Review: With Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, ‘Karate Kid: Legends' brings formulaic kicks
'Karate Kid: Legends' is steeped in nostalgia, which helps paper over a formulaic script and the strange reality that its domestic scenes are more effective than its fight action.
It opens with a scene between a young Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita, who got his start as a stand-up comic in San Francisco) from ' Karate Kid Part II ' (1986). By the film's second half, a much older Daniel and Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) team up to train a teenager, Li Fong (Ben Wang of ' American Born Chinese '), ahead of a big tournament.
Macchio and Chan are two people you might have thought would never be in the same room together. In the 1980s, while Macchio was making 'Karate Kid' movies, Chan was half a world away, causing mayhem as Hong Kong's top martial arts star.
Chan first introduced the Han character in ' The Karate Kid,' the 2010 remake starring Jaden Smith. In that first scene in 'Legends' from 1986, Mr. Miyagi explains to Daniel that generations ago, as the Miyagi clan developed karate in Japan, they came in contact with the Han family of China and they shared their martial arts wisdom.
'Two branches, one tree,' Miyagi says.
Thus when Mr. Han's prized pupil, Li, moves to New York with his mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), and promptly finds himself in trouble with the local tough guys, Mr. Han summons Daniel to help.
But it's the first part of 'Karate Kid: Legends' that is most pleasing. Li instantly befriends a pretty high school girl, Mia (Sadie Stanley), and becomes a fixture at the pizza place run by her father, Victor (Joshua Jackson, star of the ABC series 'Doctor Odyssey'). The relationship that slowly develops between Li and Mia — and Li and her father — is cute and convincing, even if it occasionally relies on afterschool special tropes.
But drama ensues because Victor is an ex-boxer who is in deep with a loan shark (Tim Rozon) whose son (Aramis Knight) used to date Mia and, oh yes, happens to be the defending '5 Boroughs' martial arts champion.
Thus, Li decides to enter the '5 Boroughs' himself to settle a few scores.
The fighting in the 'Karate Kid' movies and its Netflix series offshoot, ' Cobra Kai,' has always been quality, but in 'Legends' it's too quick-cutting and chaotic, hard to follow and over much too quickly.
Curious what Chan, who not only helped choreograph his energetic and creative fight scenes over the years but directed many of his own films, thought when he saw the final cut of the at times incomprehensible action in 'Legends.'
Fighting, though, is just part of why people go to 'Karate Kid' movies. Relationships, honor, and good ol' nostalgia also factors in. As such, 'Legends' is a serviceable entry in the venerable franchise.
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