TMW #57: Karate Kid Legends, The Salt Path and The Ballad of Wallis Island reviewed
Plus the week's biggest trailers and a chance to win Kingdom of Heaven on 4K UHD
Here’s our latest review round-up to help guide your weekend viewing, and scroll down for a chance to win Ridley Scott epic Kingdom of Heaven. We’ll be back on Tuesday with an interview with the team behind The Ballad of Wallis Island!
Karate Kid: Legends
12A, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Over four decades, The Karate Kid has built quite a legacy. The three direct sequels to 1984’s crane-kicking classic may have offered diminishing returns, but the 2010 reboot starring Jackie Chan as a kung-fu Mr Miyagi stand-in, and the gleefully silly sequel series Cobra Kai, which recently wrapped a six-season run on Netflix, were both enormous, cross-generation hits.
Enter Legends, which unites the two figureheads of the KKU (Karate Kid Universe, patent pending) by bringing together Chan's Mr Han and Ralph Macchio's heir to Miyagi-Do, Daniel LaRusso. As dual senseis they train new protagonist Li Fong (Ben Wang), to fight in New York’s high stakes Five Boroughs tournament.
Tonally closer to the tongue-in-cheek absurdism of Cobra Kai than the more straight-laced films, Legends works because it's always in on the joke. Following a tragedy back in Beijing, Li and his mother (Ming-Na Wen) up sticks to the Big Apple. There, Li befriends Mia (Sadie Stanley), the daughter of pizza shop owner Victor (Joshua Jackson) and ex of local bully/karate champ Conor (Aramis Knight). As surely as wax off follows wax on, you can see where this is heading.
To the film's credit, it does make some fun tweaks to the formula. Li is already an accomplished kung-fu fighter by the time he arrives in New York, thanks to his Shifu's training. So after saving Victor from debt collectors – one of several sequences that spotlight Wang’s impressive acrobatics – Li turns teacher to Victor’s middle-aged student for a stretch. And before the fists fly in earnest, there’s a charming NY rom-com in here that fizzes thanks to the perfectly paired leads.
Directed by Jonathan Entwistle (who steps up to studio fare here after helming the darkly comic series The End of the F***ing World), pretty much everything works as it should. Wang is a likable lead and easy to root for, the fights – save for some choppy editing – pack a punch, while Chan and Macchio make for a delightfully funny odd couple when they share the screen. It’s just a shame that it’s the best part of an hour into this 94-minute movie before LaRusso turns up, save for a pre-title flashback featuring footage from The Karate Kid Part II.
It adds to the sense that LaRusso’s inclusion, if not a last-minute reaction to Cobra Kai’s popularity, wasn’t given the same attention as the more intrinsically linked return of Mr Han. Macchio’s sincere commitment to keeping the legacy of Pat Morita's sensei alive remains a genuinely touching throughline from the recently wrapped show, but direct narrative connections are non-existent, giving Legends that sense that it exists in a bubble.
Not that it matters a great deal once the rousing training montages and the furious fights kick off. The showdown with Conor in particular delivers in much the same way that the confrontation with Jonny Lawrence did in the original - it even puts its own twist on the euphoric crane kick moment. The proximity to Cobra Kai doesn’t do it a lot of favours – that series wrestled with The Karate Kid’s legacy in consistently smart and surprising fashion – but as a warm-hearted, back-to-basics Karate Kid remix, Legends is a guaranteed good time. (Jordan Farley)
IN SHORT Daniel LaRusso feels like a last-minute addition despite his poster prominence, but there’s no need for a split decision here – this is the best Karate Kid movie since the ’84 original.
STAY FOR THE END CREDITS? Yes. A very amusing scene starts mere moments after the credits kick in. Nothing after, though.
PUTTING A NAME TO THE FACE Wondering where you’ve seen Li’s scene-stealing maths tutor Alan before? He’s played by Wyatt Olef, who starred as a young Peter Quill in Guardians 1 & 2, the young Stanley Uris in It Chapter 1 & 2 and featured in Entwistle’s Netflix series I Am Not OK With This.
The Ballad of Wallis Island
12A, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Realising he’s been hired to play a private gig on a remote island for an audience of one, folk singer Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) groans: “I’m in Misery; I’m going to wake up without my ankles.” True, lottery-winning Herb worshipper Charles’ (Tim Key) behaviour is a tad unsettling - or off-Key, as the pun-loving recluse might say. But what could easily be the set-up for a psycho-thriller - or darkly satirical take on superfandom, a la The King of Comedy - instead yields a gentle, bittersweet and very funny ode to facing the past and moving on.
For Herb, the sting in the already discomfiting tail is that he’s unknowingly signed up for a musical reunion with his former partner - in every sense - Nell Mortimer, whose ambivalence about her shared history with Herb is conveyed by Carey Mulligan with a depth belying her relatively short screen time. Crucially, she and Basden are able to rekindle the chemistry - and musical aptitude - that fuelled McGwyer and Mortimer’s NME-cover-star success, lending their backstory an authenticity that’s also baked into James Griffith’s film’s multiple songs.
The latter were penned by Basden, who’s likeable and charismatic, even before his muso pretentiousness is softened by self-understanding. The compulsively quirky Key, meanwhile, manages to stay the right side of irritating. His chatty, dorky persona will be familiar to Sidekick Simon fans, but underpinned with a secret sorrow that elevates Charles above caricature, particularly in the second half’s more wistful moments (the stunning, windswept scenery adds its own pathos).
Co-written by Basden and Key, Wallis Island is a deft piece of storytelling, twisty but not overly contrived, heart on sleeve but not in your face. It blends the romantic friction of Once with the charm of fish-out-of-water benchmark Local Hero - and it’s as stacked with running gags as shopkeeper Sian Clifford’s shelves are as empty of useful products. (Matthew Leyland)
EXTENDED STAY: The movie is a feature-length adap of 2007 BAFTA-nominated short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, with Griffiths, Basden and Key in the same creative roles.
Mountainhead
TBC, streaming now on Sky Cinema and NOW
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong is on somewhat recognisable territory with his debut feature (a HBO original that’s streaming on Sky in the UK), dealing with morally dubious, ultra-wealthy businessfolk in luxury confines. Like a lot of recent films, it also has a Black Mirror-esque premise, but a top-flight cast, scalpel-sharp dialogue and crisp visuals elevate it out of the category ‘should’ve been an episode of an anthology series’. It also gets a boost from being absolutely up to the minute in terms of relevance: shot in March this year, the plot concerns four tech leader pals, mostly billionaires - though with a net worth of ~$500m, Hugo (Jason Schwartzman) has the nickname ‘Soup Kitchen’ - who meet up for a ‘poker night’ retreat at Hugo’s mountain pad. Meanwhile, an update hastily pushed out on Venis’ (Cory Michael Smith) platform has flooded social feeds with extremely realistic AI content that’s stoking violence and unrest.
Throughout this chamberpiece, the callous foursome follow these unfolding global events from their smartphone screens, always thinking about how they might turn the situation to their own advantage. Jeff (Ramy Youssef) has software that could flag the troublemaking AI content, and ‘Papa Bear’ Randall (Steve Carell) has his own personal reasons for willing certain advances into existence. The tense set up doesn’t quite retain its grip as the group dynamic heats and melts in the crucible of the snowy compound, making for a weaker second half, and the characters never feel as dimensional as Succession’s squabbling family. Still, as a thought-provoking exercise it has plenty going for it, and its straight-to-streaming launch works in its favour. (Matt Maytum)
GROUPTHINK: The quartet call themselves ‘the Brewsters’ (and variations thereof); one can only assume it’s a reference to their unspendable millions.
The Salt Path
12A, in cinemas now
⭐⭐☆☆☆
This based-on-a-true-story drama adapts the travelogue memoir of Raynor Winn, who endeavoured to walk the 630-mile South West Coastal Path from Somerset to Dorset. It’s an undertaking made out of necessity, when Raynor and husband Moth find themselves unexpectedly homeless after a bad investment, and it’s made all the more challenging by Moth’s corticobasal degeneration (CBD) diagnosis. But for all the potential in that premise - and the casting of the ever-reliable Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as the central couple - The Salt Path, on screen at least, remains curiously unengaging much of the time.
Wobbly accents add artifice where an earthier realism was needed, and the picaresque encounters with sundry characters along the way often feel similarly unconvincing. That a couple of plot deviations hinge on Moth’s resemblance to poet Simon Armitage is indicative of a story that can feel perilously light on screen, without the context and familiarity possible in a written account of these events. Theatre director and debut filmmaker Marianne Elliott makes the couple’s hardships palpable at times, from shared tea bags to hard-won pasties. But the themes never feel as tangible or universal as the impressive, often elemental scenery. By the journey’s end, what should be a stirring culmination underwhelms. (Matt Maytum)
THEATRICAL FLOURISH: Some of Elliott’s recent stage productions include Angels in America with Andrew Garfield and Death of a Salesman with Wendell Pierce.
Win a copy of Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven on 4K UHD!
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Ridley Scott’s historical drama Kingdom of Heaven is set to look more gritty and epic than ever when the Director’s Cut arrives on 4K Ultra HD and 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from 9th June.
The stunningly restored and Director’s Cut adds more gravitas and organic characterisation to Scott’s sweeping vision, a cinematic odyssey further enhanced when seen in Dolby Vision and heard with Atmos. Never before has this tale of the Crusades been showcased with such high-definition visuals and sound, deepening the experience for longtime fans and a new generation alike.
Originally released on 6 May, 2005, Kingdom of Heaven offers a world rich in history, adventure and visual splendour. Orlando Bloom stars as Balian, a courageous young Frenchman in medieval Jerusalem during the Crusades. Having lost everything, Balian finds redemption through a heroic fight — against overwhelming forces — to save his people and fulfill his destiny as a knight.
For a chance to win a 4K UHD copy of this heavenly release, email themoviewingman@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Kingdom of Heaven competition’ before 8am on Monday 9th June. The winners will be chosen at random. UK entrants only. The judge’s decision is final.
Trailer Club
In 2005’s Constantine, Keanu Reeves butted heads with Tilda Swinton’s angel Gabriel. Now it’s his turn to don the wings - although this Gabriel is a ‘budget’ guardian angel, possibly not best equipped to course-correct the lives of struggling worker Arj (writer/director Aziz Ansari) and his rich boss Jeff (Seth Rogen). The twist - not revealed in this one-minute glimpse, so look away now to remain spoiler-free - is that Gabriel body-swaps his two charges. Trading Places meets Freaky Friday, then? Judging from this tease the vibe is more like an x-rated take on 90s John Travolta vehicle Michael, though Keanu projects an air of ethereal purity (no change there, TBH).
The final trailer for Pixar sci-fi romp Elio shows off enough aliens to fill the Quantum Realm (or the plushie section of the Disney Store)...
Warning: you might feel burned by a seemingly major reveal in the trailer for Taron Egerton/Jurnee Smollett Apple TV+ series Smoke, where there’s no arson about in the race to stop a firestarter…
It takes longer to type Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery than it does to watch the new super-short tease. Have to admit, it’s got us drawing a bit of a Blanc, but the cryptic creepiness does send a shiver…
OAPs are investigating suspicious RIPs in The Thursday Murder Club, a starry adap of the Richard Osman bestseller…
The second trailer for Celine Song’s love-triangle drama Materialists offers a priceless spin on a certain credit-card campaign…
Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles faces a life-or-death conundrum in Countdown, a Prime Video series that feels like a 90s action movie, people walking casually away from explosions and all…
Pete Davidson joins The Purge creator James DeMonaco for retirement-home horror, The Home…
On the Wingman office stereo this week…
We’ve been enjoying the gentle folk stylings of McGwyer Mortimer, and you can even listen to it in advance of seeing the movie, as the songs pre-exist in-world anyway.