Karate Kid: Legends (2025) is directed by Jonathan Entwistle and written by Rob Lieber. It stars Ben Wang, Sadie Stanley, Jackie Chan, Joshua Jackson, Ralph Macchio, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff, Tim Rozon, Oscar Ge, and Shaunette Renee Wilson. The film follows teenager Li Fong (Wang), a kung-fu prodigy who relocates from Beijing to New York City. After befriending local pizza shop owner Victor Lipani (Jackson) and his daughter, Mia (Stanley), Li is targeted by a local karate champion (Knight) and his loan shark father (Rozon). When the situation escalates, Li decides to enter a local karate tournament to pay off Victor’s debt. Realizing his kung-fu skills aren’t nearly enough, he seeks training from his old mentor, Mr. Han (Chan). In need of further aid, Han recruits Miyagi-Do sensei Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), but the two begin to clash over their very different training philosophies. Together, these three martial arts “legends” are forced to find common ground so they can prove once again that good triumphs over evil.

As the new ‘Karate Kid,’ Ben Wang effortlessly embodies the franchise’s tradition of featuring a charismatic, fish-out-of-water protagonist. He capably executes the action’s complex choreography and remains likable without sacrificing the less appealing aspects of teenage behavior. The tragic backstory involving his older brother isn’t particularly original, but it’s effective in that “tried and true/if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of way. The problem is, other than being an immigrant, there’s not a lot about Li that defines him as an underdog. He’s already a martial arts prodigy, speaks perfect English, and immediately woos the girl of his dreams. We still want to see him succeed, but that outcome never feels unlikely. In other words, his wins never feel like upsets, which is far less surprising, and therefore much less exciting. 

Thankfully, this underdog element is maintained through Joshua Jackson’s character, an indebted pizza shop owner and former boxer who seeks Li’s training so he can recapture his former glory. This is a fun subversion of the franchise’s typical student-teacher dynamic, but it ultimately feels unnecessary. It just strips a layer away from Li’s characterization, making him less complex in service of creating a character who’s fun (primarily due to Jackson’s performance), but painfully one-note. 

The two returning legacy characters are the main draw for franchise fans, and their inclusion is satisfying, but surface-level. Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han character receives the much more substantial role, which may disappoint some fans when considering this is coming off the heels of the mega-popular streaming series, Cobra Kai (2018-2025). That being said, I think it’s a wise long-term choice for the franchise. Taking time to reintroduce Han, separate from the established Karate Kid mythos/characters, helps to make his eventual integration feel much more natural. By the time Daniel (who essentially represents the larger Karate Kid universe) shows up, it’s easy to forgive the retconning this integration requires because it’s something we want. For example, the newest season of Dexter somewhat lazily retcons its protagonist’s death at the end of its previous season, which ultimately works because fans never wanted the character to die in the first place. Han and LaRusso working together doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’s cool, so I don’t care much about the lack of logic. 

Unfortunately, this results in Daniel’s inclusion feeling more like an obligation than an integral part of the story. It’s as if they’re taking universe-building lessons from the MCU, a formula in itself that’s beginning to feel stale. He only serves to connect the film to the overarching mythos, but isn’t developed as a character. It’s always risky to grow and ultimately change such a beloved franchise lead, but leaving them stagnant for too long is the antithesis of what makes a compelling character. I refer to it as “The Luke Skywalker dilemma.” Keeping the character the same might satisfy fans in the short term, but they eventually become stale. Developing the character in unexpected ways makes them more dynamic in the long term, but often sacrifices what we fell in love with in the first place. His inclusion is effective fan service, but that’s about it. I’m glad he’s present, but I wish his presence were more meaningful.

Other than successfully folding the “remake” into the larger Karate Kid universe, the film is essentially just a formulaic entry in the franchise. The only changes are surface-level, ultimately meaningless subversions of the typical formula, essentially offering the same themes we’ve seen throughout the franchise. Nearly every cliche story beat is present, cheesy teen romance and all. 

This cliche formula would be easier to forgive if the final product were more tightly wound, but it features far too many instances of inconsistent logic and tone. For example, there’s one scene in which Han (who’s close with both Li and his mother) travels to New York to visit Li, but for some reason breaks into their apartment, refuses to reveal his identity, and proceeds to attack Li. Why not, ya know, call? Or knock, maybe? How about not attacking someone violently for no reason? 

Like Cobra Kai, the characters solve their problems with karate to a hilarious, almost cartoonish extent. The fights are hyper-stylized in a way that suggests superhuman abilities, something that fits a lighter, more consistently silly show such as Cobra Kai. Unfortunately, this film is a lot more serious, something that causes the comic book-like fights to feel tonally jarring. The choreography of these sequences is kinetic and fun, but the editing is often choppy, which makes them challenging to follow. 

Overall, this is a serviceable but formulaic, predictable, and ultimately safe continuation of the Karate Kid franchise. It’s sure to satisfy anyone who only requires the basic ingredients that define these movies. However, anyone who craves even a little more depth will inevitably be disappointed by the experience. At the very least, Ben Wang lives up to the franchise’s tradition of likable teenage leads. It’s kind of weird that it took this long to get a Karate Kid of Asian descent. The implication that only Americans can master karate is kind of hilarious in its stupidity. C+