After 40 years of assorted race and genders, we finally get our first Asian karate kid in the sixth installment of the interconnected franchise which unites Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) from Parts I, II and III (and Cobra Kai) with Shifu Han (Jackie Chan) from the 2010 reboot. There's a bit of retconning going on to explain that Miyagi and Han have a bit of shared family history, and knew each other from back in the day. His memory is kept alive through Miyagi-Do karate.
The setup is familiar by now. In an opposite twist on the previous film, we now have a boy immigrating from China to the USA and following the tried-and-true formula of bullies, girlfriends and a championship tournament that will somehow make everything right. It's literally a remix of all the films, and as such, lacks in any tension because we already know how it will all go down. Sadly, it feels slick and modern and moves way too quickly, since there are never any hurdles too difficult to overcome in a Hollywood movie. At least it was fun to see Jackie Chan still performing his own stunts at 71, and realizing Ralph Macchio isn't too far behind him at 63. The time...where has it gone?
2½ combos out of 5
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