PLOT:
Daniel and his mother move from New Jersey to California. She has a wonderful new job, but Daniel quickly discovers that a dark haired Italian boy with a Jersey accent doesn’t fit into the blond surfer crowd. Daniel manages to talk his way out of some fights, but he is finally cornered by several who belong to the same karate school. As Daniel is passing out from the beating he sees Miyagi, the elderly gardener leaps into the fray and save him by outfighting half a dozen teenagers. Miyagi and Daniel soon find out the real motivator behind the boys’ violent attitude in the form of their karate teacher. Miyagi promises to teach Daniel karate and arranges a fight at the all-valley tournament some months off. When his training begins, Daniel doesn’t understand what he is being shown. Miyagi seems more interested in having Daniel paint fences and wax cars than teaching him Karate.
REVIEW:
What did I like?
Relatable. In school, I wasn’t the popular kid, nor was I the nerd. However, because I was the perpetual new kid, I was a target for bullies, particularly in junior high. For this reason, I feel a connection to Daniel. Both of us being the new kid, just trying to meet some new people to hang out with, and then being picked on for no good reason. I did eventually take karate, as well. No tournament victories/entries, though.
Puppy love. In movies such as this, particular those made and/or set in the 80s, there seems to be a love story thrown in for good measure. Nine times out of 10, though, these are highly unbelievable. No chemistry at all between the two people. Not the case with Daniel and Ali (Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue). There seems to be some real sparks there. I don’t believe they were together off-screen, but one has to wonder. Seeing these two kids together, particularly on their first date is sure to put a smile on your even the most hardened curmudgeon.
Non-montage montage. Movies from the 80s are well known for their montages. As a matter of fact, this film has a couple. However, Daniel’s training is done mostly day by day. The filmmakers could have easily montaged their way through this and developed something else or included another part of the story, but they wisely chose to show Daniel learning the craft through muscle memory as well as developing a relationship with Mr. Miyagi. It works better than it sounded on paper, I’m sure.
What didn’t I like?
Vicious. There is a scene about 30 min or so into the film where Daniel and Mr. Miyagi walk in the Cobra Kai dojo and we see that it is run like a machine. Karate is all about discipline and precision, but this was militaristic. It was as if they were taught to do nothing but eat, sleep, and breath karate and the mantra their sensei has taught them, “no mercy”. This goes even further when in the tournament, all the students seem to be going for the kill, so to speak…save for one who seemed to have remorse for doing what his teacher told him. Hell, even Johnny was reluctant to fight an injured Daniel, let alone “sweep the leg”. People like Martin Kove’s character are despicable excuses for human beings. Unhappy creatures that want to pass their pain and misery down to others, as can been in Cobra Kai. While he makes for a good villain, looking at him with today’s filter (something I couldn’t help but do) makes the events of this film regarding Johnny and his “gang” even worse.
Who’s Johnny?.That brings me to the next point. Who is Johnny? Sure, he’s the typical blonde bully of most films of this era. He’s the de facto #1 student of the Cobra Kai dojo and the defending champion of the All-City karate tournament, but what else do we know about him? We know Ali is from a well to do family. Daniel just moved out to California with his mom. Johnny…well, we don’t know anything about him until the Cobra Kai series fleshes him out. I’m not saying we needed all that in this film, but just something so that he’s more than just a snarling villain.
You call those friends?. I wasn’t going to comment on this, but they just on my nerves. Ali has these two friends, you know the usual types that sabotage their friends relationship if they don’t like the guy or think they can do better, regardless of how she feels. Well, in the few scenes they are in, they get progressively more bitchy towards Daniel. It really makes me wonder how is she friends with them? On a plus note, one of them does give some information to Daniel that helps him save his relationship with Ali, but that wasn’t enough to save me opinion of them.
Final verdict:
As a child of the 80s, The Karate Kid was one of the must see films. Has it withstood the test of time? There some things that are a little dates, mostly pop culture things, but the story works no matter what era you put it in and that is why this film is still popular today, despite that crappy remake. With Cobra Kai coming to Netflix today, I decided to go back and watch the films and refresh my memory a bit (and remember how big of a crush I had on Elizabeth Shue). Do I recommend this picture? Yes, I do. Watch out for the scene where Mr. Miyagi gets drunk. It will break your heart…those that have one.
5 out of 5 stars
Mystery Man's Musings 