The Wasteland Reviewer

Karate Kid: Legends (2025) Written Review

Are we ready to jump back into the world of Karate Kid? The beloved and long standing series Cobra Kai just recently ended after a large extended final season dropped in three parts over the course of a year. With multiple films and this series, audiences have fallen hard for this story of mentor/mentee relationships and growth through the power of martial arts. The series is known for its 80s vibes, campiness, over-seriousness, and action. Sony brings this world back to the big screen as they draw upon the original run, Cobra Kai, and the Jackie Chan film to deliver a legacy sequel of sorts to a whole new generation. It is time for Karate Kid: Legends.

How does Jonathan Entwistle handle bringing this world back to the big screen? This film has great energy and a breakneck pace that will keep you entertained from start to finish. There are certainly moments of emotion (which do hit in a satisfying way) but this film just has plenty of joy to go around. This is slightly unexpected based on Entwistle’s previous work, but he delivers a romping and slightly campy (in good Karate Kid fashion) good time. There are fun little flairs of visual storytelling that give the film more personality as well. Animation is leveraged at points for exposition, there are comic book style transitions from between shots, and video game style visuals on screen to capture subtitles and moments of action. You can tell this film was a joy to make sure. Not everything is perfect though with some glaring fake backgrounds at times as well as overly aggressive editing. Some moments felt like they could use more time to breathe but the film chooses an energetic pace over expanding those moments.

Does that affect the writing in the film as well? It certainly does because there is plenty to love about this film and there really should be more of it. This film comes in a tight 94 minutes, which is really surprising. The first half of the film which sets up our protagonist, Li Fong (Ben Wang), his family including his mother (Ming-Na Wen) and his great uncle/mentor (Jackie Chan), as well as a love interest (Sadie Stanley) and her father (Joshua Jackson) who Li Fong trains. This first half has plenty of space to breathe and set up some genuine connections. There is heart, montages, and plenty of well written and executed humor. The young romance is charming and set up well. The second half of the film feels a lot more rushed and could have used more scenes to flesh out some of the character dynamics. The moments of Chan’s Mr. Han and Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso training young Li Fong are great, with plenty of heart and humor, but they breeze by so quickly. This is an incredibly efficiently structured film that delivers just enough to make everything work. The emotional core of the film could have benefited by having more time for Li Fong and his mom as well as him confronting what happened to his brother. The antagonists are also paper thin, which is a shame because at least the franchise is known for its memorable (if not over-the-top) antagonists. Legends delivers so much good…it just would have been great if there was a little bit more of it.

What really makes this film click? The cast. Wang is endearing and empathetic while delivering some great moments of charm and charisma. This makes the relationship between Li Fong and Mia spark so well and Stanley’s performance delivers as well. One of the most unexpected and best part of the film is Jackson’s Victor. This pizzeria owner tries to get back in the ring as a boxer under the tutelage of Li Fong. Jackson is funny, empathetic, and charming. Wen is the straight person to all the martial arts shenanigans and unfortunately feels under-utilized but steps up in the fleeting moments where she gets to shine. Chan is an absolute delight with his natural charisma and physicality that sells all his stunts. Macchio slips right back into the role of Daniel effortlessly and delivers good heart to the film. Wyatt Oleff is a fun sidekick addition with some good comedic moments and Aramis Knight is grossly under-utilized as Li Fong’s romantic and martial arts rival.

Is Karate Kid: Legends a welcomed return to the franchise? This is one of the swiftest cinematic experiences in recent memory as the runtime flies by with plenty of humor and heart along the way. The action sequences really deliver whether they are alley fights, training montages, or competitions. The emotion is there when it needs to, but Entwistle excels with delivering plenty of humor and charm. The cast delivers and the selling point of having Chan and Macchio together really works…even if it is a lot less than you might expect.