“You can control when you get back up.”

About three different movies packed into one with none winning out in the end, Karate Kid: Legends attempts to merge familiar faces with new ones to little fanfare or success. All of the pieces work just fine on their own, but the weak script doesn’t know how to blend them together, giving us a film with three different fighting styles instead of something cohesive. It’s fine for what it is; I saw it at as the second feature at the Summer drive-in and only a few cars took off early. But I’m not sure if the rest were like me and wanted to get their money’s worth or if they had simply fallen asleep by 11 P.M. I think the owners were right in abruptly shifting it out of the early slot that evening.

Flashing back to the 80’s, the film uses deepfake techniques to show us a young Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), explaining the roots of his karate and their ties to the Han family. Flash forward to Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) at his Beijing Kung Fu school, where his grandson Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a student. Li’s mother Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen) doesn’t want Li to grow up fighting to solve his problems, moving them to New York because of a job offer and to escape a world that has caused her family great despair. Because as we all know, a kid who’s a fish out of water is never going to have to fight in the big apple, especially in a movie called Karate Kid: Legends.

Personally, I thought the movie was at its peak when it had Li meeting Mia Lapini (Sadie Stanley) while working in her father Victor’s (Joshua Jackson) small pizzeria. Mia has an abusive ex named Conor (Aramis Knight) who just so happens to train at a dojo owned by an overdue creditor Victor borrowed from and has yet to settle his debt. Li trains Victor, the past haunts him, and a big fight comes up he secretly prepares for. It’s all pretty silly, but the moments between Victor and Li are the most honest in the film, and it helps that they aren’t overshadowed by recognizable faces. The movie breathes when it isn’t so stuffy.

What really hurts the film is the final act, mostly because it visually turns into a video game and abandons any inclination towards designing clever fight choreography. Graphics are smeared all over the screen and the voice over the loud speaker sounds like a WWE announcer. There’s awfully obvious product placement, an awkward fight sequence where it’s clear the figureheads aren’t really doing anything, and it’s all led by an unseasoned actor who’s high bar of physicality isn’t meant with the same emotional conviction. Karate Kid: Legends has all of the right tools but not enough coordination to balance all of its spinning plates.

“You always have a choice.”

Rating: 2.5 out of 5