Karate Kid: Legends (#692)


I saw another film today with my son that promises to be a blockbuster. What it is is a darn good iteration of its predecessor lookalike from 1984, with a few wrinkles. KARATE KID: LEGENDS is the story of a young proficient kung fu-trained boy in Bejing who is taken by his physician mother to New York City to pursue a new life. Enrolled in a prestigious high school, he is basically friendless until he meets a young girl classmate who works with her father in their pizza shop. The father, in debt to some unsavory characters, wants to return to his boxing days to earn enough to pay off the debt and enlists Li to help him train. His first bout ends badly. In the predictable plot, and against his mother's wishes, Li decides to compete in the city's karate championship and reaches out to his sensei in China for help in training. The sensei in turn recruits a former champion, played by the original Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. The film is like renewing acquaintance with an old friend, and for us, it worked. Yes, we knew what would happen, but it didn't lessen the enjoyment of this old fashioned, come from behind film. Critics were lukewarm, with 59% thumbs up; audiences were more appreciative with 91%. It was an hour and 34 minutes of nostalgia.  

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