no karate whatsoever.)
Long story short – I liked the first film, I kinda liked the second film a little better, I didn’t mind the third film even if it felt like a rehash of the first, and the one with Hilary Swank… that’s a tough one, actually. I like bits of it, but it feels like its own thing. And then there’s the Jackie Chan one… which feels like another rehash, but with different characters and disciplines. It’s worth noting that the last two films of this package are never touched upon by Cobra Kai, but Karate Kid Legends adopts Jackie Chan’s Master Han character from that film and teams him up with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso to teach this new kid (Ben Wong) a hybrid of both their styles.
Once again, The Next Karate Kid… is still waiting in line to be the next Karate Kid… probably never gonna happen now, is it? Oh well… moving on.
The issue that I have with this new Karate Kid movie – and something that has unfortunately plagued previous Karate Kid sequels – is that we’ve seen this all before. New kid gets bullied, learns some karate, partakes in a tournament, wins the whole thing while overcoming the main bully. It’s a story that we’ve seen countless times in this franchise and to have another variation of that is just… whatever.
Also, the premise of the two veteran masters teaching kid their styles so he could combine them to create his own hybrid fighting style? Sure, that’s actually quite different… if we didn’t already have six seasons worth of Cobra Kai to basically tell us that story… multiple times.
I don’t want to complete write off Legends as a bad movie or anything of the sort because the first half of the film when we get to know Ben Wong’s character, Li, is actually pretty good. Having the kid not do karate because that’s what cost his brother his life and trying to not resort to that despite being bullied around and helping out a guy with his boxing in exchange for a job at a pizza place… is a slightly different take from the usual business in a sort of Next Karate Kid way. Ben Wong does a good job in making this kid seem believable and sympathetic to the degree that we want to see him do well. Even the side characters came across as solid.
It’s just once you get to the point where Mr. Han and Mr. LaRusso get together to teach this kid and prep him for another tournament conveniently taking place is where this starts to feel like a completely superfluous entry in the franchise. I’d have to imagine that in some alternate reality where Cobra Kai was never a thing, the idea of Karate Kid: Legends would probably be greeted with greater appreciation and acceptance. But as it is, this is a generally average film that’s retreading on territory explored multiple times by this franchise in the past and if Legends had anything new – and I mean, genuinely new – to offer to the table, it’d be one thing. Sadly, that’s not the case.
Not worth the sake bomb.
dtm666 