Don Reviews "Karate Kid: Legends"

It is in the summer of 1984, and I am in Pittsburgh for the summer vacation watching a new film called The Karate Kid.  That film that stuck out for me because is was the first film I remember seeing in the theaters where the whole audience was clapping and cheering at the end.  IT worked because it had that special mix where every type of emotion landed successfully.  But can that happen again with Karate Kid: Legends?

Jonathan Entwistle directs a big screen project for the first time and does so with Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Aramis Knight, Sadie Stanley, Joshua Jackson, Ming-Na Wen and Ralph Macchio.  This time around, Li Fong (Wang) and his mother have just moved to New York from China for her work as a doctor.  Li is having a hard time fitting in but starts a relationship with Mia (Stanley), who works at a local pizza restaurant but also has do deal with her ex in Conor (Knight). Li is a former student of Mr. Han (Chan), who ends up coming to fixit and help Li in more ways than one with some help from across the country.

Both New York and China are shown in a good way here, with some great images and filming angles in many of the fight scenes, even though they do over-glorify and “showbiz up” a lot of it which really tests its suspension of disbelief.  The cast does a good job, but no one really stood out for me.

From a story standpoint, Karate Kid: Legends has the same basic plot from the original film of a kid moving to a new location and having trouble fitting in, finding a new relationship, and having issues with her ex.  But here is the thing: it just doesn’t measure up to its predecessor.  They tried adding cheap emotions of nostalgia but does not capture the magic of the original.  If there is a good point here, it is that there was a good mix of the drama and comedy, but not enough for me to recommend to only be watched on a cable channel from home.