Summary

Karate Kid: Legends' Rotten Tomatoes score of 56% is a sharp downturn from Cobra Kai's positive ratings.
The film aligns with franchise sequels, falling into Rotten territory with reviews.
Despite the low score, the movie could still see success due to audience opinions and Chan's appeal.

Karate Kid: Legends is hitting theaters this weekend, and the reveal of its Rotten Tomatoes score may shock Cobra Kai fans. The movie is the first follow-up to the Cobra Kai revival series that saw Ralph Macchio and William Zabka return to their Karate Kid roles. The show followed their relationship from enemies to friends, along with their children, who trained in martial arts. Cobra Kai ended after six seasons, with Karate Kid: Legends continuing the story of Macchio's Daniel LaRusso.

Karate Kid: Legends sees LaRusso teaming up with Jackie Chan's Mr. Han from the 2010 Karate Kid film starring Jaden Smith. The plot revolves around a young karate prodigy in New York City who trains for a tournament under the tutelage of the martial arts masters. It also stars Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, and Ming-Na Wen. While the film follows Cobra Kai, it is said to have little reference to the events of the series, focusing on a new story that combines the two halves of the Karate Kid franchise. However, every season of Cobra Kai carried a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, each ranking above 90%, which makes the score of Karate Kid: Legends all the more shocking.

Cobra Kai: Every Season, Ranked

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By Matthew Barber

According to review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, Karate Kid: Legends has a 56% Rotten score from 43 reviews at the time of writing. While this may fluctuate as more reviews are posted in the coming days, it marks a sharp downturn from Cobra Kai's overwhelmingly positive reviews. Karate Kid: Legends features a different creative team and loses most of the characters fans have come to know, making the score troublesome despite the presence of Macchio and Chan.

Karate Kid: Legends' Rotten Tomatoes Score Aligns With Other Franchise Sequels

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The Karate Kid franchise has consistently performed better during initial outings, with the 1984 original holding an 81% and the 2010 remake with Chan holding a 67%, both Fresh scores. Karate Kid: Legends looks to align with the various franchise sequels, which all fell into Rotten territory. Karate Kid Part II is 48%, and Part III comes in at a low 15%. However, the worst installment comes from 1994's The Next Karate Kid, which swapped Macchio for Hilary Swank, who was helped by Mr. Miyagi, holding an abysmal 7%.

While Karate Kid: Legends may yet see its score sway, it looks to mark another franchise low. However, the audience score often differs from that of critics, which may prove that moviegoers hold a more favorable opinion. Furthermore, the movie could still see vast success from Cobra Kai fans eager to see more of the karate-fueled world they have come to love. Combined with Chan's international appeal, Karate Kid: Legends could be set for a healthy theatrical run regardless of the Rotten Tomatoes score.

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