Karate Kid: Legends

As a very casual observer of the series, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the new film KARATE KID: LEGENDS.

When I say casual viewer, I mean it. I've never seen any "Cobra Kai", I saw the first two films back in 1984 and 1986 but have zero recall if I saw the third.

The benefit of that is that I bring zero baggage to the film, beyond fond memories of Daniel, Mr. Miyagi and "wax on, wax off".

The new cast is excellent.

After a quick flashback to the original film, we meet young Li Fong (a very winning Ben Wang) a kung fu prodigy training secretly with his beloved teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). His mother has forbidden him to fight, due to a recent family tragedy. A surgeon and single mom, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen from "Agents of Shield") decides the best thing for them both is a fresh start in NYC, where she's accepted a new job.

What's refreshing is that the film avoids overly predictable territory as the two adapt to Manhattan. It carves out its own tale in a very family friendly mode, with refreshingly fun new characters.

Li is so funny and charming, speaking perfect English at school, that he makes friends fast, especially with Mia, who works at the Pizza place around the corner from his home. Sadie Stanley (Brea on "The Goldbergs" for all those hilarious seasons) is perfectly cast.

Her Dad, Victor (Joshua Jackson from "Fringe" and "Doctor Odyssey") is a former neighborhood fighter whose borrowed money from some bad dudes for the pizza shop. Those NYC rents must be brutal!

Fights seem to be brewing around every corner.

Okay, I guess it is all kind of predictable, but so enjoyable and laid out with such a soft touch that I bought in.

We didn't all buy a ticket to watch Li NOT fight, right?

He's got a great baddie to square off again as a Five Burroughs of NYC Fighting Championship looms. Repeat champion, Conor (a suitably evil, if one note Aramis Knight) is Mia's ex-boyfriend and about a foot and a half taller than Li.

So who will train Li?

As the trailers detail, both Mr. Han (Chan) and one of his mentor Mr. Miyagi's greatest students, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) make appearances.

Some have complained that their roles seem tacked on or too shallow, but I had no issues with the film's balance between it's new generation story and its enjoyable allegiance to the series legacy.

Chan has the ease of a film legend and Macchio seems to be having a good time as well. The original Daniel, Macchio is now 63 years old, 12 years OLDER than Pat Morita was when he played Mr. Miyagi in the original film! That's hard to believe.

The film's been a bit disappointing at the box office, which is a shame, as it's found a confident, happy blend of nostalgia, drama and laughs in a rare mix that's entertaining for all ages.

Special kudos to both Dominic Lewis's music score and the team behind the visuals that pop up on screen during the matches. They're a visually inventive, fun way for us all to understand the fight scoring and exactly what's at stake. Another intriguing creative choice by a team that clearly values the series legacy.

As Daniel says at one point and Macchio has expressed in interviews about the film, "It's about spreading Mr. Miyagi's wisdom and knowledge in a good way, in a positive way." That perfectly describes the film. It's positive, enjoyable, brisk at 94 minutes and family friendly in all the right ways. I'll give KARATE KID: LEGENDS a triple spinning, flying through the air style B.

Keep an eye on Ben Wang, that kid's got talent & screen presence to spare. He's going to be in the new "Hunger Games" film and the long awaited film version of Stephen King's "The Long Walk". His star is about to rise.