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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The entire ‘Karate Kid' franchise, ranked (animated series included!)
This week, the Karate Kid franchise is back in theaters for the first time in 15 years with Karate Kid: Legends. And unlike the 2010 film, this movie is a true continuation of everything that came before it. Who could have predicted that there would be a new Karate Kid movie over four decades after the original? The 1984 original has withstood the test of time, and it gave Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita two of their most iconic roles as Daniel LaRusso and his mentor, Mr. Miyagi. More from GoldDerby Loretta Swit remembered by 'M*A*S*H' costars, including Alan Alda Loretta Swit holds this Emmy record that may never be broken 'Dept. Q,' 'Mountainhead,' Alfred Hitchcock on Netflix, and the best to stream this weekend Although Morita died in 2005, Macchio has kept the flame of The Karate Kid alive in both the sequel series, Cobra Kai, and the newly released Karate Kid: Legends. In honor of that film, we're ranking the entire Karate Kid franchise, including the two TV shows. READ: Unless you lived through the '80s, you may not appreciate how hilarious it is that nearly everything got a Saturday morning cartoon show, including R-rated flicks like Rambo and RoboCop. The Karate Kid's cartoon isn't exactly bad as far as old cartoons go, but it's more enjoyable as an unintentionally funny show than as a high-quality animated series. Joey Dedio and Robert Ito stepped in to provide the voices of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi as they traveled the world with a Japanese girl named Taki Tamurai (Janice Kawaye) to retrieve a miniature magic shrine. Every episode ends with the shrine slipping from their grasp and starting things over again. But at least Pat Morita provided some in-character narration for most of the episodes. Although this film has been retconned into the larger Karate Kid universe, the 2010 reboot is very close to a remake minus some changes. All of the major characters from the original film have counterparts here, including Jaden Smith in the leading role as Dre Parker, a teenager who gets the culture shock of a lifetime when he moves to China Jackie Chan's Mr. Han plays the Miyagi role here as he helps Dre fend off his bullies. Even though the sequel acknowledged it, the fact that Mr. Han teaches Dre Kung Fu instead of karate means the studio should have given this film a new title. He's the Kung Fu Kid! READ: As disconnected as the 2010 film was from the rest of the franchise, it's fun to see Jackie Chan sharing the screen with Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid: Legends. But it's not a partnership that takes up a lot of time in the movie. Marco Zhang plays the new Karate Kid, Li Fong, the great-nephew of Mr. Han. And just like every other teen hero in this franchise, Li needs martial arts lessons so he can take down his bullies. Zhang might have a nice career ahead of him, and this is far from a bad movie. It's just not peak Karate Kid. The nods to the past are appreciated, though. Hilary Swank is clearly the biggest star to come out of the Karate Kid franchise, and it's a shame she didn't do a Cobra Kai cameo to reconnect with her past. The Next Karate Kid also boasts Michael Ironside as the villain, Colonel Dugan and a young Walton Goggins as Charlie, so clearly the casting director had an eye for talent. Morita returns as Mr. Miyagi one last time to mentor Julie Pierce (Swank), the granddaughter of one of his military friends. Julie also has an indirect link to Miyagi through the karate lessons he shared with her grandfather. And while Miyagi knew how to handle Daniel, there are times Julie was just a bit too much for him. The Karate Kid Part III can be forgiven for being such a carbon copy of the first film because Thomas Ian Griffith was a fantastic villain as Terry Silver, an old buddy of John Kreese (Martin Kove) who wants revenge and to reestablish Cobra Kai. Silver had a nonsensical plan to fake Kreese's death and ruin Daniel's karate mojo by teaching him the wrong way to practice the martial arts. There is some good drama between Daniel and Miyagi, but when push comes to shove at the All-Valley tournament, you know how it's going to go. Cobra Kai did a fantastic job of fleshing out William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence — one of the main villains in the first film — by giving him a redemptive journey through the reopening Cobra Kai. Johnny also backtracks a bit by starting a new rivalry with Daniel, but the way these two have slowly become friends over the course of the series is a beautiful thing and great character development. This show was a love letter to all things Karate Kid. Some of the new generation of martial artists, including Xolo Maridueña and Peyton List, seem like they're well on their way to becoming stars as well. In three decades, the kids on this show may be starring in their own Cobra Kai spinoff. READ: The film that started it all handled the Karate Kid formula better than any movie that came after it. As compelling as Zabka is in Cobra Kai, he's the perfect bully in this film when Daniel moves to town and romance's Johnny's ex-girlfriend, Ali Mills (Elizabeth Shue). Morita's gravitas as Miyagi was so apparent that he deservedly earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actor. There's a real warmth between Morita and Macchio that's apparent whenever they're on-screen together. That's one of the big reasons why this is such a beloved classic over four decades later. Why does The Karate Kid Part II get the nod over the original? For one thing, it's got a much better power ballad on the soundtrack with Peter Cetera's Oscar-nominated "Glory of Love.' It's also the only sequel that didn't try to recreate the story structure of the first film. Instead, The Karate Kid Part II dares to try something new by sending Daniel back with Miyagi to revisit some unfinished business in Japan. It doesn't take long for Daniel to find a new love interest, Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), and a new rival, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto). But the real drama comes from Miyagi's broken friendship with Chozen's uncle, Sato Toguchi (Danny Kamekona), who wants to fight his old rival to the death. There's no tournament this time, and the film is better for it. Best of GoldDerby Marilyn Monroe movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Clint Eastwood movies: 20 greatest films ranked worst to best Morgan Freeman movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Karate Kid: Legends Review: SOOOOO Many Cliches
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Karate Kid: Legends is the sixth Karate Kid film, not counting the spinoff series Cobra Kai, and it is so riddled with cliches that there is almost nothing new, special, or interesting about this rehashed, remixed, clone-of-a-clone-of-a-clone-of-a-clone of a movie. Jonathan Entwistle directs Karate Kid: Legends, which stars Ben Wang as Li Fong, this film's titular Karate Kid – who actually practices Kung Fu. Jackie Chan returns from the remake made in 2010, Ralph Macchio returns from the original three films from the 1980s, and Ming-Na Wen plays Wang's character's mother, who initially disapproves of Li fighting. The story is familiar to anyone who has seen a Karate Kid movie: Li must fight in a city karate tournament to save his girlfriend's father's pizzeria from loan sharks. Friendship review Karate Kid: Legends is entirely composed of cliches. It is easy to know exactly what fights he's going to win, what fights he's going to lose, and where these characters are going to go at every single turn. If the mother character begins by disapproving her son's karate, what do you think is going to happen by the end? If there is a fight at the midpoint that would solve all of the characters' problems, do you think the protagonists are going to win? If Li needs to train to be successful, do you think there's going to be a montage? That question I can answer without fearing spoilers: yes, in fact, there are going to be several montages. Even if you're going to Karate Kid: Legends for the martial arts action, you will be disappointed. The martial arts action is cut to ribbons; the editing makes it almost impossible to figure out what is going on in these fights. Like most modern action films, the frenetic cutting makes it feel like stuff is going on, but any clarity of motion or geography gets lost in all the cuts. Most deceptive is the film's use of the two great stars of the franchise, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio. These two actors are given almost nothing to do in Karate Kid: Legends. The plot bends itself into a pretzel to include them, and yet it still gives them nothing to do. Neither character has an arc, and both characters don't show up on screen for any extended amount of time until the film is half-over. Heavily featured in the training montages, they exist to spout cliché dialogue and block a few punches in sparring sequences. For fans of the franchise or Cobra Kai, Karate Kid: Legends wastes the franchise's main draws. Most of the film's heavy lifting relies on Ben Wang, and he is the one good thing about Karate Kid: Legends. He is almost charming enough to save it, and it is through sheer force of will that he is able to make the movie halfway watchable. But with hackneyed 80s villains, bad action sequences, and a plot that regurgitates cliches, not even Wang's strong performance can save Karate Kid: Legends. Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Ralph Macchio's net worth: The ‘Karate Kid: Legends' star's wealth & income
Ralph Macchio reprises his role as Daniel LaRusso in the movie Karate Kid: Legends, which premiered on May 29, 2025. In the sixth installment of the Karate Kid franchise, Macchio's character joins forces with Jackie Chan's Mr. Han - from the 2010 remake - to help mentor a young kung fu prodigy. Macchio has had significant roles in major movies such as My Cousin Vinny and The Outsiders, but he is best known for playing a martial arts student in 1984's The Karate Kid and its two sequels later in the 1980s. It's a role he reprised more than 30 years later on the small screen for the Cobra Kai TV series, and that has revived his career and popularity among Karate Kid fans. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Here's how much Ralph Macchio is worth now and how he has built his isn't as wealthy as his Legends co-star Jackie Chan, but his revival as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid franchise for Cobra Kai has boosted his net worth. Macchio probably has a net worth of around $10 million or more, largely based on his recent earnings and property. Related: Jackie Chan's net worth: The 'Karate Kid: Legends' star's wealth & income Macchio's acting career has been on and off over the past few decades since the end of his last starring role as Daniel LaRusso in Karate Kid Part III in 1989. The Cobra Kai series, which ran from 2018 to 2025, has provided him with a steady income in recent years. Macchio reportedly earned $100,000 an episode for the first two seasons it aired on YouTube's subscription services. After that 20-episode run, Cobra Kai was picked up by Netflix (NFLX), and Macchio reportedly started making $200,000 an episode for the third season. Based on those pay figures, Macchio likely earned at least $11 million on the 65-episode series. Macchio and co-star William Zabka, who played his nemesis in the original Karate Kid film, served as co-executive producers on Cobra Kai, further adding to Macchio's earnings. Endorsements and speaking engagements are another source of income. Macchio is represented by the MN2S agency, and he is available for commercial work and private bookings. AAE Speakers, another talent agency, lists his speaking fee for a live event at between $30,000 and $50, salary from Legends isn't known, but he shares credit as an executive producer for the movie. With a budget reportedly around $45 million, Macchio and co-star Chan may have been paid at scale actor rates in exchange for a share of the box-office profits. Legends is forecast to make $25 million to $30 million in its opening weekend. The Karate Kid films have been good to Macchio. The first three films, in which he had the starring role, earned a collective $700 million, adjusted for inflation in 2025 dollars. The first sequel alone, which aired in 1986, took in more than $330 million in 2025-adjusted dollars. The following are global gross box-office revenues for the five Karate Kid films and selected movies in which Macchio had a role, based on figures compiled by Box Office Mojo, which tracks movie theater receipts. More on actors' net worth: Kelsey Grammer's net worth: The 'Cheers' star's wealth at 70Val Kilmer's net worth: Building a fortune through triumph and tragedyWill Ferrell's net worth: How much money does the 'SNL' star have in 2025? Macchio isn't known to be a lavish spender. According to the YouTube channel House of Celebs, Macchio lives in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house valued at $4 million in Montauk, New York, which is the easternmost point of Long Island and New York State. Ralph George Macchio Jr. was born in Huntington, New York, on November 4, 1961. His early acting roles were onTV shows, such as Eight Is Enough, and before long, he transitioned into acting in feature films. Macchio's IMDb profile lists 57 credits for acting roles, including movies, TV shows, and video games. He has also appeared in theatrical productions. In 2022, Random House published Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, which is Macchio's memoir about his acting career, the Karate Kid franchise, and working with co-stars Pat Morita (who played his mentor Mr. Miyagi), Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka. In 2025, Macchio finally received a black belt in karate - more than 40 years after he first played the black belt Daniel LaRusso in the original Karate Kid film. Related: Miley Cyrus' net worth: A look at her wealth as 'Something Beautiful' drops The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Karate Kid: Legends' star Jackie Chan: 'I'm not the action star anymore. I'm the actor who can fight'
The Karate Kid universe is expanding once again with the release of the new film Karate Kid: Legends (now in theatres), starring Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Sadie Stanley and Joshua Jackson. While Karate Kid and Cobra Kai fans all have a special place in their hearts for Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi, now Macchio's Daniel LaRusso and Chan's Mr. Han are taking on that role. "I look at Ben, that's the old day Jackie Chan," Chan told Yahoo Canada. "I'm becoming a Miyagi." "This takes place probably three years after the events of Cobra Kai, which was important to me to separate some time," Macchio added. "So now, when you find Daniel LaRusso, he's gone through all those highs and lows of the Cobra Kai soap opera, because it was very much a karate soap opera in the best possible way." "And now he's landed in a very Miyagi kind of grounded, mature, balanced place in his life, and when it's time to help someone else out. Now we have a new story with an urban setting that we haven't seen before, and a style shot a little bit different, but we maintain the embrace of the nostalgia while telling a relevant story for families ... and young people, for today. So I'd like to believe that that's just the beginning of that section of this ecosystem in the universe." Teenage Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a particularly impressive kung fu prodigy, studying under Mr. Han in Beijing. But he has to leave his training behind when he moves to New York as his mom, played by Ming-Na Wen, gets a new job. She also has one rule for him: She doesn't want Li fighting anymore. A fish out of water in a new city, Li finds friendship with Mia (Sadie Stanley), whose father Victor (Joshua Jackson) owns a pizza shop, and he used to be a celebrated boxer. When Victor runs into some trouble, owing money that, if he can't pay back, means he could lose the pizzeria, the ex-boxer enlists Li to help him train for fights. But as things shift, the only way to get the money is for Li to participate in The Five Boroughs Tournament, a karate competition. When Mr. Han unexpectedly visits Li, that's when his training really starts again, with Mr. Han, who was friends with Mr. Miyagi, enlisting the help of Miyagi's protégé, Daniel LaRusso. Throughout the film, Li is also working through a significant past trauma, something he needs to reconcile with to both succeed in the competition and to have a constructive personal life. Karate Kid: Legends is a movie with a lot of heart, but also really leans into comedy, with the benefit of having Chan's expertise in that department. The actor highlighted that the family-friendly nature of the film is something he's partveryicularly proud of. "We talk about, how can we make the action sequence more family, not violent," Chan said. "Right now, in this moment, this movie makes me so happy." One of the best moments for that comedy is when both Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han are trying to train Li, going back and forth knocking Li to the ground to try to prove which move, from karate or kung fu, will work better against Li's opponents in the tournament. "I feel like, if you have a movie with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, you've got to get them fighting each other a little bit," Wang said. "It's nitpicky and it's fun and it's enjoyable, because he's [Li] is in middle of getting his butt kicked," Macchio added. "That's the entertainment part of it." As Macchio went on to highlight, director Jonathan Entwistle had a special approach in mind to film this movie, including the karate and king fu sequences, that differed from the original Karate Kid film. "The camera angles are inside the fight," Macchio explained. "Really, the camera's very close all the time. Very wide lenses, which is very different than how the original Karate Kid was shot, a little bit more ... romantic, longer takes, different styles." Karate Kid: Legends also really utilizes practical stunts, which does give the film a unique feel, especially when most new films use CGI for their action sequences. "I really admire the people [who are] so clever they can use this AI, CG, special effects to do all kinds of action," Chan said. "I don't know CGI, I have to do my own thing. In the old day, we had no money, we had no schedule. ... No rehearsal, boom, you have to jump." "I always tell the director, please hire me to do an Iron Man, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman. But no, they just hire me Rush Hour, Karate Kid. ... But honestly, me personally, I like the real things. I like to show the audience what I can do. Like 50 years ago I could do a triple kick. Twenty years later, OK double kick. But now one kick. ... I tell the audience, I'm not the action star anymore. I'm the actor who can fight, just like Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman." Now it's time for Wang to take on many of those famous Chan stunts. "One and a half is where I'm at right now," Wang said.
New Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Karate Kid: Legends Movie Review: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio train the next gen in tropey franchise product
These subtleties are lost on Legends which is only concerned about traversing established tropes and stirring film nostalgia. Jackie Chan's Mr. Han and Ralph Macchio's now-older Daniel LaRusso, the OG Karate Kid, join hands to train Li to fight Mia's ponytailed bully of an ex-boyfriend Conor (Aramis Knight), whose only character motivation seems to be that he is psychotic. He trains at a gym called 'Demolition', which doesn't leave much to the imagination. I so miss the villainy mystery of the Cobra Kai dojo. Jackie and Ralph coming together is the USP of the film but their characters are glanced over, and offer no more depth than a cameo appearance. The film often felt like a long training montage with a threadbare of a plot. The only respite was the New York imagery. It wasn't fresh but it briefly made me relive the big city charm offered by 90s Hollywood rom-coms. Karate Kid: Legends is just content trying to pass off as a film. It brings all these elements together, the casting, the callbacks, the references, the mid-credit cameo but misses out on the magic ingredient. It doesn't build a relationship with its viewer and the only way to do that is to be human, vulnerable, real. In his broken English, Mr. Miyagi gave a lesson which wasn't just about Karate. 'If come from inside you, always right one.'
