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WIN a VIP double pass to an exclusive screening of Karate Kid: Legends

WIN a VIP double pass to an exclusive screening of Karate Kid: Legends

West Australian11-05-2025

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
Step into the spotlight with an exclusive
double pass
to
Karate Kid: Legends
– before it hits cinemas.
Winners will enjoy the VIP experience, including welcome refreshments and access to a private screening reserved just for West Rewards members.
Uniting martial arts icons from one of the most cherished film franchises of all time, this exciting new chapter delivers action, heartfelt moments, and a powerful story of strength and resilience.
Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the series, this film promises something for everyone.
The event will be held on
Saturday 31 May
, with
arrivals from 1:15 PM
at
Event Cinemas in Innaloo.
Don't worry if you're not one of the lucky winners –
Karate Kid: Legends
is kicking into cinemas from June 5 - view the trailer
here.
For your chance to win, enter your details below.
Entries close on Sunday 18 May
, at 11:59 pm.
All entrants may only enter once. All entrants found to have entered more than once per entry form will have their subsequent entries disqualified.
T&C's apply.

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Back in the 1980s, there were a handful of truly iconic moves from hit films that every kid in the school playground could replicate, or at least attempt to. One was the Top Gun high-five, performed by Tom 'Maverick' Cruise and Anthony 'Goose' Edwards, which combined a traditional high-five with a sneaky, behind-the-back low-five as the other participant was walking away. Done right, nothing was cooler (to boys between the ages of eight and 16). A close second, and only because it was considerably more difficult to execute, was the legendary crane kick from The Karate Kid. Let's set the scene… After weeks of intense training under the tutelage of karate master Mr Miyagi (the late, great Pat Morita), protege Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) found himself in final of the All-Valley Karate Championship. But there was more at stake than just a trophy. 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The essential appeal of the Karate Kid franchise - across multiple movies and TV shows over 40 years - is pretty simple. It's a classic underdog story, in a martial arts setting with a little light philosophy and some life lessons added to the mix. Karate Kid: Legends has a few tweaks to freshen things a little - including an Asian lead - and a lot of callbacks for fans, but the basics remain. There are some dubious and coincidental elements if you're picky, but this isn't that kind of movie. If it ain't broke... At his new high school, Li becomes the target of bad-guy Conor (Aramis Knight), whose brand of martial arts is aggressive and dirty. Li's skills are rusty, so he's quickly defeated. Apparently, there are no repercussions for either boy: maybe something was lost in the edit (a thought that occurred to me more than once during the film). 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Karate Kid: Legends has a few tweaks to freshen things a little - including an Asian lead - and a lot of callbacks for fans, but the basics remain. There are some dubious and coincidental elements if you're picky, but this isn't that kind of movie. If it ain't broke... At his new high school, Li becomes the target of bad-guy Conor (Aramis Knight), whose brand of martial arts is aggressive and dirty. Li's skills are rusty, so he's quickly defeated. Apparently, there are no repercussions for either boy: maybe something was lost in the edit (a thought that occurred to me more than once during the film). More happily, Li meets Mia Lipani (Sadie Sweet from Kim Possible), whose affable father Victor (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), a onetime local boxing champ, runs a pizza joint. Mia starts showing Li around the city, and he teaches her Mandarin to help her bargain with Chinese shopkeepers. Now we get into it's-a-small-world territory. See, Mia is Conor's ex (and, no surprise, he's not happy about seeing her with another guy). And Victor is in debt to a loan shark named O'Shea (Tim Rozon), who runs the dojo at which Conor trains. There's soon a match, but not the one you might be expecting. Despite his age, Victor decides to enter a local boxing match to try to win some cash, and guess who takes on the role of trainer? Yes, it's Li, applying what to Victor are some unorthodox methods. And yes, there's a training montage. We know, of course, that his mother's edict, Li will eventually face off against Conor - in the 5 Boroughs Tournament, the biggest in the city, which for some reason takes place on a rooftop (isn't this meant to be a well-established, highly-publicised, lucrative, legitimate event?) And that he will be trained by Mr Han, whose way to inform his grandnephew about his arrival is decidedly unorthodox, and the original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). The former focuses on kung fu, the latter on karate, but these are, as someone sagely observes, "Two branches, one tree." This film - set a few years after Cobra Kai's ending - can be watched on its own, but takes place in the same universe as its predecessors. Devotees will relish references to previous instalments, including an appearance by Daniel's trainer, Mr Miyagi (the late Pat Morita). While a lot of movies feel padded, there's a little too much content for the modest running time. I don't know if Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit) wrote it that way or if director Jonathan Entwhistle (The End of the F***ing World) just wanted to keep things moving along, and a lot was left on the now metaphorical cutting-room floor. The combat scenes are quite exciting, but some of the reflective and nostalgic moments and secondary characters feel underserved (but there's time for Daniel to say he's not coming when we know he will). Wyatt Oleff (It) does a lot with a little as Alan, Li's nerdy maths tutor. However, the warmth and spirit that have infused the best of the series remain, and it's hard to dislike. The essential appeal of the Karate Kid franchise - across multiple movies and TV shows over 40 years - is pretty simple. It's a classic underdog story, in a martial arts setting with a little light philosophy and some life lessons added to the mix. Karate Kid: Legends has a few tweaks to freshen things a little - including an Asian lead - and a lot of callbacks for fans, but the basics remain. There are some dubious and coincidental elements if you're picky, but this isn't that kind of movie. If it ain't broke... At his new high school, Li becomes the target of bad-guy Conor (Aramis Knight), whose brand of martial arts is aggressive and dirty. Li's skills are rusty, so he's quickly defeated. Apparently, there are no repercussions for either boy: maybe something was lost in the edit (a thought that occurred to me more than once during the film). More happily, Li meets Mia Lipani (Sadie Sweet from Kim Possible), whose affable father Victor (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), a onetime local boxing champ, runs a pizza joint. Mia starts showing Li around the city, and he teaches her Mandarin to help her bargain with Chinese shopkeepers. Now we get into it's-a-small-world territory. See, Mia is Conor's ex (and, no surprise, he's not happy about seeing her with another guy). And Victor is in debt to a loan shark named O'Shea (Tim Rozon), who runs the dojo at which Conor trains. There's soon a match, but not the one you might be expecting. Despite his age, Victor decides to enter a local boxing match to try to win some cash, and guess who takes on the role of trainer? Yes, it's Li, applying what to Victor are some unorthodox methods. And yes, there's a training montage. We know, of course, that his mother's edict, Li will eventually face off against Conor - in the 5 Boroughs Tournament, the biggest in the city, which for some reason takes place on a rooftop (isn't this meant to be a well-established, highly-publicised, lucrative, legitimate event?) And that he will be trained by Mr Han, whose way to inform his grandnephew about his arrival is decidedly unorthodox, and the original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). The former focuses on kung fu, the latter on karate, but these are, as someone sagely observes, "Two branches, one tree." This film - set a few years after Cobra Kai's ending - can be watched on its own, but takes place in the same universe as its predecessors. Devotees will relish references to previous instalments, including an appearance by Daniel's trainer, Mr Miyagi (the late Pat Morita). While a lot of movies feel padded, there's a little too much content for the modest running time. I don't know if Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit) wrote it that way or if director Jonathan Entwhistle (The End of the F***ing World) just wanted to keep things moving along, and a lot was left on the now metaphorical cutting-room floor. The combat scenes are quite exciting, but some of the reflective and nostalgic moments and secondary characters feel underserved (but there's time for Daniel to say he's not coming when we know he will). Wyatt Oleff (It) does a lot with a little as Alan, Li's nerdy maths tutor. However, the warmth and spirit that have infused the best of the series remain, and it's hard to dislike. The essential appeal of the Karate Kid franchise - across multiple movies and TV shows over 40 years - is pretty simple. It's a classic underdog story, in a martial arts setting with a little light philosophy and some life lessons added to the mix. Karate Kid: Legends has a few tweaks to freshen things a little - including an Asian lead - and a lot of callbacks for fans, but the basics remain. There are some dubious and coincidental elements if you're picky, but this isn't that kind of movie. If it ain't broke... At his new high school, Li becomes the target of bad-guy Conor (Aramis Knight), whose brand of martial arts is aggressive and dirty. Li's skills are rusty, so he's quickly defeated. Apparently, there are no repercussions for either boy: maybe something was lost in the edit (a thought that occurred to me more than once during the film). More happily, Li meets Mia Lipani (Sadie Sweet from Kim Possible), whose affable father Victor (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), a onetime local boxing champ, runs a pizza joint. Mia starts showing Li around the city, and he teaches her Mandarin to help her bargain with Chinese shopkeepers. Now we get into it's-a-small-world territory. See, Mia is Conor's ex (and, no surprise, he's not happy about seeing her with another guy). And Victor is in debt to a loan shark named O'Shea (Tim Rozon), who runs the dojo at which Conor trains. There's soon a match, but not the one you might be expecting. Despite his age, Victor decides to enter a local boxing match to try to win some cash, and guess who takes on the role of trainer? Yes, it's Li, applying what to Victor are some unorthodox methods. And yes, there's a training montage. We know, of course, that his mother's edict, Li will eventually face off against Conor - in the 5 Boroughs Tournament, the biggest in the city, which for some reason takes place on a rooftop (isn't this meant to be a well-established, highly-publicised, lucrative, legitimate event?) And that he will be trained by Mr Han, whose way to inform his grandnephew about his arrival is decidedly unorthodox, and the original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). The former focuses on kung fu, the latter on karate, but these are, as someone sagely observes, "Two branches, one tree." This film - set a few years after Cobra Kai's ending - can be watched on its own, but takes place in the same universe as its predecessors. Devotees will relish references to previous instalments, including an appearance by Daniel's trainer, Mr Miyagi (the late Pat Morita). While a lot of movies feel padded, there's a little too much content for the modest running time. I don't know if Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit) wrote it that way or if director Jonathan Entwhistle (The End of the F***ing World) just wanted to keep things moving along, and a lot was left on the now metaphorical cutting-room floor. The combat scenes are quite exciting, but some of the reflective and nostalgic moments and secondary characters feel underserved (but there's time for Daniel to say he's not coming when we know he will). Wyatt Oleff (It) does a lot with a little as Alan, Li's nerdy maths tutor. However, the warmth and spirit that have infused the best of the series remain, and it's hard to dislike.

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