by Matthew Turner

Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff Rob Lieber, Robert Mark Kamen Jonathan Entwistle

Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, is the sixth film in the popular Karate Kid franchise. Although technically a stand-alone story, it cleverly combines elements from the original movies, the 2010 remake and the Netflix series Cobra Kai. As such, it’s an entertaining, snappily paced action flick that will appeal to fans of the franchise and newcomers alike.

Ben Wang (Disney’s American Born Chinese) stars as teenager Li Fong, who moves from Beijing to New York when his mother (Ming-Na Wen) gets a new job. In doing so, he leaves behind his kung fu tutor Mr Han (Jackie Chan), though he is still traumatised from the death of his older brother, who was stabbed after winning a martial arts tournament.

Once in New York, Li Fong hits it off with Mia (Sadie Stanley), whose ex-boxer dad, Victor (Joshua Jackson), owns the local pizza parlour. When Victor learns of Li Fong’s kung fu skills, he asks him to help him train for a boxing match, so he can pay back some vicious loan sharks. However, when that fight goes badly wrong, Li Fong enters himself in a high-stakes competition called the Five Boroughs tournament, where he’ll find himself facing off against Mia’s jealous ex-boyfriend, current champion Connor (Aramis Knight).

Needless to say, Li Fong ends up needing extra tutoring for the tournament, which is how the script engineers the team-up between Mr Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), the original Karate Kid. The mythology ties in nicely, thanks to a clip from The Karate Kid II, in which Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) talks about kung fu and karate as being “two branches, one tree”, enabling Li Fong to fight with a combination of both disciplines.

Accordingly, there are multiple callbacks to both the original movies and the 2010 remake (“Jacket on, jacket off”), as well as a little treat for Cobra Kai fans that plays just before the end credits. However, the script manages to integrate these elements well enough that they don’t feel like cheesy fan service, and instead function well within the story.

Entwistle’s direction is impressive throughout – he keeps the running time to an extremely efficient 94 minutes and he ticks all the requisite boxes along the way, making feel like a pleasingly nostalgic, crowd-pleasing throwback.

On that note, while it is fair to say that the script is full of clichés, it’s also worth noting that there is nothing inherently wrong with clichés if they are marshalled correctly, and that’s exactly what happens here. After all, clichés are clichés because they WORK. So yes, every beat of the story may well be eminently predictable, but the fight choreography and the performances ensure that both the action thrills and the emotional moments hit their targets.

Despite what the poster and trailers might have you believe, Chan and Macchio have relatively little screen time, leaving Wang as the star of the show. To that end, he’s terrific as Li Fong, delivering an immensely likeable performance and generating strong chemistry with both Stanley (who’s clearly an upcoming talent to watch) and Jackson.

On top of that, Knight gives good Karate Kid villain (key traits: awesome fighting skills, meanness and scowling), and there’s colourful support from Wyatt Oleff as Li Fong’s supportive friend – and math tutor – Alan. Similarly, it’s a treat to see Chan and Macchio sharing scenes, and their training montage sequences (with a bit of bickering thrown in) are very enjoyable to watch.

As for the fight scenes, they are excitingly staged, combining familiar Karate Kid-style sequences (where the actual fights connect to the training moments) and more energetic Jackie Chan-style set pieces, involving the use of various objects that come to hand.

In short, is an extremely enjoyable addition to the series that cleverly brings together all the existing elements of the franchise and could well lead to a whole new set of movies as a result. At one point, LaRusso says, “Every time I have a chance to pass on a piece of his legacy, it’s never the wrong choice”, and on the evidence of this movie, it’s hard to disagree.

is in cinemas now.