We’re just a couple of days away from the release ofKarate Kid: Legends, and reviews are starting to pour in that signify the legacy sequel is more wax off than wax on. Debuting on Rotten Tomatoes with a “rotten” score of just 55%,Legendsdoesn’t seem to live up to the standard set by Netflix’sCobra Kai, with many saying it relies too heavily on nostalgia rather than bringing anything new to the dojo.
“Those hopingKarate Kid: Legendsis up to par with any season ofCobra Kaiare sure to be disappointed,” said Giovanni Lago from Next Best Picture, adding: “It makes one yearn to be taken back to the 2010 reboot, which should tell audiences all they need to know about this latest film.” Tara Brady from The Irish Times echoed those sentiments in their review, saying:
“Neither as fun as the early seasons of Cobra Kai nor as effective as the 2010 reboot, Karate Kid: Legends relies heavily on franchise favorites while bringing nothing new to the party.”
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While its score will obviously change as more reviews come in,Karate Kid: Legendscurrently ranks as the third-best in the franchise thus far based on its Rotten Tomatoes score, with the original 1984 classic holding steady at 84%, and the 2010 reboot sitting at 67%. The news isn’t all bad, asMovieWeb’s own Will Sayre adds in his review:
“There are the expected pitfalls of a YA-friendly movie, including clichéd character archetypes and some forgettable performances. But the latestKarate Kidfilm succeeds by expanding on the franchise, paying homage to the greats and flipping one typical story beat on its head.”
Critics Can’t Agree on ‘Karate Kid: Legends’
Starring Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, and Ben Wang,Karate Kid: Legendsfocuses on Li Fong, a kung fu prodigy struggling to fit in with his new classmates after moving to New York City. When he enters a karate competition to help a friend, Fong discovers his skills alone aren’t enough. Withhelp from Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso, he soon learns to merge two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown. It sounds decent enough, right? Not so if you’re Tim Grierson from Screen International, who says:
“This new installment knows which story beats to hit, but it has little grasp of the emotional undercurrents that made the original resonate — how it touched on adolescent insecurities, first love, and the scourge of school bullies.”
But while many critics have a lot of negativity to toss into the mix,Karate Kid: Legendsdoes have its champions, like Brian Truitt from USA Today who says “it’s a well-cast installment made to be an entry point for this generation.” Matt Goldberg from The Wrap says something similar, adding: “It still manages to arrive at a fairly charming albeit unsteady picture that should win over a new generation of younger viewers.” Then there’s Owen Gleiberman from Variety, who appreciated the film’s truncated runtime:
“It’s a movie that’s unapologetically basic and wholesome and, at 94 minutes, refreshingly stripped down.”
Needless to say, the latest installment in the long-running franchise appears to have missed the mark a little compared toCobra Kai, which managed to maintain consistently high levels of storytelling across six seasons. Was it rushed too quickly into theaters to capitalize on the success of the Netflix series? Maybe. That’s a call you can make for yourself whenKarate Kid: Legendshits theaters on May 30 from Sony Pictures.
