Karate Kid: Legends is the sixth film in the Karate Kid, serving as a continuation of 2010’s The Karate Kid and the Cobra Kai television series. From director Jonathan Entwistle & writer Rob Lieber, the film stars Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Wyatt Oleff, Aramis Knight, and Ralph Macchio. After moving to New York City with his mother, kung fu prodigy Li Fong struggles to let go of the past as he tries to fit in with new classmates. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition with help from Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso.

Aside from 2010’s The Karate Kid, I had not seen anything related to the franchise until I started watching Cobra Kai this time last year. One of my favorite content creators started talking about it, so I decided to check it out for myself. After getting caught up, I then watched the movie. My approach may have been unusual, but I loved the start to the Netflix series as it tried to turn Johnny Lawrence into the hero. Now that the series is over, I was very excited to see this franchise expand into a bigger world. After seeing the new film, I feel like I should have tempered some of the high expectations I had.

To get the pros out of the way, Ben Wang was a perfect fit for the film. He is completely innocent here. His character comes with a lot of maturity that sets him apart from any other young character in the franchise. That can also come with some baggage as his journey into what he is now feels lost. He already has a lot of experience that honestly didn’t feel like he needed additional training. Bringing his mentor, Mr. Han, and Daniel LaRusso together feels cheap in the end, especially when you realize what the film is really about.

What this film is really about feels like a disservice to what could have been and what we were promised when this was first announced. Based on what happens in the film and what we learn, it would have been awesome to see this story take a different direction by showing Li Fong take his vengeance on those who killed someone close to him. Instead, we get a somewhat similar formula where he moves to a new place and likes a girl there, except this time, the film’s first half is dedicated to him fighting loan sharks and training Joshua Jackson’s character. I’m not kidding.

I initially did not know Joshua Jackson was going to be in this. I was a little annoyed at first, because I genuinely don’t like his acting. I rarely don’t like actors acting. At the end of the day, they are just trying to work to make money just like everyone else here. I have always found his talents to be not genuine at all, and the same is presented here. Getting to see Li Fong fight his way through these criminals offers some exciting action set pieces. When he starts training Joshua Jackson’s character, a former boxer, I just checked out.

This plot dedicated to Joshua Jackson takes up half of a film that is already short at 94 minutes. When Jackie Chan comes back as Mr. Han after being quickly introduced in the beginning, that’s when the film comes back to life and does exactly what it should have done in the first place. By bringing Mr. Han & Daniel LaRusso together, the film could have deepened the lore this franchise brings. Even though Li Fong is a seasoned fighter, he still needs help from Mr. Han, but Mr. Han feels like he still can’t do train him alone. He flies out to the other side of the country to try to recruit LaRusso in what could have just been a Skype meeting. Placing LaRusso into this story was not needed at all. His character flying out to New York to train makes zero sense. This plot is just illogical from start to finish.

As mentioned, this film is incredibly short at 94 minutes. That’s ridiculous and uncalled for. The last half of this movie flies through montage after montage when it could have slowed down to focus on these two legends of the story. There’s a reason the film doesn’t promote Joshua Jackson’s story. The film focuses more on that and less on Chan & Macchio. Their presence feels like fan service, but there’s too little of it to feel justified. The writing does way too much overthinking and not enough creativity that makes use of these legendary characters.

Lastly, this film has way too many unrealistic plot points that are meant to be more callbacks rather than creating something new. If you are not familiar with this franchise at all, I could see the newer generation enjoying it for what it is. The problem is that I believed it when all of these random people showed up to these tournaments, because you could understand the importance in this world. Here, people just show up on skyscrapers for these tournaments. Not only does it seem dangerous, but why do all of these people care. I just don’t buy it. The film wants to callback to the originals so bad when it could have been more grounded in today’s world. Make it feel like something more people can relate and connect with.

Overall, Karate Kid: Legends is okay for what it is and it could have been a lot worse, but it is a huge misfire and disappointment for a new fan like myself. This franchise works best when it’s attempting to go in a new direction. Instead, this one tries to do that and offers nothing new or exciting. Even though this could have been a lot better, I’ll still appreciate some of the better offerings that has spawned out of this franchise.

VERDICT: 2.5/5 (Okay)