10 Recent Movies That Let You Down INSTANTLY

Now, Karate Kid: Legends didn't exactly need to be a masterpiece of writing, acting, and directing to satisfy most fans of the franchise, but it did need to deliver what its title advertised - a Karate Kid movie with an emphasis on uniting the two disparate "eras" of Karate Kid, respectively led by Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan.

Legends gets off to a rough start, though, by quickly leaping from Beijing to New York, effectively leaving Mr. Han (Chan) stranded back in China while the story kicks off in the U.S. without him.

As for Daniel LaRusso (Macchio)? Aside from an opening montage showcasing footage of him from the original 1984 Karate Kid movie, he's nowhere to be seen, and worse still, doesn't actually show up until almost an hour into this mere 94-minute film.

The opening scenes make it clear that Legends wants to coast on the legacy of its stars while actually doing the bare minimum to feature them at all, instead largely offering up a mouldy retread of what we've seen before.

At least star Ben Wang gives a solid performance and proves himself worthy of the Karate Kid mantle. It's just a shame about the rest of the film.