Karate Kid: Legends is a Hollywood martial arts drama film that was released on May 30th, 2025 in cinemas across the world. Written by Rob Lieber, and Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, it has a runtime of 1 hour and 34 minutes.
The movie follows a young Chinese martial arts student who moves to New York with his mother after a family tragedy, where he finds community, love, but also new enemies. It serves as a culmination (and ultimately, a sequel) of both the original Karate Kid franchise (1984), and the rebooted version, Karate Kid (2010).
Premise
The year is 1985. Mr. Miyagi shares with a teenage Daniel LaRusso the history of Miyagi-Do karate and its deep connection with the Han family. He recounts how his ancestor, Shimpo Miyagi, was swept off course while fishing near Japan in the 16th century and ended up in China. There, the Han family welcomed him and taught him kung fu. When Shimpo eventually returned to Okinawa, he adapted what he had learned into a new style, which became known as Miyagi-Do karate.
In the present day, we see Mr. Han as a highly respected kung fu master in Beijing, where he trains a number of dedicated students, including his great-nephew, Li Fong. One day, Li’s mother, a physician, arrives with important news: she has accepted a position in New York City. Concerned for her son’s safety, she urges him to leave martial arts behind, recalling the painful memory of Li’s older brother, who was tragically killed by a vengeful opponent after a tournament.
In New York, Li struggles to fit in at school. He meets and develops a crush on Mia Lipani, daughter of ex-boxing champ Victor Lipani. Trouble arises with Mia’s aggressive ex, Conor Day, a karate champion who picks on Li out of jealousy. Furious that he’s been in involved in violence again, Li’s mom hires a tutor, Alan, who becomes a friend. During another confrontation with Conor at school, Li realises that Conor is stronger and much more skilled. He tries a “Dragon Kick” he learned from his late brother, but Conor counters and defeats him.
One night, Li sees Victor getting attacked by thugs sent by O’Shea, a ruthless creditor who also runs the dojo where Conor trains. Li steps in and fights them off. Grateful but desperate, Victor decides to return to boxing to pay off his debts and save his struggling pizzeria. He asks Li to help train him. Unsure at first, Li agrees after a heart-to-heart call with Mr. Han, and soon starts working at the pizzeria too.
During Victor’s big comeback match, his opponent, acting on O’Shea’s orders, lands illegal blows and knocks him out cold. Victor ends up in the hospital. Haunted by memories of his brother’s death, Li freezes and can’t bring himself to help, leaving Mia disappointed and hurt. His mother, a nurse at the hospital, also scolds him for staying involved in the violent world of martial arts.
Li becomes depressed afterwards, further saddened by Mia ignoring him. Mr. Han shows up in New York after Li ignores several of his calls. Sensing something deeper is wrong, he gently pushes Li to open up. When he hears the full story, Mr. Han urges him to return to martial arts; not just to stand up for his friends, but to face the pain he’s been running from. He suggests Li enter the upcoming Five Boroughs Tournament as a way to reclaim his strength and find closure.
The problem? Conor is the Five Boroughs undefeated champion.
The rest of the film consists of Li’s journey as Mr. Han enlists a familiar face to help him train Li, Li finds a way to reconcile with and court Mia, the tournament goes underway and Li rediscovers himself and his inner strength ahead of the dreaded final showdown with Conor.
Cast and Performances
- Ben Wang as Li Fong
- Jackie Chan as Mr. Han
- Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
- Sadie Stanley as Mia Lipani
- Joshua Jackson as Victor Lipani
- Aramis Knight as Conor Day
First off, this is the first time in a long time that I have seen an almost perfect cast. Literally almost every single actor, especially Ben Wang, gets a 10/10 from me for their performances alone.
Except one.
Sadie Stanley as Mia really didn’t do much for me. Her performance felt stiff, and plain. But in a way, I don’t think that’s her fault as much as it is the way her character is written. She’s the main character’s love interest, and subsequently his motivation to fight, despite the fact that she doesn’t want him to. Aside from that, there is little she adds to the story, not the hilarious wit that almost all the characters indulge in, even her father has a better story than her (despite her literally being the antagonist’s previous partner). It seems like her only role, alongside many a female love interest in action films, is for our hero to rescue and also to tell him “you don’t have to do this, he’s dangerous” when it comes to the final showdown. And as much as I love a good cliché, it needs to be written (and acted) well.
On the other end of the spectrum, I loved Li. I loved that he’s so unlike your average hero in a plot like this. Despite being as badass as he is (and knowing it too), he doesn’t take himself too seriously, making space for charisma and witty dialogue. And it somehow still doesn’t take any seriousness away from his very real PTSD (which he does a great job of depicting), it’s very reminiscent of a character like Spiderman’s Peter Parker, in all the fun ways.
What I Liked
I don’t even know where to begin. The story, the characters, the pacing, the music. I liked what they did during the first half of the movie where we had a training montage but the roles were reversed and it was the kid training the adult instead. It displays a heartwarming message about never being too old to learn or too young to teach.
I loved the fight scenes, they were fast paced and authentic (legitimately had me and the rest of the theatre actively flinching at the hits taken by the characters). I loved the pacing and development. For a movie that relies so heavily on the lore of its predecessors, it still stands strong as its own story and avoids overuse of inside jokes and references that would confuse new viewers.
The chemistry between all the characters is simply amazing. Jackie Chan is a legend in his own right, and he’s always going to bring a stellar performance in comedy and badassery alike. Li is such a charismatic character that you can’t help but just root for him, and he’s exactly the kind of underdog hero that a story like this needed.
And lastly, the music.
There’s something about good music in a non-musical project that gives me such a rush. Not only does it provide that extra mood and ambience that ties the movie together, it gives me something to look forward to and explore even after the movie is over (no jokes, right in the middle of the movie, I was checking if it had an official soundtrack and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it did).
What I Didn’t Like
Not much, this movie is almost perfect. But, as much as I give it its flowers for not overly referencing its predecessors, it still does sort of rely on their lore. You could tell that they expected the appearance of certain characters or scenes to draw large nostalgia-filled emotions and reactions from the crowd, and in some theatres (like the one I was in), it just fell flat because majority were new viewers.
The movie also failed to tell a different story from its predecessors. Don’t get me wrong, it was still interesting and fun, but it’s supposed to be a sequel, not a remake or an adaptation, so one does expect a different kind of story to be told. And it almost does, at the beginning where it was Li training Mia’s dad. It seemed like that was what separated it from its previous installments, this fun twist where the roles are reversed and the student-becomes-master kinda thing. But that was snuffed out rather quickly.
And lastly, as much as I loved and was hyped about the fight scenes, I didn’t like that more than half of the movie were training montages. They just felt like fillers to extend the movie’s runtime (just my speculation though).
Final Thoughts
This was such a good movie. And despite the serious topics explored like death, and PTSD, it was refreshing to see a movie that didn’t try to overcomplicate its story for the sake of some societal think piece that’s meant to draw attention. It’s just a genuinely fun project, and I will always recommend.
I rate Karate Kid: Legends (2025): 4 out of 5
Be the first to comment