'Karate Kid: Legends' revisits a sturdy old formula

By Stephen Thompson,

Walter Chaw, Hafsa Fathima, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published May 30, 2025 at 12:27 PM EDT

Ben Wang in Karate Kid: Legends — Ben Wang in *Karate Kid: Legends*

The Karate Kid has been sequelized, serialized, spun off and rebooted, and now it's back, as Karate Kid: Legends. The new film stars Ben Wang as a kid who's mentored by Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, reprising their roles from the franchise. But at its heart, the movie is about a kid who must train hard, learn life lessons, and kick a bully hard in the face.

In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.

Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture

Tags

NPR Podcasts

Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

See stories by Stephen Thompson

Walter Chaw

Hafsa Fathima

See stories by Hafsa Fathima

Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

See stories by Jessica Reedy