Karate Kid: Legends
Karate Kid: Legends is a 2025 American martial arts drama film, serving as the sixth installment in The Karate Kid franchise. It continues the story after The Karate Kid (2010) and the television series Cobra Kai, featuring Jackie Chan as Mr. Han and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, while introducing Ben Wang as the new protagonist, Li Fong. The film follows Li, a kung fu prodigy, who, after moving to New York City, is drawn into conflict with a local karate champion. He receives mentorship from Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso to prepare for a tournament. The movie is rated PG-13 and generally targets teenagers and older viewers, offering a blend of action, drama, and themes of mentorship, perseverance, and overcoming challenges.
Concerns
Violence
HighThe film features significant martial arts violence, including intense fight scenes and serious injuries. A central plot point involves a character's death from a stab wound, and another sustains severe injuries requiring hospitalization.
Li's older brother, Bo, dies from a stab wound sustained in a kung fu duel, though no blood is shown during the incident, which serves as a traumatic backstory for Li's mother. Victor, Mia's father, is severely injured during a boxing match due to an illegal elbow to the face, resulting in him being knocked unconscious, sustaining a bloody head injury, and requiring hospitalization.
Scary & Intense Content
HighThe film contains several intense and potentially frightening scenes, including bullying, threats with weapons, a traumatic death, and graphic injuries.
A flashback shows the traumatic event of Li's brother being stabbed and dying, which is a distressing scene for younger viewers. Victor sustains a bloody head injury and is knocked unconscious during a boxing match, leading to hospitalization. There are scenes of bullying where Li is harassed and punched by Conor, and a young man is threatened by another wielding a knife.
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
MediumExplicit searches for LGBTQ content within 'Karate Kid: Legends' yielded no concrete examples of LGBTQ characters or themes. While one unverified forum comment vaguely mentioned 'gay dudes' in the context of the movie, established Christian review outlets explicitly state 'No homosexuality is present.'
One Reddit comment mentioned, 'Oh yea…then the gay dudes.'. However, Christian Spotlight on the Movies explicitly stated, 'No homosexuality is present.'. Despite explicit searches for LGBTQ content, there were no verified characters, scenes, or plot points related to LGBTQ identity or themes found in the film's descriptions or reviews.
Romance and Sexual Content
MediumThe movie includes developing romantic relationships and kissing between teenage characters. There are also subtle allusions to a past physical relationship.
Protagonist Li and Mia quickly develop romantic feelings and share a kiss. In another scene, a high school boy and girl are caught kissing in a hallway by a teacher. There is a brief verbal exchange where Mia hints at having had a physical relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Conor, referring to it as 'making mistakes.'
Profanity
MediumThe film contains moderate profanity, including several instances of common curse words and the misuse of God's name.
The movie includes the 's-word' three times, 'd-ck' once, and 'a--' five times. There are also uses of 'h--', 'crap', and 'screwed,' alongside God's name being used in vain four times.
Disrespect & Rebellion
MediumThe movie explores themes of disrespect and rebellion through bullying and a protagonist's choice to defy a parental rule for what he perceives as a greater good.
Conor, the antagonist, repeatedly harasses and beats Li due to jealousy, demonstrating significant disrespect and bullying. Li's mother forbade him from practicing kung fu after the tragic death of his brother, but Li eventually chooses to use his martial arts skills to defend others and solve problems, going against his mother's rule.
Witchcraft & Occult
LowThe movie depicts cultural and spiritual elements, such as visits to a Chinese temple and traditional festivals, but these are presented as cultural practices and do not involve themes of witchcraft or occult magic.
Li and his mother visit a Chinese temple to participate in a lantern festival. Additionally, Chinese spirituality and religious customs are depicted, including a scene that appears to be a small shrine where a mother lights a candle for her late son.
Substance Use
LowSubstance use is minimal and incidental, limited to background characters consuming alcohol and a historical reference to alcohol consumption.
Background characters are seen drinking alcohol. Victor, Mia's father, drinks a beer during a late-night conversation with Li. There's a mention that Mr. Miyagi's ancestor enjoyed sake and once drank excessively, leading him to sail from Japan to China.
Anti-Christian Themes
LowNo anti-Christian themes were identified in the movie. Reviews from Christian parental guidance websites generally discuss the film's moral messages and positive elements without noting any content critical of Christianity.
Christian media reviews such as Plugged In, Christian Spotlight on the Movies, and Movieguide discuss the film's pro-family worldview and positive messages without mentioning any anti-Christian content. The film features Chinese cultural and spiritual elements, such as visiting a temple, which are presented culturally rather than as opposing Christian beliefs.
Other Notes
Target Demographic
PG-13: Recommended for viewers aged 12 and older, with parental guidance for younger teenagers. This recommendation is based on the film's PG-13 rating, which includes moderate violence, instances of profanity, and intense themes such as bullying, family death, and serious injuries.
Additional Notes
Karate Kid: Legends maintains the franchise's core narrative of an underdog overcoming challenges through martial arts, emphasizing themes of perseverance, mentorship, and using strength to help others. The film introduces new protagonists and integrates the original characters, Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso. The overall tone is consistent with previous PG-13 installments, but the depiction of injuries and a character's death might be more intense for sensitive younger viewers.
Related Reviews
Is Karate Kid: Legends right for your family?
These concerns are a starting point — what many Christian parents care about. Want to screen for other themes? Define your own concerns.
Screen any book, movie, or show — even titles no one else has reviewed.
“StoryScanner gives us clarity and confidence. It's become our go-to for checking books at the library and movies on family night.”
— Cristi & Brian, Dallas TX
“StoryScanner has been such a BLESSING for researching books for our children. You can set filters for your concerns, enter a book title, and it lets you know what's present.”
— Christian Book Reviews for Families (Facebook)
No credit card required