Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 24, 2025

I hold 1984's The Karate Kid in extremely high regard. It's a terrific film, a benchmark of 80s cinema, and a timeless tale of triumph over adversity born not of brute strength (quite unlike many of its 80s counterparts) but of soulful determination engendered through a heartfelt bond of unlikely friendship and providence. Its two sequels are fine but underwhelming in comparison, as was the quasi spinoff The Next Karate Kid. Not content to let the franchise slip away for a new generation, Sony returned to the well for 2010's excellent re-imagining and the well-received TV show Cobra Kai, reuniting protagonist and antagonist from the original film series. Now, Karate Kid: Legends blends the legacies of the 1984 original and the 2010 re-imagining (with some Cobra Kai in there as well) in a well-meaning but ultimately stale series entry meant to...I'm not sure what it means to do other than pair Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan on the same screen. It's a decent movie but it's terribly underdeveloped and underwhelming as a result.

Kung Fu protege Li Fong (Ben Wang) moves from Beijing to New York when his mother (Ming-Na Wen) lands a job in the Big Apple. Li soon finds himself romantically entwined with local Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley), daughter of pizzeria owner Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), an ex-boxer who is also deeply in debt to the wrong kind of money lenders. Li's relationship with Mia angers Mia's ex boyfriend, Conor Day (Aramis Knight), a star karate pupil from an infamous local dojo who isn't taking Li's presence at all well. With the two at odds, each enters the "Five Boroughs Tournament," a high stakes martial arts competition that puts Li and Connor on the fast track to fighting in the finals. Li is the beneficiary of receiving training from his great uncle, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), as well as Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) as he fights to overcome the odds as well as a haunting incident from a troubled past.

Karate Kid: Legends follows the same basic formula that made the series a success more than 40 years ago: it’s a fish out of water story in which a young man in a new town finds himself up against a karate bully while falling for a local girl. But there are some twists: Li takes it upon himself to train Victor in the ways of Kung Fu in order to help him win a boxing match, get out of debt, and make some positive inroads for his relationship with Mia. But it never really feels like it adds to the story in a significant way, really just fizzling out midway through the film. And that is true for the bulk of Legends. Everything just sort of chugs along with patchwork structure and underdeveloped content. The Connor Day character is hopelessly generic and hopelessly underdeveloped, one of the real weak points in the film. In the original film, we got the sense that Johnny was really nasty, and John Kreese was a real snake. Not so much here. I can’t even tell you what Day’s sensei’s name was at the end of the movie (“bad sensei with perpetual scowl?”). This movie lacks the blend of terrifying edge and heartfelt relationship that so richly defined the original.

It’s nice to see multiple generations of Karate Kid films merged on the screen at the same time (a theme which the film nicely weaves into the narrative with its “two branches, one tree” mantra), and watching Macchio and Chan at work, making good chemistry together, and playing on the generational elements with wink-and-nod professionalism it reason enough to give this one a spin. To sweeten the pot, Ben Wang is every bit as fit for the Karate Kid universe as any other actor, serving up screen charm to spare and physicality that tops anyone ever to step into the “title role” of “Karate Kid:” Hilary Swank, Jaden Smith, and even Ralph Macchio. He was born to play the part; I just wish there was a beefier, more focused, more edgy, more everything movie built around him.

Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

I was only warm to the Blu-ray's 1080p picture presentation, but this 2160p (native 4K)/Dolby Vision UHD presentation of Karate Kid: Legends is its vast superior. This is gorgeously cinematic. Gorgeously. It looks as crisp as can be with high impact detail on city streets, rooftops, pizzerias, apartments...every location there is in the film just leaps off the screen for razor definition, lifelike clarity, that desirable "you are there" look and feel. The same goes for characters, which are richly realized with high yield facial and clothing definition beyond the Blu-ray's abilities. The kind of clumpy, clumsy sharpness on the Blu-ray is resolved here. The Dolby Vision grading adds color depth beyond the BD's SDR color palette, yielding a firmer, more robust palette that brings out greater tonal subtlety and brilliance alike. Mets baseball caps, natural greens, and urban grays are amongst the highlight standouts, all looking richer and more lifelike than the Blu-ray. Black level depth is excellent, white balance is terrific, and skin tones look great. There are no source or encode issues to report. This looks terrific!

Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For this UHD release of Karate Kid: Legends, Sony has included a Dolby Atmos soundtrack (that day-and-date companion release Blu-ray only includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack). The differences between the tracks are clearly not night-and-day, but the added surround envelopment and overhead support definitely make this track stand above the other. As already noted, the differences are relatively minor, with the sense of fullness more palpable at every opportunity of expansion, especially on city streets and in crowded and noisy environments (the boxing match midway through, the rooftop fight sequence at film's end). They just breathe more easily, offering more fluid and faithful expression to the elements that more seamlessly draw the listener into those places. But even city streets and not-so-busy locals (training rooftop scenes with Li, Daniel, and Mr, Han, for example) feel more airy and spacious. There's not a huge difference in terms of base clarity, definition, or subwoofer extension. The Atmos track is more alive, but I don't think those who can only listen in 5.1 are being grossly short-changed, either.

Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of The Karate Kid: Legends contains a few featurettes, a gag reel, and some deleted scenes, all on the included Blu-ray. There are no extras on the UHD disc beyond a selection of Previews. A digital copy code and a slipcover are included with purchase.

• Becoming The Karate Kid (1080p, 4:09): Casting Ben Wang and the qualities and characteristics he brought to the film.
• Two Masters, One Student (1080p, 5:46): A closer look at the pairing of legendary leads Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan.
• Honoring the Miyagi Legacy (1080p, 3:59): Looking at the legacy of the original 1984 film and honoring it in this film.
• Strength and Character: The Cast (1080p, 5:10): Focusing in on characters played by Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff, Sadie Stanley, and Joshua Jackson.
• Karate, Kung Fu, and the Art of Action (1080p, 4:52): Looking at the film's fighting scenes, fight choreography, and actor prep.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:26): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 12:10 total runtime): Included are If It Makes You Feel Better, Wingman, You Don't Have a Shot, I Have to Try, Going to America, Pay Me in Pizzas, and To Family.
• Previews (1080p, 5:06): Additional Sony titles.

Karate Kid: Legends 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Karate Kid: Legends is a technically healthy (save for the unconvincing green screen rooftop sequence at film's end) but narratively unnecessary venture. It's generally entertaining and polished but lacks bite, intensity, and heart. It's fun to see Macchio and Chan share the screen, and I really enjoyed Ben Wang in the lead, but the movie could have benefited from some serious script tweaking, learning the finer points of filmmaking from the original rather than simply finding broad inspiration from it. Sony's UHD delivers 2160p/Dolby Vision video that is superior to the Blu-ray, and while the Atmos audio track is not a major upgrade from the BD's 5.1 offering, it's a solid audio presentation. Some nice extras round out the package. Worth a look.