… so they say. It’s been a full 15 years since the last Karate Kid film starring the Gen Z specimen in Jaden Smith. That entry in the franchise was arguably bad, featuring corny lines and an uninspired plot, giving nothing new and fresh to the franchise. I don’t know how but they managed to make this entry even more uninspiring and unmotivated than before.

Karate Kid: Legends features the typical foreigner-moves-into-new-country-and-gets-bullied arc, where he meets a love interest and an enemy who is also a master in martial arts. If it sounds familiar, it may be because it is the literal copy paste of the previous entry. Though, what makes this entry even worse is that it has an abysmally bad sense of pacing. It manages to feel incredibly slow and quick at the same time—the scenes doesn’t take its time to simmer and make its point. In addition, the tournament scenes are sped up and there seems to be less struggle for the main character during the tournament compared to the previous entry. Lastly, the lines and delivery of Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio was intensely corny—the amount of face palms I pulled while watching was incredible. The only redeemable quality of the film is that the fight choreography was not that bad, but not great either.

In the end, Karate Kid: Legends is a hollow entry no one asked for that wastes Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s talents. The film is soulless and dull, offering no heart, passion or even entertainment. The franchise should’ve ended with Ralph Macchio’s entries.