A flashy return misses the mark

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, May 30th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It…a 41-year-old franchise returns to theaters.

It’s been quite a year for the Karate Kid franchise. The final season of the popular Netflix series Cobra Kai wrapped up back in February.

EICHER: And now we have a new feature-length film picking up the story 15 years after the last movie was released. Here’s Arts and Culture Editor Collin Garbarino on The Karate Kid: Legends.

[The Karate Kid theme]

COLLIN GARBARINO: Karate Kid fans might be tempted to start practising their crane kicks this weekend because the franchise has a new movie arriving in theaters.

Between 1984 and 1994, Pat Morita played Mr. Miyagi, a soft-spoken karate sensei, in four Karate Kid films. In the first three movies, he trains Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso. In the fourth, Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce… but it’s best not to think too much about that fourth movie. Then in 2010, there was a Miyagi-less remake starring Jackie Chan as a Kung Fu master named Mr. Han. The newest movie merges the Miyagi legacy with Mr. Han’s in what looks like an attempt to pass the theatrical torch to a new generation.

MR. HAN: I did not come looking for Sensei Miyagi. I came looking for you.

The Karate Kid: Legends begins with some nostalgic continuity. In a flashback to the second movie Mr. Miyagi and Daniel discuss the origins of karate. A voiceover tries to bridge the gap between the original movies and the remake.

The real story begins when a Beijing boy named Li Fang, played by Ben Wang, moves to New York City. He’s got some of the same problems Daniel had in the original movie… albeit he’s a Chinese boy in Little Italy, rather than an Italian boy in California. Li has trouble fitting in at school. He likes a girl whose ex-boyfriend is a bully. The solution to all these problems? Entering and winning a karate tournament.

LI FANG: I’m doing this for all of us. Whatever it takes.

Li’s old Kung Fu teacher, Mr. Han realizes that his student will only have a shot at winning the tournament if he augments his exuberant Kung Fu skills with some uncomplicated Miyagi-style karate. So Mr. Han flies to California to get some help from Mr. Miyagi’s best student.

DANIEL: I can’t.

MR. HAN: You can.

DANIEL: You’re not listening to me. I’m not coming to New York.

MR. HAN: I see you in the Big Apple.

But this isn’t just another warmed-over version of the master-student story. Li has a past that haunts him, but he only ends up in trouble because he is trying to help some friends in need. On the whole, he seems like a fairly well-adjusted kid who doesn’t need the same level of mentoring Daniel did back in the ’80s.

MR. HAN: Li means to me what you meant to Sensei Miyagi.

The Karate Kid: Legends contains depictions of Eastern spiritualism and it’s rated PG-13 for some bad language and martial arts action. But to be fair, the PG-rated original film had more coarse material than this one.

And while this story might be set in the Karate Kid universe, it has all the hallmarks of a Jackie Chan Kung Fu film. Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi had a wry sense of humor, but Chan plays the role of Mr. Han with his typical broad comedic approach. Most of the fight scenes use over-the-top wire work rather than the more straightforward karate we saw back in 1984.

DANIEL: Jodan zuki. Punching block. Stronger base.

MR. HAN: Windmill block. More dynamic.

Though The Karate Kid: Legends offers a certain nostalgic appeal, it’s not destined to be a classic. At only 94 minutes, the film keeps the story moving, but the central conflict needs a rewrite. Li’s new friends in New York City find themselves in trouble with a loan shark who also happens to own a karate dojo. The film spends so much time on the loan shark bit that it fails to develop the personal animosity between Li and his karate rival.

Also, don’t expect much Ralph Macchio in this movie. He only shows up in the last 30 minutes.

MR. HAN: Everything is a kung fu.

DANIEL: Yeah, well… no.

LI FANG: What happened to two branches one tree?

MR. HAN: One branch stronger than the other.

Once Macchio enters the picture, the tone shifts, and the movie starts to focus on the relationship between Daniel and Mr. Han and their humorous attempts to get Li ready for a tournament. And having two teachers with different styles ends up confusing the poor Li. The high flying Hong Kong–style martial arts and wire work are competently executed, but there’s nothing here we haven’t seen before.

One of the reasons the original Karate Kid became a classic was that the martial-arts action remained simple and straightforward, allowing the audience to identify more closely with Daniel’s emotional journey. This update has its humorous moments, but no one’s going to attempt the outrageous leaping-spinning slide that Mr. Han and Daniel concoct as Li’s secret weapon. And in fact, few people will remember this story at all. We’re a far cry from 1984, when kids everywhere, including me, were perfecting their crane kicks.

I’m Collin Garbarino

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