Karate Kid: Legends arrived in summer 2025 with a premise that should not work: a legacy sequel bridging the original 1984 franchise (via Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio) with a new protagonist (Ben Wang) in a new setting. It works. Not perfectly — the film is formulaic and runs on nostalgia as fuel — but it works in the way the best installments of this franchise always have: by being sincerely invested in its characters’ emotional journeys.
The Story
Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a kung fu prodigy who moves from China to New York after a family loss. Struggling to adapt to a new city and culture, he encounters a local karate champion who challenges him publicly. His former kung fu master, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), isn’t far away — and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) happens to be in New York at the right moment to offer his own guidance.
The film is effectively a three-generation handoff: Han and LaRusso passing their respective traditions to a new champion in a new city. The tournament structure is familiar. The emotional beats are familiar. The film knows this and leans into it rather than away.
The Performances
Ben Wang — Previously known for American Born Chinese on Disney+, Wang leads the film with genuine star quality. His martial arts background is real — the fight choreography doesn’t shy away from his capability — and his dramatic work in the film’s emotional sequences is significantly better than the material requires. He’s the obvious reason to watch.
Jackie Chan — Mr. Han is the role Chan was born to play in 2025, and he delivers his most engaged performance in years. The physical comedy is present but restrained; the emotional weight is not. Chan has always been better at this than his action-star reputation suggests, and here he gets the space to show it.
Ralph Macchio — LaRusso functions as the film’s bridge between the 1984 original and the new chapter. Macchio plays the character with the earned confidence of someone who has lived inside him since Cobra Kai deepened the role. His scenes with Chan are the film’s best.
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What Doesn’t Work
The film holds a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 51 on Metacritic, and the criticism is fair: the pacing leans heavily on training montages, the antagonist is underwritten, and the 94-minute runtime feels rushed in places where it should breathe. The screenplay is working from a template and doesn’t deviate far enough from it to surprise viewers who’ve seen the original films.
This is a film that earns goodwill from its performances and from genuine affection for the franchise rather than from craft. Audiences gave it a CinemaScore of A-, suggesting the crowd-pleasing intent lands even when the filmmaking doesn’t fully deliver.
Do You Need to Know the Original Films?
Helpful but not required. The film functions as a standalone introduction to Li Fong’s story. Prior knowledge of the original Karate Kid (1984) and the 2010 Chan/Smith reboot deepens the Han character’s emotional resonance, and Cobra Kai watchers will appreciate LaRusso’s arc — but none of it is required viewing.
Where to Watch
Now available on streaming. Check Netflix, Prime Video, or digital rental platforms depending on your region.
Final Verdict
Karate Kid: Legends is a crowd-pleaser that earns its crowd-pleasing by investing genuinely in its characters. Ben Wang is a star. Jackie Chan reminds you why he’s irreplaceable. The film is formulaic and knows it — but within that formula, it delivers warmth, effective action, and a handoff between franchise generations that lands with more emotional weight than it had any right to.
For fans of the original films and Cobra Kai: don’t miss it. For newcomers: Ben Wang alone makes it worth 94 minutes.
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