How does Karate Kid: Legends compare to the 1980s original?

The original The Karate Kid was so successful when it was released in 1984 that it spurred two direct sequels in 1986 and 1989, a pseudo-reboot in 1994, a remake in 2010 and a TV series continuation in 2018. And that's before you mention the umpteen ripoffs.

Hollywood just can't quit this franchise, and now we now have a new cinematic reboot, Karate Kid: Legends, which combines the previously unconnected worlds of the original franchise and the 2010 remake for a new story.

Those of us who were there in 1984 remember how culturally massive the original was. At first glance something of a Rocky re-tread (a perception enhanced by Rocky helmer John G. Avildsen on directing duties), the underdog tale of a new kid in town named Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) who takes on his bullies under the tutelage of a wizened sensei, Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita), was such an engaging power fantasy that children everywhere began kicking the air.

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Playgrounds all across the world were suddenly turned into battle royales filled with karate-aspiring kids attempting karate moves left, right and centre. It was a halcyon time.

Which is why I wanted to bring my twelve-year-old niece, Maddy, along to check out the new one to see how a modern Karate Kid movie would impact a modern.

She is an active student who plays netball and is heavily involved in kapa haka, amongst many other extracurricular activities. But martial arts have never been much of a thing for her.

We'll get to her thoughts in a moment, but first, my take on the new film: I will admit to being somewhat bewildered when they announced this and it became clear that it had no connection to Cobra Kai, the aforementioned TV series which finished a six-season run earlier this year.

As any old-school Karate Kid fans who've watched Cobra Kai know, that show did an amazing job of revisiting the world of the original films and characters, especially in how it redeemed Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), the villain of the first movie.

A legacy sequel that was far more thoughtful than it had any right to be, it proved to be a worthy continuation of the story and characters which also introduced a whole new generation of younger characters ready to solve their problems with karate. It ruled.

So I was skeptical of a new film which brought back Daniel LaRusso, but appeared to ignore Cobra Kai. And I had little investment in the 2010 remake, which starred Jaden Smith as the titular kid, with the mentor played by Chinese superstar Jackie Chan, who does kung fu, not karate. Kung fu = China. Karate = Japan.

Anyway, once I let go of all that, I was able to appreciate the “meat and potatoes” approach taken by Karate Kid: Legends, which rockets by with a remarkably brisk 94 minute runtime and hits a lot of familiar, but nevertheless impactful, notes.

Set in New York, it follows a Chinese teenager, Li Fong (Ben Wang), who's just moved to the city with his mother. Immediately set upon by a local bully, Fong first begins training with a local pizza maker (Joshua Jackson) for a boxing match before circumstances point him in the direction of a local karate tournament where a win will solve everything.

Fong's former trainer, Mr Han (Chan), arrives in New York to help train him up, and recruits Daniel LaRusso to teach him how to convert his kung fu skills into karate. It is revealed that Mr. Han has a previous connection to Mr Miyagi, who apparently incorporated kung fu into the karate style he taught. Okay, sure.

It still doesn't answer the question of why there might be evil karate dojos and why so many of these people's problems – personal, criminal, financial, philosophical – boil down to winning a fight, but there is simply no denying the fist-pumping cinematic power of seeing an underdog triumph and a bully get his just desserts. There's a reason this formula works.

Although Maddy admitted she wasn't particularly excited ahead of time, she was overflowing with praise when the credits rolled.

“It was actually really good!” she exclaimed right after, mentioning the training montages as her favorite parts.

She was particularly enamoured of the two specialist moves detailed in the film – the swirling dragon kick and the one-inch punch – similar to how kids in 1984 couldn't stop attempting the crane kick. She says she now wants to try karate. And maybe boxing.

She appears to have discerned a valuable message:

“It shows that even if someone knocks you down, just get back up and try again.”

Job done, Karate Kid: Legends.

My sister, Maddy's mum, also told me Maddy has been doing karate moves around the house ever since I dropped her home and has kicked the fridge.