Karate Kid: Legends (2025)★ 6.6/10

Essentially a retread of "The Forbidden Kingdom," the film aims to challenge stereotypes but ends up reinforcing them. The bullied-teen-turns-hero plot is super cliché, and the cultural integration is surface-level at best. There’s little originality and even less emotional payoff.

A painfully formulaic commercial film that feels like it was written by AI. The protagonist doesn’t even start training until nearly an hour in, and the final fight is so uninspired it might as well have been skipped. No amount of editing could fix such a weak script.

I didn’t grow up with the KARATE KID franchise. I saw them much later in life. I really enjoyed the first one. The others are serviceable enough. There is now another installment called KARATE KID: LEGENDS. This focuses on kung fu prodigy Li (Ben Wang), who leaves behind his instructor Han (Jackie Chan) and moves to New York with his mom (Ming-Na Wen) for her new job. There, Li meets his love interest Mia (Sadie Stanley) and his rival Conor (Aramis Knight). I mostly enjoyed this one. Ben brings the charisma, Sadie brings the chemistry, and Ming-Na keeps the story grounded. Now, this being a KARATE KID movie, they made the decision to pull in Daniel LaRusso himself back into this world, the original KARATE KID (Ralph Macchio). I’ve been enjoying seeing him on the COBRA KAI series, but in this movie, it just feels like nostalgia bait. I felt like they could’ve fleshed out the new characters more, instead of pushing them aside in the story. It was great seeing Jackie as always, but I don’t think Ralph did much to add to this. I was fully invested in the new characters and the new city, then they literally knocked the wind out of the story to have yet another fighting tournament that the protagonist had to fight in. Why did he have to fight? I honestly can’t remember. I wish Ming-Na had more to do in this, she’s great. Another great character is played by Joshua Jackson. It felt like they had two storylines and karate chopped them together. They could’ve kept going with the story from the first half and called it KUNG FU KID. I know that sounds blasphemous, but at least it would’ve changed the formula. The second half is the formula you know from previous movies. This is the directorial debut of Jonathan Entwhistle, who does do a pretty decent job. Li’s backstory is well done. This franchise knows that this formula still works for the most part. Overall, this movie plays it very safe, but it’s still very enjoyable, lighthearted, and wholesome. KARATE KID: LEGENDS isn’t going to change the world, but it’s going to put a smile on your face by the end.

Karate Kid: Legends opens with promise—exploring grief, cultural displacement, and legacy—but quickly devolves into a sanitized, algorithm-friendly spectacle. What begins as a story rooted in discipline and identity ends up repackaged through Sony’s IP pipeline, relying on TikTok-style edits, shallow character arcs, and brand-safe moralism. Despite moments of sincerity, especially from Jackie Chan, the film trades myth for marketing and reverence for rehearsal. It’s not a reboot—it’s a rehearsal of a memory.

Td bien

En realidad el legado de ambas disciplinas integradas en una, basada en lealtad, amistad y aprendizaje. A los largo de todas estas películas siempre serán las mejores cada que avanza en el tiempo. Y el final con Jhony Lorense increíble es un personaje que siempre hace falta en la trama.

GOD , nada más que decir

Karate Kid Leyendas (2025) es una película que recomiendo a todos, por la enseñanza que hay detrás de sus escenas enfocada en una mejora continua basada en la disciplina y la constancia, que toda persona debería hacer, para sacar adelante su mejor versión. También, me gusta esta película por la combinación del Karate y el Kung fu que demuestran sus personajes.

Muy bueno

Es insoportable. Siempre la misma historia, solo con algunos cambios, pero no entiendo a quien se le puede ocurrir, hacer una comedia, estilo comic, sin gracia. Perdida de tiempo.

Esta película, que en el fondo es un reciclaje de El reino prohibido, intenta desafiar los estereotipos pero los termina reforzando. La trama del adolescente al que le hacían bullying y que se convierte en un héroe es demasiado trillado y la integración cultural es superficial en el mejor de los casos. Hay poca originalidad y todavía menos recompensa emocional.

Essencialmente uma reutilização de O Reino Proibido, o filme pretende desafiar estereótipos, mas acaba reforçando-os. O enredo do adolescente vítima de bullying que se torna herói é super clichê, e a integração cultural é, na melhor das hipóteses, superficial. Há pouca originalidade e ainda menos retorno emocional.