In the 80s fan favorite ‘The Karate Kid,’ Daniel moves to Southern California with his mother, Lucille, but quickly finds himself the target of a group of bullies who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo.
Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself.
Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate and preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Can ‘The Karate Kid’ be on the predictable side if you haven’t seen the film yet? Yes. Is it still a great film to watch? Most definitely!
The 1984 film (yes it turned 40 this year) is an all-time classic that ultimately became a huge fan favorite. I have only seen this film a couple times years ago prior to my recent re-watch of the film on Netflix.
‘The Karate Kid’ is an uplifting film that shows us how an out of place teen triumphs against the odds. There are some moments where Daniel gets into fights with the Cobra Kai members which can get a little tense at times, but not too much. Just like ‘Rocky’ (also directed by this film’s director), ‘The Karate Kid’ is also one of the best underdog stories out there!
Some of the best highlights of this film involve Daniel and the scene-stealing Mr. Miyagi. All of the scenes that the characters have together has a little bit of everything - a bit of comedy, drama/emotion and, yes, plenty of karate. Some of the funny bits come later in the film where Miyagi begins to train Daniel and when Daniel can catch the fly with the chopsticks and Miyagi couldn’t, among many other moments
Pat Morita really nailed it with his portrayal as Miyagi, and this performance is iconic. ‘The Karate Kid’ shows that he can be quite funny (in quite a few scenes), stern (when showing Daniel karate) and even emotional (during a scene where it’s revealed what happened to his little family).
‘The Karate Kid’ is definitely a good watch with the entire family. I haven’t seen the others yet (except for the 2010 remake) or the Netflix ‘Cobra Kai’ series, but might be down the road!
Cast: Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso); Pat Morita (Miyagi); Elizabeth Shue (Ali); Martin Kove (John Kreese); Randee Heller (Lucille); William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence); Rob Garrison (Tommy).
Writer/director: Robert Mark Kamen (writer) (the ‘Taken’ trilogy) and John G. Avildsen (director) (‘Rocky’; ‘Lean on Me’).
TRIVIA: The yellow classic car Daniel polished during the famous “wax on/wax off” scene and offered by Miyagi was actually given to Macchio by the main producer. The studio wanted to drop the “drunk Miyagi” scene, feeling it slowed the pacing down. Avildsen argued for it and felt it was the scene that got Morita nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
‘The Karate Kid’ is rated PG and has a running time of 126 minutes. The film can currently be streamed on Netflix.
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