With 'Karate Kid: Legends,' this film franchise keeps on kicking

A kid faces challenges in his personal life and a bully, while navigating life in a new city. This story may sound familiar, but "Karate Kid: Legends" offers a fresh take on the tale of a karate kid, ultimately kicking off a new era for the film franchise. Expect sequels.

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Having said that, parents should not bring their kids to this movie. It's too enjoyable and they will most certainly end up paying for martial arts lessons by the end of the summer. Sure, this movie will please longtime fans (who could now be parents or grandparents), but it is also primed to impact the next generation of film viewers just as the original 1984 "Karate Kid" did.

The latest installment ties the many corners of the "Karate Kid" universe together, from the 1980s films to the 2010 Jackie Chan movie based in China, as well as the more recent "Cobra Kai" series — minus "The Next Karate Kid" with Hilary Swank. (Yes, that movie did happen, though the modern Karate Kid media has never acknowledged it.) Ralph Macchio returns as Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan brings back Mr. Han, uniting the past karate and kung fu storylines. Learning from the success of "Cobra Kai," this new film maintains some of the humor from that series.

Ben Wang steps in as the new karate kid, Lee Fong, and while this is not his first time on screen, this film will certainly catapult his career to new heights.

In "Karate Kid: Legends," Fong's mom takes a job in New York, prompting a move away from Beijing where they are haunted by a recent family tragedy. Despite moving halfway around the world, they can't outrun their pain. Thanks to new and old family and friends, a path toward redemption becomes clear. It's a premise familiar to many "Karate Kid" fans, but this film manages to take the story into new territory. Fong balances life in a pizza shop while studying for college entrance exams, and even takes a peek at another sport before many of these familiar threads are woven into the movie.

"Karate Kid: Legends" manages to stay true to the core of the original 1984 film — not giving in to the devil on our shoulder (that's for bullies and bad guys), while favoring values of respect, patience, hard work, and the virtues of building a strong character. All that is here, and then some. This is really two movies crammed into 90 minutes. Your attention span won't be suffering. While the first half is more straight forward, the final half leans heavily into movie montages with frequent scene changes to lead us to the big finale.

While the original 1984 "Karate Kid" was heavily influenced by "Rocky," "Karate Kid: Legends" feels more influenced by "Rocky IV," touched up with slightly comedic fight scenes that Jackie Chan fans are familiar with, all set to the ambiance of an '80s "Street Fighter" arcade game. This new formula manages to modernize a tightly packed movie that was under the pressure of living up to the original. It does. If the original "Karate Kid" was a pizza, "Karate Kid: Legends" is a stuffed crust pizza, packed to its edges. But don't worry. It's delicious.

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Whereas the original film pushed "wax on, wax off" into the oft quoted pop culture lexicon, "Karate Kid: Legends" will have the next generation saying, "Everything is kung fu,"and "jacket on, jacket off," or even "stuffed crust!"

Karate Kid: Legends

4/5 stars

Screen or stream? Screen. Definitely go see this in a movie theater. At the screening where I was, the audience was karate chopping through the film and there was cheering.

Rated PG-13: There are a lot of fights and action, but we're not talking bloody, gory violence here. There are a few moments dealing with serious subject matter, such as family strife and death.

Good for kids? Yes. This is a movie families can go to. Kids will shadow box on their way out of the theater. And as stated above, parents should start saving for martial arts lessons if they do go see this film.