Revamping and overhauling a film franchise that started over 40 years might seem like the usual dearth of creativity from Hollywood but Karate Kid Legends mines the good will of the original trilogy, a reboot and a remake plus the hugely successful TV series Cobra Kai. And this new film starts of in Okinawa 1986 before leaping forward to today with Li Fong (an agreeably engaging Ben Wang) now a Beijing emigre with his mother to New York with her new job and haunted by the death of his Kung Fu kicking brother. It’s a martial art that his mother forbids him from practising so at least the film’s title gives him a get out clause.
New City, new school and new problems start when Li befriends Mia (Sadie Stanley) at the local pizzeria owned by her father Victor (Joshua Jackson) a former boxer now in financial debt to a local gym owner. It’s a gym where Conor (Aramis Knight – surely a brand of deodorant), martial arts contest winner and the former boyfriend of Mia, now trains. Not only does Li have the turmoil of Conor taking a dislike to the friendship and burgeoning romance with Mia but he also gets lumbered with the nicknames, ‘stuffed crust’ and ‘Beijing’ with all the imagination of the parents of former Tory David Davis choosing his name.
It gets more improbable when Victor is protected by Li from three thugs come to collect the debt and takes him on as his trainer for a boxing contest whose winnings would allow him to pay off his debt. When that ends in near fatal disaster Li enters the Five Boroughs tournament whose prize money will pay off Victor’s debt and maybe win the heart of Mia in doing so. Cue Jackie Chan’s arrival as Mr Han and as likeable a screen presence as ever but as his area of expertise is King Fu he calls on Ralph Macchio whose command of Karate is matched only by his power to seemingly never aging. With the duo’s shared friendship with the late great Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita – who was Oscar nominated for his role in the original film), the Karate Kid Legends unite to train Li for the contest.
Macchio and Chan are terrific and hopefully will return for any sequel. Now 71 years of age Chan maintains a startlingly athletic prowess and his comedy fight schtick is as entertaining and inventive as ever none more so than a sequence with Li in his kitchen that owes much to Cato and Clouseau in the Pink Panther franchise. Like the previous films the villains are wafer thin one dimensional but there’s a whole load of call backs to the films and TV series that fans will love. Directed by Jonathan Entwhistle this is snappily edited with on screen graphics that includes a fleeting nod to the Streetfighter video game this breezes through its 95 minute running time that fans will surely get a kick out of it all.
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related feature : Obituary of ‘The Karate Kid’ director John G Avildsen
Here’s the Karate Kid Legends trailer…..
