MOVIE REVIEW: “KARATE KID: LEGENDS”
Grade: C

I really hate to be “that guy” but Karate Kid: Legends didn’t leave much of an impression. And I say this as a big fan of both Cobra Kai and the first two films in the franchise. That said, Sony Pictures is to be commended for releasing this in such close proximity to the Cobra Kai series finale. It’s clear that they wanted to strike while the iron was hot and that was probably a smart move on their part.

As Karate Kid: Legends opens, we’re treated to a brief scene from 1986’s Karate Kid Part II. Not only does this nostalgic moment give us a little of that much-missed Miyagi magic, but it also sort of retcons the idea that 2010’s Karate Kid was a reboot.  This is to say that this scene establishes that Mr. Han (once again played by the icon who is Jackie Chan) is actually part of the original Karate Kid universe and not just a new version of Miyagi (played by the late, great Pat Morita.)

Immediately following this 1986 flashback, we meet young Li Fong (winningly played by newcomer Ben Wang, soon to be seen in the upcoming Stephen King adaptation of The Long Walk as well as the next chapter in the Hunger Games franchise), a Kung Fu student who practices under the leadership of Mr. Han against his stern mother’s wishes. While angry about the situation (for a very specific reason), Li’s mom (played by Ming-Na Wen) won’t have to worry about that much longer as she and her son will soon be moving to the U.S. where she’s to take on a position at a hospital in the big city (fitting given that Wen first rose to prominence on the hit t.v. series E.R.)

Upon moving to New York, Li finds himself in a tough transitional period as he has to adjust to an entire new way of life. Things look up, however, when he meets Mia (warmly played by Sadie Stanley) but then, things quickly take a turn for the worse when he discovers that her ex-boyfriend Conor (played by Aramis Knight) is, you guessed it, a bully well versed in the way of Karate.  So, Li will ultimately need a very special trainer in an effort to prepare for a big upcoming tournament, and he’ll ultimately get that training courtesy of Mr. Han through the assistance of a beloved Karate Kid legacy character known as Daniel LaRusso (played by the forever young Ralph Macchio.)

As directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Legends is harmless enough and it’s certainly well-intentioned but…What a formulaic, disjointed, and often strange entry in The Karate Kid franchise this is. How strange? There’s a subplot that finds Li actually training Mia’s father (charmingly played by Joshua Jackson) in the hope that the proud papa can win a boxing match and get out of debt with a dangerous loan shark. The time dedicated to this seemingly bizarre and unnecessary plot thread certainly could have been put to better use.

Karate Kid: Legends is rushed, too. How rushed? Well, putting it into perspective, there’s a stretch in this film that finds Mr. Han flying from Beijing to New York, making a mess of a family member’s kitchen, flying to Southern California to meet with LaRusso (for whatever reason, he couldn’t just pick up the phone), and then flying back to New York. This all happens in a span of, maybe, 10 minutes.

It should also be noted that Karate Kid: Legends comes in at an uncharacteristically short 94 minutes. Not that there’s anything wrong with a brief run time, but it hurts this movie severely because there’s little to no character development. Again, everything happens at a very quick clip and as an end result, things that should resonate (for example, the tragic reason behind Li’s PTSD) feel more like an afterthought. This is to say nothing of the fact that Daniel LaRusso doesn’t even show up until the second half of the movie and once he does show up, he almost feels shoe-horned in.

What’s more, as a sports underdog movie, Karate Kid: Legends isn’t as rousing as one might hope. Yes, there’s a fight choreography upgrade here (watch as Li successfully takes on 3 full grown baddies in an alley even though, for whatever reason, he can’t rise up to the school bully who manages to beat him with two hands tied behind his back), Legends is void of the kind of “stand up and cheer” moments viewers expect from these movies. Even the big tournament sequence at the end of the film falls flat. That said, this is by no fault of Wang. And in fact, this new-to-the-scene actor is incredibly engaging as are Chan, Jackson, and Stanley. Speaking of engaging, if you do go to see this film, be sure to stick around for a bonus credits scene that adds a brief but much-welcome layer of joy to the proceedings, courtesy of a familiar face.

In terms of where Karate Kid: Legends sits amongst the other entries in the series, it’s not in the same league as the original, Part II or Cobra Kai nor does it have the emotional weight of the virtually forgotten 2010 film. That said, it’s just a tad stronger than both Part III  and The Next Karate Kid mostly because the cast does manage to bring the likability factor. This is to say that while this isn’t the “worst” film in the franchise, it’s certainly the strangest in terms of structure and pace. And quite honestly, at times, it has an energy more akin to something like Diary of a Wimpy Kid as opposed to The Karate Kid.

As I close out this review, one thing that Karate Kid Part III actually has going for it all these years later is that it was somewhat re-contextualized by the events that took place in Cobra Kai making it a much more interesting watch now than it was when it was initially released back in 1989. Here’s hoping that Karate Kid: Legends is re-contextualized in the future because as it stands, despite a charming cast and its wholesome nature, it’s not the best around. 

Movie Review

We have a talent for killing. Humans off everything from ants to elephants, and we’ve shown a special knack for killing each other. Want proof? Just thumb through a world history book, and you’ll find plenty.

But while anyone can kill, some seem like they’ve been born for it. Predator: Killer of Killers, introduces us to three of them.

Some call her the Valkyrie of the Northern Seas. But she began her life as Ursa, the daughter of a proud Norse chieftain who, when Ursa was just a girl, was killed before her eyes. The culprit: Zoran, chieftain of the Krivich. For the last few decades, Ursa has plotted bloody revenge, carving a gore-spattered swathe through Scandinavia along the way. But now, when Zoran is so close to her bloodstained fists, someone (or, rather, something) crashes the party.

In feudal Japan, two brothers once vied to be heir to their father’s armored crown. One refused to fight, but the other attacked: The more peaceful brother had to run away, ceding the crown to his sibling. But 20 years later, the father is dead and the exile returns, ready to make his brother pay. But—and you’ll notice a trend, here—something is watching, ready to make its own move.

Ensign Torres isn’t a killer. Not really. He’s a pilot—or, at least, he’d like to be. Torres is grounded at the moment, tasked with patching together a cantankerous bit of flying machinery before he’ll be allowed to take on the fighters from World War II’s Vichy France. But when he starts hearing radio chatter about “hooks in the sky,” and when he sees an otherworldly weapon that yanks hot engines straight out of the fuselage, Torres knows he must get airborne and warn the other American pilots—and fast.

All of these hunters—the headliners in three separate stories—quickly become the hunted. Prey for fearsome extraterrestrial predators, the Yautja. They’re bigger than humans are. Stronger. More technologically advanced. And, oh yeah, they can turn invisible, too. What hope do these poor earthlings have?

More than you might think.

For almost 40 years, fans of science fiction/action movies have gravitated towards the Predator franchise. Beginning in 1987, when the Jim and John Thomas (Behind Enemy Lines) penned film about an extra-terrestrial, humanoid hunter who stalked humans in the jungle first appeared in theaters, the masses have been drawn to it. The success of the original movie spawned comic books, novels, video games, and four additional films, with two more on the way this year. While the latter movie, entitled Predator: Badlands, will hit theaters in November, the first of the two films is an adult, animated, stand-alone piece coming to Hulu in the United States and internationally on Disney+ beginning on June 6, 2025.

Predator: Killer of Killers is broken into three separate vignettes set in different locations and during different time frames. The first story deals with a female, Nordic Viking, and her army set out to find the man who murdered her father so she can get revenge. However, unbeknownst to them, a creature lurks in the shadows, watching and waiting. Once he pounces, her whole team, including her son, are dead, and she is enslaved.

Story number two involves two brothers somewhere in an ancient Asian country. As their father pits brother against brother, one lays down his sword while the other attacks, winning his father’s praise. The loser of the battle runs away from the kingdom, only to return 20 years later to confront his sibling. Little did they know they would need to team up to defeat the unknown entity trying to kill them.

Finally, the last vignette includes a young American man being drafted during World War II. His dream is to be a pilot, but he is relegated to mechanic. When he is handed a weapon from the alien being, he tries to figure out what it is, and when he does, he takes to the sky in an old fighter plane to warn the other pilots that what they are fighting against is not human. Ultimately, the three “survivors” end up on a different planet and are forced to fight each other, but when they team up, they end up fighting the predators instead.

Writer/director Dan Trachtenberg, who brought us 2022’s Prey, once again helms this feature film, and he does so beautifully. His take on the alien creatures gives audiences a unique story brought to life in a different way than any of the other Predator movies. He includes plenty of blood splatter and gore, but also presents the Predators as intelligent and scheming.

I will admit I’m not a huge fan of the “watercolor”-like technique used in the animation, as it blurs the lines, making the picture perhaps not as sharp and clean as it could be. While this tends to add a bit of softness to an otherwise cold and hard movie, it seems somewhat out of place with the harshness of the plot. It isn’t an anime style of animation, but it seems to be in the same family.

Predator: Killer of Killers remains solidly within the realm of the other Predator films, which makes it familiar without getting mundane. It skirts the edge of the forest while venturing down a less-traveled path, making it recognizable and different all at the same time. As an audience, we become invested in these characters, which makes the film enjoyable.

In the world of Predator, this movie stays true to the source material but gives us something we didn’t know we needed. It is a nice intermezzo between Prey and Predator: Badlands and whets our appetites for more.

Grade: A-