KARATE KID: LEGENDS is about a young Chinese martial arts prodigy who gets help from his teacher in Beijing and from Mister Miyagi’s prize karate student, Daniel. Li Fong and his mother relocate from Beijing to New York City for an important hospital job. Li attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion, the ex-boyfriend of a girl Li’s befriended. Li secretly helps the girl’s father, an ex-boxer running a local pizza parlor, train for some boxing matches, to earn extra money to save his business. However, the father’s seriously injured when an opponent cheats. Li feels he owes him something. So, he enters a citywide karate tournament for a $50,000 cash prize.

KARATE KID: LEGENDS has a complex plot leading up to the tournament. So, it lacks the dramatic power of the original 1984 KARATE KID movie. However, it does star Jackie Chan as the kung fu teacher and Ralph Macchio as the original Karate Kid. So, KARATE KID: LEGENDS is fairly entertaining. It has a pro-family worldview extolling honor, fair play and perseverance. However, there’s strong fight scenes and brief foul language.

(BB, CapCap, FR, L, VV, N, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong pro-family worldview with strong pro-capitalist elements stresses honor, perseverance, fair play, helping others, and sticking together in times of trouble, a scene shows a wall that seems like a small shrine to a beloved teacher and mother lights a candle by a small photo of her late older son;

Foul Language:

One “s” word, four “a” words, one crude insult, and one OMG profanity;

Violence:

Strong martial arts and boxing violence and three scenes of people fighting on the street includes punching, kicking, flips, a boxing match, a karate tournament, martial arts training, training to box, and a sucker punch on a subway;

Sex:

No sex, but there’s two or three mentions about teenagers having boyfriends;

Nudity:

Upper male nudity during a boxing match and while in training;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use, but a mention about a dead man enjoying rice wine;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Villains cheat, such as throwing an illegal boxing punch or sucker punching another teenage boy on the subway when he’s not looking, father of teenage protagonist’s new girlfriend owes money to loan sharks for his pizza restaurant.

In KARATE KID: LEGENDS, a teenage kung fu prodigy from China named Li in New York City needs help from Mister Miyagi’s prize student, Daniel, and Miyagi’s kung fu friend in Beijing, who used to teach Li and his late brother, to win the prize money in a citywide karate tournament to help out the father of Li’s new girlfriend. KARATE KID: LEGENDS has a complex plot structure, so it doesn’t reach the dramatic heights of the classic, original 1984 movie, but it’s an entertaining, pro-family action movie about honor, fair play and perseverance, with lots of martial arts fighting and some foul language, which merit caution for older children and younger teenagers.

Teenage kung fu prodigy Li Fong and his mother, a surgeon, relocate from Beijing to New York City when she gets an important hospital job. Li’s brother died after he and Li had a run-in with a kung fu opponent and his buddies after a tournament. Li feels he let his brother down during the fatal altercation.

Li promised his mother to stop kung fu training and fighting for tournaments. However, in New York, he attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion who happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Mia, a girl Li has befriended. Also, Li secretly helps the girl’s father, an ex-boxer with a local pizza parlor, train for some boxing matches to earn extra money to pay off a loan shark.

During the first boxing match, however, the father’s opponent throws an illegal punch and puts the father into a coma. Once again, Li feels he let somebody down, Mia as well as her father.

Li feels he owes them something. So, he decides to enter a citywide karate tournament with a $50,000 cash prize. His chances of winning look bleak. However, he gets help in training from his kung fu teacher in Beijing, Mr. Han, who enlists the help of Daniel LaRusso, the prize karate student of the late Mister Miyagi. One of Miyagi’s ancestors and one of Han’s trained together in martial arts long ago.

KARATE KID: LEGENDS has a complex plot structure leading up to the tournament. So, it lacks the dramatic power of the original KARATE KID movie, which was released 41 years ago. However, it does star Jack Chan as the kung fu teacher and Ralph Macchio as Daniel, the original Karate Kid. Macchio has become popular on Netflix recreating his role as Daniel in the hit TV series COBRA KAI. Also, Ben Wang makes a charismatic martial arts fighter in the movie as Li Fong. The movie has a good supporting cast beyond that. So, KARATE KID: LEGENDS is fairly entertaining. It also has some humor. For example, there’s a funny “jacket on, jacket off” routine that mimics the “wax on, wax off” jokes in the original KARATE KID.

KARATE KID: LEGENDS has a pro-family worldview that also stresses honor, perseverance and sticking together in times of trouble. The movie’s dialogue describes Han’s martial arts family and Mr. Miyagi’s martial arts family, which includes Daniel, as two branches coming from one tree. That’s also the kind of relationship the movie’s teenage protagonist, Li, establishes with his girlfriend, Mia, and her father. Finally, the plot revolves around helping a small businessman keeping his successful family business open and thriving.

Of course, there’s plenty of martial arts fighting in KARATE KID: LEGENDS, as well as the boxing match that sends the girl’s father to the hospital. KARATE KID: LEGENDS also has some brief foul language, which is mostly light. Finally, two scenes show light commemorative Buddhist shrines to Mr. Miyagi and to Li’s brother. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and young teenagers.

For more than 40 years, the Karate Kid franchise has entertained fans with a four-film series, a remake-spinoff, and a TV show continuation. Now, the two best-reviewed movies of the bunch are crossing over for Karate Kid: Legends, with original star Ralph Macchio and the 2010 version’s Jackie Chan uniting to train the next martial arts hero, played by Ben Wang. The initial reception for the new installment is mixed, but most agree that it lives up to its past while making a star to watch out of Wang. Also, everyone seems to love Chan and Macchio together.

Here’s what critics are saying about Karate Kid: Legends:

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How does it compare to the other installments?

Legends can hold its head as one of the best installments so far, better than Karate Kid (2010), but nothing on Karate Kid (1984).
— Jack Shepherd, Total Film

As far as Karate Kid movies go, this one can’t match the surprisingly elegant characterization of the first movie, but at 94 crisply paced minutes, it’s less distended than the shockingly overlong 2010 remake, and feels less obligatory than the old Macchio sequels.
— Jesse Hassenger, Paste Magazine

Karate Kid: Legends is a sensational sequel, building on the classic underdog framework of the original 1984 Karate Kid movie, while working in fresh fun, familiar faces, and a dazzling new talent.
— Kristy Puchko, Mashable

This is a fun, breezy adventure that nests right into the world of Karate Kid and largely delivers on the action, laughs, and heart fans love about the IP.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

While the team-up may be fun for fans of previous Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai, it also misses the emotional core of these coming-of-age stories.
— Matt Goldberg, The Wrap

[It] adds nothing original to the formula. It’s a formula that works, to be sure, making for a pleasant enough time filler. But that’s about it.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

Neither as fun as the early seasons of Cobra Kai nor as effective as the 2010 reboot, Karate Kid: Legends relies heavily on franchise favourites while bringing nothing new to the party.
— Tara Brady, Irish Times

Between the first couple of seasons of Cobra Kai and now Legends, The Karate Kid is the rare franchise that can boast one of the very best legacyquels as well as one of the worst.
— Matt Singer, Screen Crush

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Does it fit in well with Cobra Kai?

The movie grows out of that show’s ebullient spirit.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Much like Cobra Kai, Legends has a bit more to say beyond revisiting some Crane Kicking hits.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

For anyone who’s seen Cobra Kai, [this has] a familiar format, echoing how LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence tried to teach their students both Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang.
— Jack Shepherd, Total Film

Karate Kid: Legends ignores essentially all the events of Cobra Kai… Fans hoping Karate Kid: Legends will continue its storyline in some way should adjust their expectations accordingly.
— Matt Singer, Screen Crush

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How is the story?

The plot is a “paint by the numbers,” generic story…It is also a stereotypical, “feel good” movie where one roots for the underdog and isn’t disappointed in the end.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

So simple, so unironic, so cheesy-sincere, so analog that you may feel it transporting you right back to the “innocence” of the ’80s. And that’s the best thing about Karate Kid: Legends.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

This is a surprisingly self-contained story all about Li, and a darn good one at that.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

Turning the formula on its head where the young person will train an older person is a nice twist that still adheres to the standard beats of learning martial arts as material necessity and personal growth.
— Matt Goldberg, The Wrap

Karate Kid: Legends is like the IKEA instruction booklet for making a Karate Kid movie: a marvel of abbreviated, gestural storytelling that should be taught in schools as an example of what a perfectly structured script looks like.
— Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

This latest installment goes way beyond recycling the basic premise… They might as well have called it Karate Kid: Déjà Vu.
— Matt Singer, Screen Crush

The plot is just awful, crammed with so many cliches that you’re barely done chuckling at one before another kicks you in the head.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

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Does it play better for older fans or newer audiences?

Older audiences will reminisce about watching Macchio play the Karate Kid. In comparison, younger audiences will enjoy the story and Ben Wang’s skills as an actor and martial artist.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

It’s certainly a crowd-pleasing film that will make you feel good all the way through, no matter how long you’ve been with the franchise.
— Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

Setting the movie years after Cobra Kai certainly helps sell the movie to casual fans, allowing them to get into the story without having to cram six seasons of television into their heads in advance.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

The movie ultimately chooses to work for its young audience more than its potentially nostalgic (or puzzled) parents.
— Jesse Hassenger, Paste Magazine

Karate Kid: Legends [is] a movie that understands its identity but still feels forced to cater to older fans in a way that neglects how well the film works for its target audience of younger viewers.
— Matt Goldberg, The Wrap

Starting off with a clip from 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II… there are numerous callbacks to past installments, and the end credits feature a cameo by one more franchise veteran.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

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How is the pacing?

Karate Kid: Legends is a movie that, for better and worse, doesn’t let up, offering you no chance to catch a breath.
— Jack Shepherd, Total Film

At a cool hour and 34 minutes, the film understands what it means to keep a story tight and moving.
— Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

Working in Karate Kid: Legends‘ favor is how it’s cut and paced a lot like Jeff Rowe’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. It’s jaunty and light.
— Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

The moment Daniel LaRusso is introduced, Karate Kid: Legends begins sprinting towards its closing moments at a jarring, breakneck pace.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

Legends barely lasts 90 minutes, and it often feels like it’s been severely truncated in the editing room until all that remained were the training montages and fight scenes.
— Matt Singer, Screen Crush

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And the martial arts action?

The fight scenes are well-choreographed and entertaining.
— Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

For those who are fans of action sequences and especially Karate and Kung Fu, they should especially be pleased with what first-time feature film director Jonathan Entwistle has done to showcase the art form.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

[The movie is] designed to give you that “This is not your father’s Ralph Macchio fairy tale!” feeling.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

There’s some brilliant choreography on display, especially during one back-alley brawl that sees Li take on a bunch of ruffians. Yet, other fights are cut too fast, and some fancy camera work stops certain hits from having the impact they should.
— Jack Shepherd, Total Film

The fight sequences in Karate Kid: Legends can occasionally feel over-edited with one too many cuts and some creatively distracting animated additions, but on the whole, the fight choreography and stunt-work on display feels more elaborate than any of the prior films.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

The fights are well-done, but nowhere near as crazy as what people saw on the Netflix series.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

The fight choreography is passable but never impressive, and an over-reliance on shaky quick cuts drains out some much needed physicality. It doesn’t help that there’s surprisingly few of them.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

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Does it work as a comedy?

It is incredibly funny with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that land at the right place and at the right time.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

Karate Kid: Legends had me laughing.
— Kristy Puchko, Mashable

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How is Ben Wang?

Ben Wang is a great new lead for this series, not just for some stellar martial arts skills, but also for his almost effortless charisma and lovable personality.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

He’s lithe and captivating.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

The young actor exudes an electric, everyman appeal.
— Ben Truitt, USA Today

Wang is excellent not only as an actor but as a student of martial arts.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

Wang carries on Chan’s legacy by performing action skillfully while being funny.
— Kristy Puchko, Mashable

An early fight sequence positions Wang to be an able inheritor of Chan’s prop-heavy, comedic, hero-who-gets-hurt style, and he himself is a charming, effortless sort with a touch of ineffable star power.
— Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

There’s a natural charisma and vulnerability to Wang that lends itself well to Li’s journey… He’s also got a bit of an edge that, like Daniel in the original Karate Kid, defies the usual tropes of a picked-on teenage protagonist.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

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What about the Ralph Macchio-Jackie Chan team-up?

Watching them spar with Wang and each other is a treat to behold. There is a joy in watching them on screen together that audiences, young and old, will love.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect

This tag-team of combat gurus turns out to be an ace comedy team.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

The few moments where Han and LaRusso bicker over how to teach Li are highlights, albeit underutilized ones.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

When Chan and Macchio share the screen, it is an absolute joy… It’s such a fun dynamic that you cannot help but partly begrudge the writers for not giving Chan and Macchio more to do.
— Jack Shepherd, Total Film

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Are there any other standouts in the cast?

Sadie Stanley… acts with an eagerly ingenuous personality that feels entirely pre-social media, to the point that she evokes the Ally Sheedy of WarGames. (Yes, that’s a high compliment; keep an eye out for Sadie Stanley.)
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Though he’s in a minor role, Wyatt Oleff is a scene-stealer as Alan, Li’s tutor.
— Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

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Does the movie have a villain problem?

Like William Zabka back in the day, Knight nicely inhabits the unstoppable karate villain role, though the movie begs to spend a little more time with him.
— Ben Truitt, USA Today

The film’s villains are a bit of a low point… one-dimensional even by Karate Kid standards.
— Aidan Kelley, Collider

Connor and O’Shea feel like afterthoughts in a way other Karate Kid antagonists didn’t, albeit for more over-the-top reasons pre-Cobra Kai.
— Ben Wasserman, CBR

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Karate Kid: Legends opens in theaters on May 30, 2025.

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A Wes Anderson film is always an uphill battle for me. I put that out in front here so you can understand where I’m coming from in this review. While I think his sensibilities lend quite nicely to animation, and I’ve really enjoyed both Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, Anderson in live action is very much a mixed bag. I always keep an open mind, but his batting average with me is quite low. For every movie that works on me, like The Royal Tenenbaums or The Grand Budapest Hotel, there’s the rest, which leave me just shrugging my shoulders. Recently, Anderson made one film I didn’t care for at all in The French Dispatch (reviewed here), as well as one that nearly won me over in Asteroid City (reviewed here). Now, with The Phoenician Scheme, I was wondering whether he’d get me over the edge and back on his side, or fall back on the things that annoy me. Unfortunately, while there’s some solid humor on display, as well as the normal pristine visuals, it once again feels like watching him play with a diorama. I felt nothing, which means the flick has failed.

The Phoenician Scheme starts with a little bit of novelty from Anderson, which I appreciated, but before long, it’s the same old story. By the end, there’s a little diorama on the screen, which I don’t think is meant as a joke. As always, I can appreciate the singularity of his vision, as well as understand why it works on some folks, while getting absolutely zilch out of the experience. Aside from a few laughs and appreciation of craft, I sit stone-faced, which is a real shame.

Ruthless and wealthy international businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) seems to be pulling the world’s strings however he pleases. He also repeated survives assassination attempts, suggesting that not everyone is thrilled with how he’s in such control. After one such attempt, he decides that he wants an heir, not just to his company, but to his power as well. While he was married three times and has nine young sons living in a dorm near his estate, he opts for his daughter  Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who he sent to a convent as a young girl. Liesl is about to become a nun and has no use for any of this, least of all her father, suspecting him of murdering her mother, but the prospect of solving that mystery, perhaps gaining vengeance in the process, is too good to pass up. So, father and daughter are reunited, with the children’s tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera), who immediately has fallen in love with Liesl, along for the ride.

Zsa-zsa’s competitors have conspired against him, raising the price of an item that’s created a massive financial gap, so the trio must travel to each party in order to negotiate better terms, as well as other methods for filling in the gap. While that’s going on, some mild father and daughter bonding results. Of course, the world is filled with others, from the competition (played by Bryan Cranston and Tom Hanks, to name two), to family (Benedict Cumberbatch), to the leader of a band of radicals in Sergio (Richard Ayoade) who want a revolution. It all builds and builds, but where it ends up will potentially leave you simply shrugging, like I did.

Benicio del Toro does some very nice work here, as does Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton. They’re best in show, which is helpful considering they’re the three characters we spend the most time with. Watching del Toro get a showcase is admittedly a pleasure, while Threapleton has some definite acting chops. As for Cera, it’s wild that he and Anderson have not worked together yet, as he’s a strong fit for that style. In terms of the smaller roles/cameos, Jeffrey Wright steals his scene, cementing my theory that he should be the lead of an Anderson project one day. The aforementioned Richard Ayoade, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hanks are all fine, though more or less just here because they enjoy Anderson. Supporting players here include stars like F. Murray Abraham, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Willem Dafoe, Hope Davis, Rupert Friend, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Scarlett Johansson, and Bill Murray, plus many more.

Wes Anderson directs a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Roman Coppola, and while some of the surprising violence is pretty funny, the whole thing does feel a bit stale. The visuals from Bruno Delbonnel and the score by Alexandre Desplat are Anderson approved, so if you appreciate his work, you’ll like what they’re up to even more. The failing here, besides the general twee feeling that I get from Anderson, is that Anderson and Coppola clearly want you invested in the family story. Especially considering where it leaves off, the intent is undeniable. The thing is, it just never sucks you in. You’re kept at a distance, admiring the pretty images, but never really caring much about the machinations of the plot, which is wildly obtuse and overcomplicated, let alone the characters within.

The Phoenician Scheme left me cold, which is a shame considering its hopes to have an emotional core on display. All in all, this is Wes Anderson up to his old tricks. Whether that’s a promise or a threat is a matter of perspective. It’s clear where I fall on this, but your mileage may vary. If you’re a fan, prepare to enjoy some more of Anderson’s antics. If not, well…at least you know what to expect.

SCORE: ★★1/2

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