The Screen Critic: A high-kicking martial arts crowd pleaser, a ripping new John Wick action thriller, and a gory Oz horror

In honouring the 40 year-old martial arts franchise, Karate Kid: Legends chimes in as an excellent family film that joyously reworks the original 1984 film with great respect and renewed energy.

And Jackie Chan.

Reluctantly moved from Beijing to New York, martial arts student Li Fong (Ben Wang) hooks up with attractive pizza shop worker Mia (Sadie Stanley) whose jealous ex-boyfriend Conor (Aramis Knight), also a martial arts expert, starts bullying him.

Li tries keeping the promise he made to his mother (Ming-Na Wen) to avoid fighting, but the pressure to stand up for himself builds and a face-off is scheduled.

To help him, Li receives a visit from his great uncle and martial arts mentor Mr Han, played by a scene-stealing Jackie Chan, easily the fittest 71-year-old we’ve seen on the big screen since Clint Eastwood.

Clearly aimed at all generations of Karate Kid fans – with oldies who saw the first film in their youth then introducing the Karate Kid saga to their kids – the film is slick, fast, fun and bound to please, its anti- bullying theme enhancing a terrific family entertainment offering.

In the exciting, rather loud action blamfest Ballerina – an off-shoot of the hugely successful, rather loud John Wick action film series – Ana de Armas plays a vengeful ballet dancer/assasin who, in the trigger-happy style of fellow killer John Wick (Keanu Reeves), seeks payback for the murder of her father.

What the film lacks in story it more than makes up for in prolonged exchanges of physical close-quarter combat – often using kitchen utensils and including a marvellous flamethrower sequence – with de Armis being the latest female to prove herself more than capable of tossing hand grenades and ridding the world of bad guys.

Plenty of fun – just remember to have some earplugs close at hand in case the mayhem gets too much.

The strong reputation Australian filmmakers have for making inventive horror continues with Bring Her Back, a gory, unrelenting piece from South Australian directing duo Michael & Danny Philippou, who gave us the 2023 hit piece Talk to Her.

Scarier than any monster, renowned British actress Sally Hawkins plays a foster mother who takes in two teenagers who slowly discover the dark and disturbing secrets of their new home.

There are a few gaping story holes here, yet those who like their horror tales served with loads of shock moments will find them easy to forgive. Sensitive souls should steer clear.

The same advice extends (though for different reasons) to The Phoenician Scheme, the latest snoozer from quirky American director Wes Anderson. His tale of a corrupt tycoon (Benicio del Toto) is typically pretty, but the deadpan acting and dull plot – about corporate financing, of all things – will likely send all but the sternest fans to sleep.

In the dystopian near-future depicted in The Assessment, aspiring parents Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) must submit to the eccentric whims of Virginia (Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander), the government official who will decide whether they are allowed to have a child in a new world ruled by population control.

Intended strictly for adults, the film contains confronting sex scenes and a handful of bizarre ideas as the scientist couple try proving themselves worthy to a person who takes role-playing to extremes.

It’s a highly unusual, captivating sci-fi offering with some fine acting from Olsen and a starkly beautiful setting on a blustery, scenic coastal homestead. Catch it on Prime.

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