Jackie Chan teaches Ben Yang
Alamy. Illustration: Russell Moorcroft
SINCE THE START, the Karate Kid franchise has behaved like an actual karate contestant. With the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, the rookie saga enjoyed an early victory and then an impressive enough follow-up fight with 1986’s sequel, before disappointing in its next bout, 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III. It reinvented itself with new vigour for 2010’s reboot The Karate Kid, starring Jaden Smith, before making a triumphant comeback with Netflix’s Cobra Kai. And now… Okay, this metaphor can only handle so much, but in a show of strength, the franchise is currently teaming up with, well, itself. Jonathan Entwistle’s Karate Kid: Legends unites Ralph Macchio’s OG karate kid, who turned sensei in Cobra Kai, with the 2010 film’s wise sage Mr Han (Jackie Chan). Here, young Li Fong (Ben Yang) comes to New York City from Beijing, runs into trouble and enters a karate contest. Same old, same old, right? Not quite.
This is an “inverse version” of the tried-andtested formula, says Entwistle. “We’re not seeing the origin of a kid learning martial arts and moving up to overcome something. Where we begin, he’s already quite highly trained and takes on the role of the master.” And the film mixes things up across the board. The 2010 movie, despite its title, in fact showcased kung fu, and here, through Mr Han and LaRusso, Li Fong blends that with karate.