Karate Child: Legends got here extremely near breaking a drained franchise custom, however finally ends up falling into the anticipated tropes of the collection. Billed as the last word crossover of the unique Karate Child movies and the Jackie Chan-led remake, Karate Child: Legends may be very a lot a refinement of the collection. Nonetheless, at its worst, it may well really feel like a retread.
It finally follows many conventions of the franchise, which lowers the strain and thrills of the movie in some fairly essential methods. It is an actual disgrace, too, as a result of Karate Child: Legends really introduces a very intelligent subversion of the everyday Karate Child tropes that would have actually elevated the movie if it had remained the central conceit of the story.
Karate Child: Legends’ Mentor Flip Is A Nice (And Underutilized) Thought
Karate Child: Legends flips the everyday scholar/mentor system of the franchise by making Li Fong the one who trains the older Victor in fight, a intelligent contact that helps the movie stand out from the remainder of the collection. In Karate Child: Legends, Li Fong promised his mom he will not battle anymore after they transfer to New York Metropolis.
Whereas he does initially hold that promise, he bends the foundations a little bit bit by changing into a tutor to Victor. A retired boxer, pizza store proprietor, and father to Li’s love curiosity Mia, Victor is searching for a return to the boxing ring. Li finally ends up instructing him the basics of martial arts to assist enhance his boxing prowess.
It is a intelligent twist on the everyday system for the Karate Child collection, which focuses on a youthful technology of fighters studying from older fighters. Each earlier Karate Child film was rooted on this dynamic. Cobra Kai expanded the idea in a approach that allowed complexity within the dynamic however codified it as a core ingredient of the collection.
Karate Child: Legends appears to flip this on its head in an attention-grabbing approach by forcing Li to coach Victor, his youthful snark and confidence bristling in opposition to the crusty and skilled Victor in an entertaining approach. Their dynamic turns into a variety of enjoyable, particularly as Victor learns to mix his personal boxing type with Li’s classes.
Not solely is that this a enjoyable character flip, it is a compelling twist on the everyday type of fight within the collection. Boxing is a totally completely different type of combating in comparison with martial arts, which makes Victor’s one-on-screen boxing match stand out from the quite a few karate showdowns that make up the collection.
Nonetheless, Victor suffers a serious damage, touchdown him within the hospital and establishing the movie’s “all is misplaced” second when Li is compelled to relive his brother’s loss of life and freezes up. This prompts Mr. Han to reach on the scene and practice Li alongside Daniel LaRusso, shifting the main focus again to the usual combating event format of the collection.
Whereas there are parts of this part of the movie which are entertaining (together with the road aesthetics of the event and the ultimate confrontation between Li and Conor), it nonetheless looks like a wasted alternative for the franchise. Making the “Karate Child” of the movie the mentor in his dynamic was a intelligent concept that deserved extra growth.
How Karate Child: Legends Might Have Actually Subverted The Franchise
Victor remaining the first fighter of Karate Child: Legends as a substitute of shifting focus absolutely to Li would have been helpful. It will have given Ben Wang and Joshua Jackson extra room to play with their dynamic, which is a spotlight of the movie. It will have allowed Mia and Victor’s relationship to move extra naturally within the narrative.
There have been real stakes within the boxing match, with Victor combating so he may earn the cash he wanted to pay again the shady O’Shea. This facet of the story is kind of dropped for the second half, with O’Shea’s intimidation efforts solely extending to a battle scene the place Daniel and Mr. Han defeat a number of males directly.
Retaining the deal with Victor combating his approach by means of the boxing circuit to earn the cash would have maintained these stakes. It will have additionally compelled Li to maintain adjusting to boxing technique, forcing him to seek out new methods to counter it with martial arts or fuse the 2 fight kinds in order that Victor may get an edge.
This strategy would have been the right approach for Mr. Han and Daniel to nonetheless issue into the story, arriving on the scene to supply their recommendation on how Victor is combating and the way Li is coaching him. The dynamics of the battle could be naturally completely different too, attributable to Victor’s age, which may introduce new problems to the battle.
Making Li an out of doors fighter may have additionally improved his battle scenes by eradicating him from the event construction. As an alternative, the movie may have leaned more durable into showcasing his skills in opposition to O’Shea’s males, following up on one of many movie’s early (and greatest) battle scenes by showcasing simply how expert Li actually is in a battle.
Karate Child: Legends is indebted to the previous of the franchise, each in-universe and as a contemporary continuation. Nonetheless, it may have honored that legacy whereas nonetheless standing out. It had the right alternative with Li’s dynamic flip with Victor, however Karate Child: Legends finally ends up shifting again to the anticipated arc when it may have been one thing distinctive.
Karate Child: Legends
7/10
- Launch Date
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Might 30, 2025
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Director
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Jonathan Entwistle
- Writers
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Rob Lieber, Robert Mark Kamen, Christopher Murphey