It’s always an interesting thing to see what films resonate with different people and why. Everyone knows a lot of blockbusters or studio films have been underwhelming for me in the last few years. This summer I’ve already been disappointed by Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and Lilo and Stitch was predictably bland. Now we have Karate Kid: Legends and most of my friends seem to be dogging on it, so it might surprise you to hear I quite enjoyed it! Go figure.

Now I should say that none of the criticisms I’m hearing on this film are inaccurate. It is very predictable and the story takes some strange choices like becoming a boxing movie for a large chunk, but I was still over-all entertained by what was happening on screen. This is partly due to the fact that I am a huge sucker for underdog sports movies and the movie is extremely short so the problems didn’t weigh on me the way they might have. The cast is also hugely likable so that goes a long way for this kind of formula film.

This entry in the franchise follows Li Fong (Ben Wang) as he moves to NYC with his Mom (Ming-Na Wen who I adore), and he is told he cannot fight anymore. Of course, that means he definitely will fight but it is only after getting a girlfriend (Sadie Stanley) and helping said girlfriend’s Dad prepare for a boxing match (like I said that angle was weird but it’s Joshua Jackson who is so charming I didn’t mind it.) Then he must challenge bad boy Connor Day in the Battle of the Boroughs which means he must learn karate in a couple weeks (he knew kung-fu before because he is from China not Japan.)

Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio are not in the movie as much as the trailer would have you believe but they are likable enough to make me smile throughout and Wang is really endearing as Li. I wish director John Entwistle had made better choices with the fight cinematography. Everything feels choppy and weirdly edited so if you are going for great fighting than moderate your expectations.

As you can tell from my review Karate Kid: Legends is a flawed film but it hits those underdog sports movie beats well, is short and sweet and has a very likable cast so it did enough to entertain me. Your mileage may vary. I have never seen an episode of Cobra Kai so I can’t speak to anything involving that show in the movie.

I do like that this is a movie that boys and girls should be able to vibe with equally but it might have been nice if the girlfriend was also a fighter as opposed to being the prize to be won and protected by both Connor and Li. Still, it’s a crowd-pleasing movie that made me smile and at the end of the day that’s what blockbuster entertainment is all about.

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