Review: ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Has Its Priorities in Order
Sony's shockingly enjoyable legacy sequel prioritizes charming, kid-friendly new characters over pandering to now-adult fans of a 41-year-old franchise.
Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
rated PG-13 (for martial arts violence and some language)
Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, written by Rob Lieber, produced by Karen Rosenfelt
Starring Ben Wang, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Jackie Chan, Joshua Jackson, Ralph Macchio
A Columbia Pictures and Sunswept Entertainment production
Opening theatrically the week of May 30, courtesy of Sony Pictures
Okay, I was wrong. This isn’t “your grandfather’s Karate Kid.” Despite a marketing campaign that sold this latest iteration as a nostalgia-chasing legacy sequel, Karate Kid: Legends is closer in spirit to Creed than Ghostbusters: Afterlife. No, it’s not as good as Ryan Coogler’s spectacular Rocky spin-off. Still, it likewise uses a somewhat silly “the previous Skywalker is now the Kenobi” pitch as a Trojan horse to offer up the very sort of present-tense, youth-skewing and grounded drama (or, in this case, closer to comedy) that now requires an existing IP attachment to be considered remotely commercial. At its best, it takes its “The 2010 Karate Kid remake existed in the same universe as the 1980s flicks and now Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan have to team up!” pitch not as a crutch but as a “So how do we make a good movie out of this?” challenge.