Quick Synopsis: It’s a Karate Kid movie, can you not guess the plot?

Everything I knew about the Karate Kid franchise before I watched this movie:

• There are at least 2 movies called The Karate Kid starring Ralph Macchio, one starring Will Smith’s kid, and a TV series.

• He won with a kick to the fucking face.

• Sweep the leg!

So it was a risky choice to go see Karate Kid: Legends (KK: L, pronounced Ka-kool) at the cinema when you consider that a lot of the hype was based around “here’s something that links both the Karate Kid timelines”. There was a chance it would be full of references I wouldn’t get, characters I had no knowledge of, etc, that I’d be lost in a sea of references without a paddle. Truth be told, I only went to see this because there was a Secret Screening at 7:30 and I don’t like walking down to the cinema that late, so I thought I’d see another film beforehand so I can get there early.

I’m very glad I watched this. As I said, I have no idea what the previous films/series are like, so I can’t compare (although I am watching the first one right now, and I am spotting similarities). But on its own? It works. There’s zero continuity lockout; you can watch this knowing nothing and still grasp what’s going on. It does a great job of showing who these characters are, but not taking so long to do it that its retreading what fans of the franchise already know. It explains the concepts in an audience-friendly way. It reminds me of playing a Super Mario game, you are shown new things without you even realising it.

This won’t win any “best film of 2025” awards, but it’s incredibly competent. The performances are what they need. Jackie Chan is still one of the best physical comedic performers in cinema. The presence of Joshua Jackson reminds you of the harsh realities of aging, but he is so damn good in it. Ben Wang could lead the franchise if they wanted to make more. I particularly liked his chemistry with Sadie Stanley (previously seen in The Goldbergs, which is a fun series to watch). The script pairs them together waaaaay too quickly, which could come off as fake, but the two have a natural chemistry, which does help make it believable.

The fights themselves are average. But they do also lead to a lowlight of the film. There’s a moment where Macchio and Chan fight to help Li Fong. It should be epic, it should be monumental. But it’s shot so poorly that it’s kind of difficult to figure out what’s going on. It’s not a bad scene by any stretch, but it doesn’t live up to expectations at all.

On a plus side, production-wise, the music is brilliant. The choices, the way they’re used, etc, really sell the location. It doesn’t go with the obvious picks, but it somehow feels New York, the music has an energy, it’s the sound of a bustling city that never sleeps.

At the time of writing, KK: L has a bafflingly low RT score of 53%. I don’t get that. I watched three films that day, and this was the best one. It was genuinely hilarious at times, so I’m not sure what else these reviewers were looking for. It’s the fourth or fifth (I can’t be bothered to check) movie in a franchise I’ve never watched, and I still enjoyed it. That alone demonstrates the quality of this.