‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Fails Everything 'Cobra Kai' Accomplished With Daniel's Character

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Karate Kid: Legends.While Karate Kid: Legendsis the first installment in its franchise since the 2010 remake starring Jaden Smith, the series has continued to peak in its popularity as the result of Netflix’s Cobra Kai. In an inventive twist on the “legacy sequel” concept, Cobra Kai continued with the story of the original The Karate Kid by showing the perspective of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). AlthoughRalph Macchioeventually appeared in the series, Cobra Kai was able to challenge the viewer’s perception of the original films by showing that Daniel LaRusso and Johnny were both flawed people, and that they had much more in common with one another than it may have seemed initially. Unfortunately, Karate Kid: Legends does not respect the development of Daniel that was seen on Cobra Kai.