KARATE KID: LEGENDS (2025)

No movie can be everything for everyone. For example, my mother never saw what all the fuss was about when The Karate Kid (1984) was played over and over again at our house as the entire neighbourhood was sweeping the legs and crane kicking each other, hoping against hope we’d happen upon our own personal Mr. Miyagi who would trick us into painting his house and muscle memory us into karate savants. It was a magical time. My mother would kiss my booboos and look on, still not understanding, but happy we were out doing stuff. I get it. I’ve watched moviemakers try over and over again to tap that well to recapture the original’s space in the zeitgeist with attempts that tried and failed to karate chop real life childhood fears of bullies, familial death, shame and first love, into enduring feel-good stories touting the benefits of hard work, bravery and friendship. It’s a formula that hit us just right when we were young, but with each passing year, I looked on as my mother did, feeling that the new iterations weren’t it for me. Enter Karate Kid: Legends (2025), Hollywood’s latest kick at the calf and I was ready to take a punch. And yet, I’m straight up surprised to say, it’s everything a legacy sequel should be, thanks in large part to main character Li Fong (Ben Wang), whose aw-shucks, open-hearted demeanor mixed with unquestionable athleticism are reminiscent of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. In fact there are numerous parallels to the Spiderman universe on display throughout the film. Both are coming-of-age stories shot in New York with affable young men in the lead and older and wiser mentors guiding them as they personally overcome adversity and learn valuable life lessons along the way. Also, Spiderman: No Way Home (2021) and Karate Kid: Legends both bring together various characters from within their universes (Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, respectively) making for unique mash-ups of old and new that harmonize the contrasting worlds and ages. Like Parker and Daniel LaRusso, Fong is a timeless hero, brave, afraid and fighting the odds. Sure, there are winks and nods and sequel beats to be met, but like the original, this new Karate Kid succeeds as a modern feel-good movie for kids, with characters, old and young that have wisdom and heart. It not only resuscitates, but progresses the once dead franchise. And I get it.

WATCH OR NOT: WATCH

Additional musings: I still miss Mr. Miyagi. I can almost here him say, “Daniel-son, wax on…and take off that toupee.”