Karate Kid: Legends – Movie Review

TL;DR – Elevates what could have just been a very paint-by-numbers legacy film by filling it with joy, fun, and, importantly, compassion.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is more after the end title card.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Mr Han looks over sparing students.

Karate Kid: Legends Review

One of the most prevalent shifts in media in the modern era has been the rise of the Legacy Film. This is when you take some old story, bring back the old cast, and then attempt to hand the franchise off to a new generation. Now, to be fair, sometimes they work really well, but other times they can be a complete mess. However, today, we are looking at a franchise that is trying this for the third time, which is both fascinating and a bit concerning if they can’t make it work.

So, to set the scene, Li Fong (Ben Wang) lives in Beijing and loves kung-fu. He is trained by his great-uncle, Mr Han (Jackie Chan), but mostly in secret because his mother, Dr Fong (Ming-Na Wen), does not want him fighting after the death of her eldest son. But Li often goes and trains in secret, well, what he thinks is secret. But it is time for a massive change for the Fong family as Dr Fong takes a job in New York. A fresh start for all. But the past has a habit of not staying in the past.

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Movie Review – It (It: Chapter 1) (2017)

TL;DR – No No NO No NO Nope Oh Hell NO

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

It. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Review
So originally I wasn’t going to go see It, as the week it premiered I was up to my neck with essays to grade, as well as this, I’ve never really been a fan of horror films in general. However, last week a good friend of mine wanted to go see It, so what the hell, what’s the worst that could happen … Now to make a couple of things clear before we start, I haven’t seen the original miniseries, nor read the book, so I can’t tell you how good of an adaptation this is, though given we are talking about Tim Curry and Stephen King I am going to assume there is a very high barrier this film needed to meet, which not all Stephen King adaptations this year have met, yes I’m looking at you The Dark Tower (see review). As well as this, as I said I am not a fan of the horror film genre in general, so that has probably affected how I looked at It.

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