Right off the bat, I will say that it's a disappointment that none of the Karate Kid spin-offs since the original trilogy recognize The Next Karate Kid (1994), which is the only one I watched in the movie theaters (and probably one of my first films watched in the theaters in the US). Boo!!!

Anyway - I was not a big fan The Karate Kid (2010), partly because I thought it was not Karate (yeah, yeah, Karate can trace its origins to Kung Fu, but still...), and partly because it seemed like using nostalgia to try (really hard) to make Jaden Smith the next big Hollywood thing. M'eh, is what I have to say to that.

In any case, Karate Kid: Legends was an interesting movie, which connected the 2010 Kung Fu variety of the series, with the 1980s originals, and Cobra Kai to some extent (come on! Why are you dissin' Hilary Swank like this?!?!). The tl:dr plot is as follows:

After a tragic family loss (main character's older brother gets killed because of Kung Fu - or so the mother thinks), teenager Li Fong is uprooted by his mother (a medical doctor) and relocated to New York City under strict instructions to leave his fighting past behind (oh yeah, Jackie Chan is his uncle, so there's the connection with the 2010 movie). Struggling to fit in, Li finds comfort in a friendship with his classmate, Mia. However, this connection quickly draws unwanted trouble from Conor (OG Karate Kid overtones here), a ruthless local karate champion whose sensei holds financial leverage over Mia’s father.

To protect his new friends and defend himself, Li is pushed to enter the city's prestigious five-borough tournament (don't know how 'prestigious it is, but whatever). Recognizing that Li's foundations are not enough to survive the local circuit, his Beijing kung fu mentor (and uncle...), Mr. Han, travels to the United States. Mr. Han tracks down the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, discovering a historic, ancestral connection between the Miyagi and Han families (you know, the whole Karate is related to Kung Fu thing). Working together, the two legendary masters guide Li to combine their distinct disciplines into a unified style. In the final showdown, Li relies on this blended philosophy to overcome his grief, defeat Conor, and capture the championship.

I mean, the plot is largely repetitive of all previous Karate Kids (as far as I remember). It's predictable, but that's fine.  Again, I watched this on a plane.  I didn't have popcorn, but it was a good popcorn movie.  I would like to see the Karate Kid-verse do something more interesting than scruffy underdog overcomes adversity to win tournament story.  And yes, someone please acknowledge The Next Karate Kid...😅. A 3/5 movie.