In a world full of sequels, retcons, and reboots, Karate Kid: Legends brings laughs while uniting the universes of both the original and the reboot.

I thought I was the only one who never saw the original films going into the new one. It turns out that I’m not alone. The nice thing about Karate Kid: Legends is that it’s not necessary to have seen the originals. It’s probably nicer for context as far as background but they set things up perfectly with an introduction drawing on footage from one of the earlier films. In bring in both Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) and the original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), they manage to retcon the 2010 films, bringing them together in one shared universe.

In this new story–which contains no shortage of laughs if you’re anything like me–kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is forced to move to New York City when his mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), takes on a new job at the hospital. A tragic event in his life more or less impacts his decision-making and it’s the very reason why his mother doesn’t like him fighting. Anyway, the move to New York means having to find new places and make new friends. That’s where Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley) and her father, Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), a former boxer, enter the picture. Victor quit boxing to start a pizzeria, which doesn’t serve stuffed crust.

It’s only when Li witnesses Victor getting beaten up that he takes matters into his own hands. He promised his mom that he wouldn’t fight so he ends up training Victor after talking to Mr. Han. It’s not exactly Rocky but there are some comical moments as Victor trains for a boxing match. It goes as one might expect, especially when the bad guys are calling for the illegal blows that could cause some permanent or fatal damage.

Karate Kid: Legends is a rather quick 90 minutes and change. I never looked at my watch once, which says something about the film’s pacing. Obviously, I’d have loved to bring in LaRusso earlier in the film, just because we all know that Ralph Macchio is one of the reasons we’re watching. Even though I never saw the originals, I do appreciate the acknowledgement to what came before and how it ties in with the Jackie Chan version. Knowing what I know about the earlier film, they should have never rebooted in 2010 to begin with. Karate Kid: Legends gets it right by retconning the earlier mistake and makes Li a nephew to Mr. Han in the process.

There are plenty of laughs to go around in Karate Kid: Legends with a nice mix of nostalgia for what came before.

DIRECTOR: Jonathan Entwistle
SCREENWRITERS: Rob Lieber
CAST: Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, and Ralph Macchio

Sony will release Karate Kid: Legends in theaters on May 30, 2025. Grade: 4/5

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