After Cobra Kai had its high school characters finally graduate after six years of the series, the newest entry in the continuing story of Daniel Larusso is surprisingly compact, especially by modern movie standards. In an age where big-budget summer movies regularly clock in at over two hours (and prestige films flirt with the three-hour mark), according to the BBFC, Karate Kid: Legends will have a runtime of 94 minutes. Runtimes of this caliber are usually commonplace for comedies, but for a new installment of a long-running franchise, it’s surprisingly brief. Even the 1984 original ran just over 2 hours.

Of course, an enjoyable movie doesn’t have to be super long, but it will remain to be seen if the film doesn’t feel rushed or underdeveloped. After all, some classic Jackie Chan films equate to similar lengths, and the director of Karate Kid: Legends claims that this film will feel...