A trend adopted by Hollywood in the decade that followed the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which grossed more than $2 billion, is the creation of “legacy sequels” aimed at multiple generations. Although the presence of original cast members is intended to evoke nostalgia from older fans, younger characters are introduced that appeal to an audience that had never experienced the original property. While the “fan service” in The Force Awakens was strengthened by a few notable deviations from formula, subsequent attempts to make “legacy sequels” have been largely unsuccessful. Films like Terminator: Dark Fate, The Exorcist: Believer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jurassic World, and Independence Day: Resurgence were flat, uninspired retreads that felt out-of-touch with audience interests.
While it had already been remade in 2010, the strongest grasp that The Karate Kid had on popular culture was the amusing notion that it was the “bully,” Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who was the real hero of the 1984 film, and not Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). What began as a Funny or Die sketch and a few passing references on How I Met Your Mother eventually spawned Cobra Kai, a continuation of the original continuity that presented Johnny as a washed-up loser, whose life had gone downhill since his humiliation at the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Cobra Kai began as a low-budget project that aired on the defunct YouTube Red streaming service, but was eventually picked up by Netflix and turned into an Emmy-nominated global sensation.
The key to Cobra Kai’s success was its healthy perspective on the events of the original film. Johnny, Daniel, and the other returning characters weren’t heroes with a preordained destiny; they were simply people who’d moved on with their lives. Cobra Kai drew from the notion that karate could be used as a positive tool for adolescents to gain confidence, but it wasn’t burdened by endless references to a film released before a majority of its audience was born. Cobra Kai effectively introduced a new generation of young actors, and grew increasingly ridiculous over the course of six seasons.
Cobra Kai may have become too saccharine by the time that it reached its conclusion earlier this year, but even its attempts at sentimentality are preferable to Karate Kid: Legends, an unrelated sequel released by Sony Pictures. Due to a quirk involving rights, Karate Kid: Legends was allowed to reference characters from the original films, but couldn’t allude to anything that occurred on Cobra Kai. While this limited the capacity for character development for Daniel, it also meant that Karate Kid: Legends had to start from scratch with a new protagonist.
Despite a runtime of just over 90 minutes, Karate Kid: Legends is burdened with a surprising amount of mythology. Although Macchio returns for an extended cameo during the film’s final third, Karate Kid: Legends is also a sequel to the 2010 remake, which co-starred Jackie Chan as Mr. Han. Although he’d trained Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker in the 2010 film, Han is unable to offer the same mentorship to his nephew, Li Fong (Ben Wang), who has moved to New York City with his mother (Ming Na-Wen).
The Karate Kid was one of the biggest blockbusters of the 1980s because it cast LaRusso in an empathetic light, as he dealt with bullies, dating, school, and all the other issues that a teenager coped with in 1984. That relatability is denied to Li, who’s strangely framed as an established kung fu master forced to give up fighting after his brother’s death in a tragic accident. It’s a dark bit of backstory for a film aimed at being the summer’s family crowd-pleaser, and it’s even more out of place amidst the jovial tone. Few scenes in Karate Kid: Legends span more than two minutes; montages are used to speed through anything that resembles character developments. A story centered on the differences between living in Beijing and New York would’ve been a compelling way for Karate Kid: Legends to modernize its narrative, but the film’s only observation about New York is the plethora of pizza options.
Wang’s charismatic, but Karate Kid: Legends has no interest in any aspect of Li’s life unrelated to karate. While the original The Karate Kid showed how Daniel’s success at martial arts gave him more confidence , Karate Kid: Legends has only a brief moment to establish what it’s like for Li to move to New York. A strange amount of the film’s first third is centered on Li’s relationship with his love interest Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley), whose father Victor (Joshua Jackson) owns a pizza parlor with a debt to local gangsters. It’s the type of unrealistic storyline that may have worked had it been played as tongue-in-cheek, but it’s dropped by the time that Chan and Macchio are reintroduced.
The implication that Karate Kid: Legends is about the unification of three generations may have made for a compelling marketing hook, but within the framing of the narrative, there isn’t a reason for Li to have two different mentors. Any significant development between Li and his uncle is handled offscreen, and Daniel’s presence in the story has no emotional value for those unfamiliar with Macchio’s role in the original. The advice and training they provide to him is also broadly similar; Karate Kid: Legends missed the opportunity for Li to be torn between the insights of two different instructors.
The final tournament in Karate Kid: Legends is effective because of its focus; rather than conversations about legacy and inheritance, the film’s stripped down to focus on some extravagant (yet entertaining) fight choreography. Karate Kid: Legends would’ve made for a lazy, but inoffensive cash grab had Cobra Kai not existed, but when the two are compared, the latest legacy sequel is redundant.