Jackie Chan has to train a boy again at the age of 71 – and in doing so creates an entertaining utopia between China and America

The density of aphorisms in this film is astonishing: "You have to turn yourself from a stone into a stream," "If you don't take care of it, it will take care of you," "It's not about fighting. It's about not giving up." One would think that young people—the film's target audience is presumably Gen Z and everyone below—can still be educated with calendar sayings. But since it's about karate and kung fu and how they enrich life, that's fine. The Far East has always been in demand as a source of knowledge. Especially in the West, where modern reason complicates everything somehow, while where the sun rises, people's minds are also illuminated by old, uniform knowledge and thinking.

"Karate Kid: Legends," directed by Jonathan Entwistle, is thus a work of reconciliation: What, in a political sense, is increasingly drifting apart, if not disintegrating, is reunited here in pop culture. China on the one hand, America on the other: It's possible, one might say, after watching this video-style exchange. Because in the end, the Eastern agenda—acceptance, serenity, dignity—has reconciled with the Western ideological project—competition, profit-seeking, expansion. All this in a clichéd version, of course, but still.

The plot goes like this: Teenager Li (Ben Wang) comes to New York from Beijing, where he falls in love with teenage girl Mia (TV series star Sadie Stanley), a Latina who is still loosely involved with Connor (Aramis Knight), a karate hothead who has as little control over his passion as his fists. The fact that a Chinese scoundrel steals his almost-girlfriend is completely unacceptable. Schoolyard fights, street brawls, and the finale: the big fight on the roof of a high-rise in Midtown Manhattan.

To ensure there's something for older millennials and Generation X—the affluent target group who can afford parking and popcorn—Mia has a cool father (Joshua Jackson), or in modern parlance: Dad. He runs one of those quaint New York pizza shops where the floors are still cleaned with a mop and the cash register goes "cat-slinging!" The man used to be a boxing champion, but now protection racketeers are after him. So he has to train, too. The concept of the struggle for existence is taken seriously in this mildly social Darwinist story. When life hits you, hit back.

Because every student needs a mentor, they're joined by Daniel (Ralph Macchio), the hero of the three "Karate Kid" films of the 1980s. And Jackie Chan, Hollywood's expert on kung fu and broken bones; it's a miracle the man can still move at 71. They train Li, and of course, the clever, outlandish variations of martial arts choreography are back. In 1984, Daniel had to paint a wall for training purposes; now Li has to turn a jacket inside out, put it on, and do sit-ups. None of this should be taken at face value—a workout like this would land most people in rehab.

Stylistically, it's all contemporary, presented like a reel, a short Instagram video accompanied by music and a range of effects. Adrenaline-fueled tracking shots, extreme angles, time-lapses, and a pounding hip-hop soundtrack. Should New York's city marketing department run out of money, it can use the film as a promotional piece. Chinatown, in particular, appears as the colorful, cheerful backdrop tourists hope to see. And because acrobatics and fights don't fill an evening, a tender mother-son story is woven into the martial arts and self-empowerment festivities—but we won't give everything away now.

What would an American president at odds with China say about this? Perhaps this is the hidden hope: that China's fighting spirit and will to innovate could be imported, while simultaneously achieving cultural reconciliation. "The Karate Kid: Legends": an entertaining utopia.