Karate Kid: Legends Review – Fun and Heartfelt

Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, and Ben Wang lead a tremendous cast in Karate Kid: Legends, which is so much fun even with weak villains.

Color me shocked, though, that director Jonathan Entwistle and writer Rob Lieber actually made a solid, if also flawed, entry into this world.

Karate Kid: Legends merges the 2010 reboot of The Karate Kid, in which Jackie Chan portrayed a Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) like figure named Mr. Han, with the original films and Cobra Kai. This new film follows a young mentee of Mr. Han (Chan) named Li Fong (Ben Wang, American Born Chinese) who moves to New York City from Beijing, China. Li’s journey mirrors that of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) but he has his own traits and bonds which appear as the narrative goes on. Yes, the fish out of water Li does meet a girl his age named Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley) and finds himself at odds with her karate champion ex Connor Day (Aramis Knight, Ms. Marvel). However, Rob Lieber does a great job of making Li more distinct from Daniel throughout. 

The character has a nice subplot with Mia’s father and pizzeria owner Victor (Joshua Jackson). This is where we see the formula for these films get turned upside down: we have the teenager Li training an adult in Victor for his upcoming boxing match, which he needs to win in order to pay off a loan shark and owner of the Demolition Mixed Martial Arts dojo, O’Shea (Tim Rozon). Wang and Jackson play off each other so well. Their characters clearly see a bit of themselves in one another despite their age difference and Jackson brings a surprising amount of emotional weight to his performance which is clear in Victor’s conversations with Li. This section of Karate Kid: Legends also eventually circles back to the main plot and helps build Li’s relationship with Mia. 

Li also strikes up a bond with another classmate and his tutor Alan (Wyatt Oleff). Viewers rarely saw Daniel build non-female friendships besides Mr. Miyagi in his trilogy of films (something Cobra Kai would rectify). Li becoming friends with Alan makes him even more relatable to audiences. Speaking of which, Ben Wang’s performance is phenomenal and incredibly genuine. He gives off such youthful energy, despite being in his 20s like Ralph Macchio was when the original Karate Kid was filmed. Wang will charm his way into your heart and get you invested in Li’s arc. His talent really shines through during the more emotional moments and his stunt work in Karate Kid: Legends. 

You feel the love he has for those close to him including Victor, Mia, his mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), his deceased brother, Bo (Yankei Ge), and of course Mr. Han and Daniel. That love is central to his tug of war over whether to fight again and Wang really sells all aspects of this character’s conflict. His facial expressions during the flashbacks to the past and notable unease when discussing Bo broke will break your heart while cementing why he has to fight. Li is doing this in part because of those close to him, but most importantly to conquer his own demons. 

What I was not expecting was Sadie Stanley turning her character Mia into such a gem. Mia naturally has some cliché qualities about her, but Stanley portrays her with a warmth that allows Mia to feel much more human. She, like Wang, is great at conveying whatever her character may be feeling. Stanley does more with less and turns Mia into someone memorable even when the character is doing something that seems simple, like learning Mandarin. 

While the retcon that connects Mr. Han to Mr. Miyagi is almost too simple, having Jackie Chan back for Karate Kid: Legends is awesome. Chan delivers his most engaged performance in years and is simply so much fun. He is a great scene partner for both Wang and Ralph Macchio. His wisdom and dramatic chops comes out whenever he shares scenes with Wang as Li, but that does not mean Chan cannot also be funny. Honestly, Mr. Han is the funniest character in the film, especially when he becomes the fast and loose shifu (master) in comparison to Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso as the more even keeled karate sensei during Li’s training for the tournament.

Even if I could have used a bit more of him, Ralph Macchio is once again superb as Daniel. He and Chan have a great dynamic from their very first scene together until the film ends and to be honest with you, I do not know if this narrative would have fully come together if their chemistry had not been there. The best comparison I can make is that Chan and Wang are terrific on their own, but Macchio is the ingredient which truly makes this martial arts dish come together.

Then you have the fights in Karate Kid: Legends, which really are great. It is even more impressive that Ben Wang did several of these stunts himself. All this action looks much better than I expected and dazzles on the big screen. Each punch and kick is energetic, with the strongest of them being able to make you both wince and shout in your seat. 

For as much good as Karate Kid: Legends features, the villains are terrible. Aramis Knight is very stiff as Connor Day, lacking any real charisma or even a truly menacing nature. When you have a talent like Ben Wang, you have to give him an antagonist who can match his various skills. It seems like Wang’s Li is only afraid of Connor because the script tells him he should be. Tim Rozon’s O’Shea is the same way, and he is supposed to be this big bad loan shark.

In a series known for iconic villains like Martin Kove’s John Kreese and Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver, I cannot believe that this film features two foes who do not have a single memorable moment or line between them. Both Knight and Rozon have given good performances in other projects, but here, they fall flat. The blame partially lies with writer Rob Lieber, who does neither actor any favors with the way he has written Connor and O’Shea, but their performances are not setting the world on fire either. 

Lieber also saddles Ming-Na Wen with a role that is not worthy of her talents in Dr. Fong. She may help push Li’s arc forward, but when you cast someone like Ming-Na Wen, she deserves more to do. It really amazes me that the actress took this minimal role at all. The one positive to her involvement is that Wen brings her A game throughout the film. 

The cast is so extraordinary that they mask nearly all of Karate Kid: Legends shortcomings and allow this narrative to be its own thing rather than getting by on nostalgic elements that viewers are familiar with. They give their characters and this story a ton of heart. So many elements of this film will linger in your mind long after the credits and almost all of them will be for good reasons. 

Karate Kid: Legends may be flawed, but its cast, including a star in the making in Ben Wang, make this franchise’s return to the big screen a welcome one. The film should satisfy fans and newcomers of all ages because it is so heartfelt and such a good time. 

Karate Kid: Legends will be released in U.S. theaters, in U.K. & Irish cinemas, and globally in theatres on May 30, 2025.