At The Movies: Kate Kid: Legends
As a young kid in the early 80s I, like many others, was totally seduced by pop-culture. But there were a number of icons from this truly golden era that rose above the rest, with The Karate Kid being one of these. Karate Kid became more than just a movie. It became a rite of passage. Every kid remembers the first time they successfully delivered a meticulously planned “butterfly kick” to an annoyingly over-confident brother or school mate. We all did it, we practiced it, we delivered it, and we probably copped a few back in return. Once the aura of being a karate hero wore off and we were told to get back to cleaning dad’s car, we undoubtedly replied with the obligatory cheek-filled “Wax On – Wax Off” hand motions. That’s how deep Karate Kid imprinted itself into the psyche of kids from the 1980s.
Forty-odd years later those same kids are now parents and are now lining up one hundred-deep with their kids to see the latest installment of the franchise Karate Kid: Legends. Those with older kids are openly heard discussing the relevance to the Cobra Kai series, while those with younger school age kids are simply wondering whether their own kids are going to become as entrenched into the Miyagi Karate lifestyle as they did as kids forty years earlier.
In a true East-meets-West contradiction, the beginning of the movie links together the Japanese ‘Miyagi Karate’ origins of the original Karate Kid, through to present day China where we meet shiufu Mr Han (Jackie Chan) and then finally to the location of this installment, the Big Apple… New York. It’s here that a recently relocated Li Fong (Ben Wang) , a student of Mr Han, is presented with a fight-or-flight situation. And as you would probably guess, “The Karate Kid” only knows one way.
Soon after arrival in New York Li is befriended by Mia (Sadie Stanley) at the local pizza shop. It’s this relationship and associated events which ignites the eternal teenage struggle of whether to listen to a strict parental directive or listen to one’s own heart and do what you think needs to be done. It’s Mr Han who becomes the voice of reason to reassure Li that teaching kung-fu is acceptable if it is to help someone, …and on the tough streets of New York, help is what is needed. Enter Daniel (Ralph Macchio) ,the original Karate Kid and sensie of Miyagi-Do Karate direct from LA, complete with audience applause.
What proceeds from this point is equal parts action and slapstick to satisfy the kids, romance and inspiration to seduce the teens, and pure nostalgia for the more mature and dignified amongst us. Initial concerns of whether this installment was going to be a more kid -friendly ‘Karate Kid’ or a more adult-orientated ‘Cobra Kai’ dissolves early on with a family-friendly Karate Kid: Legends finally climaxing in true New York flair atop a skyscraper.
It’s not until the credits begin to roll that I realise there is one problem. A huge problem that I’m glad that I’m not going to have to deal with. Just how on earth are teachers at the local schools going to tackle hoards of kids facing off in school yard karate battles in scenes not seen in the schoolyard since the mid-1980s?
Movie Review By Lindsay Bulach
