Karate Kid: Legends keeps a legacy alive

Karate Kid: Legends is the latest in a long legacy of martial arts movies that began in 1984 with The Karate Kid. Actor Ralph Macchio played the original main character, Daniel LaRusso, and he's back again for the sixth film in the franchise.

While his role is not as large as in the original, he delivers a few good one-liners and his delivery of karah-tay with a Japanese accent is memorable. Legends is tied to the Sony Pictures series Cobra Kai and hits after the ending in the timeline.

The story kicks off with a cartoon montage and a scene from 1986, then shifts to Beijing, China, where a teenage student named Li Fong is learning from a master of the arts named Mr. Han. His single mother decides to pack up and move to New York City for a new job. Li finds new friends in Victor Lipani and his daughter Mia, who run a family pizza parlor business.

In a plot twist as old as time, Fong falls in love with Mia, which conflicts with a schoolyard bully named Connor Day. This leads to a battle Royale and thanks to assistance from his super friends, Mr. Han and LaRusso, he saves the day by battling Day.

Legends is a family affair that's appropriate for all ages and especially geared towards teens. It's made for those with ADHD with hyperactive cutaways and a fast pace. The filmmakers have fun with fight scenes and sequences where the stakes are raised.

The multi-camera angled cinematography is like watching a Mortal Kombat video game and is full of eye-popping action sequences from beginning to end. The movie might stir up appetites as well. Not since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a franchise tempted watchers to crave pizza in a flick. Li is a Chicagoan at heart and a fan of stuffed crust pizza pies and that clashes with a thin-sliced New York state of mind.

Ben Wang is the new kid on the block holds his own as Li Fong and Sadie Stanley is a standout as love interest Mia Lipani. The supporting cast is all strong and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han subs in for Pat Morita, who passed away in 2005.

Legends is made for teenagers but contains enough nostalgia material to hold an older person's attention. “Two branches, one tree,” indeed!

Sony Pictures Releasing releases Karate Kid: Legends in theaters on May 30, 2025, hi-yah!