'Karate Kid: Legends' delivers likable blast from the past

The movie starts with a scene from 1985. Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) is telling his prized pupil Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) about the origins of Miyagi-Do karate. It began as part of a single tree with two branches. One branch is Miyagi-Do karate, and the other belongs to the Han family and their history of kung fu. The main theme of the movie is one tree, two branches.Fast-forward to present day in Beijing and Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a student and great-nephew of Han (Jackie Chan), a great master of kung fu. Han leads a revered school of kung fu in Beijing with many students. Li's mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), does not want Li to fight. Not anymore. A tragedy in their past turned her away from kung fu and turned Li toward it. She thinks it doesn't matter, because she has accepted a post at a hospital in New York.In New York Li quickly makes a friend. Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley) attends Li's high school and works at the pizza place owned and run by her dad, Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson). Li becomes good friends with father and daughter, even agreeing to train Victor in kung fu to help him win a prize at a boxing match.As you have probably guessed by now, there's a bad guy. One who used to date Mia and is a hero in the local martial arts community. Conor Day (Aramis Knight) has won the Five Boroughs Tournament several years in a row and everyone is frightened of him. Conor takes a particular dislike for Li, who spends a lot of time with Mia.His mom doesn't want him to fight, but we all know that Li is going to enter the Five Boroughs Tournament to prove something to Conor, but to himself as well. And he needs Daniel LaRusso and Han to help him train.If that summary sounds familiar, that's because it is. Broken down to its basics, that's the plot of the original "Karate Kid" in 1984. In both movies a young outsider comes to town and doesn't really fit in. He meets a girl who just broke up with the local bad boy, one who is a reigning karate champ. The villain in both movies is a real jerk and has a horrible teacher. The hero is taught by an aging master, though in this film it's two masters. In both films the feud is decided on the mat in a local karate tournament. Both heroes try to claim victory with an unusual signature move taught to them by their masters.While the movie is a sequel to the original set of Karate Kid movies, it feels more like the next step in the story from the "Cobra Kai" television series. If you've seen that series, you know what I mean. The connection between the prior movies and the TV series is Daniel LaRusso. And karate. Jackie Chan was in the 2010 remake, but that movie is not really part of the original cannon of this series.The marketing for the film focused more on Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan than anyone else. That was an attempt to draw eyes to the project, to put people in the seats in the theater. In reality, the main character is Li Fong. A film like this depends on the likability of the main character. If a young Daniel LaRusso in the original movie was unlikeable the movie would never have become the classic it is today.The question then becomes, is Ben Wang's depiction of Li Fong likable enough to make this movie a success? I would say he did a perfectly acceptable job, which made the movie a perfectly acceptable sequel. He was fine, and you certainly hope he wins in the end. Aramis Knight is not much of an actor, but he did his job. His character is vile, and it makes you want Li to beat him down even more.There's not much else to say about the movie. It is a decent movie. You could certainly do worse. Fans of the original movie or karate in general are more likely to enjoy this seeming blast from the past.Grade: BRated PG-13 for martial arts violence and some language.•••Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff.