289. The Karate Kid; movie review

THE KARATE KID

Cert 12A

121 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, drug references

Big hair, the soft rock and young people looking trendy in vests and headbands. Yep, Karate Kid is unmistakably the 1980s.

And it is also the basis for a very successful current Netflix series Cobra Kai which stars two of its key players - Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.

I must admit that the new series, along with most current TV, had passed me by but, having seen a few clips, I can confirm that it is very faithful to the concept of the original.

The only noticeable difference is that it doesn't take itself as seriously - whereas John G. Avildsen's movie is a romantic drama which centres on aggressive school bullying.

The victim is Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) - whose mum has been forced to move to a new town through economic circumstance and, consequently, he is the new kid in school.

Rather than keep his head down, he makes the mistake of swaggering and making a move on the prettiest girl around (Elisabeth Shue).

By the way, Macchio and Shue both look about 15 or 16 in the Karate Kid but were actually 22 at the time.

I digress. 

Shue's character, Ali, is from a high-class neighbourhood and her ex-boyfriend (Zabka) is deemed to come from acceptable stock.

But she has a glint for Daniel and the encouragement wins him more than one black eye.

Thankfully, the caretaker of his housing block is Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) who knows a thing or two about martial arts.

I have to confess that I didn't remember much about The Karate Kid other than its inevitable but rushed ending and the scenes in which Daniel paints Miyagi's fence and cleans his car.

This, according to the wise old Japnese fella, creates an instinct for karate moves when everyone knows he just wants someone to do his chores.

I jest but the corniness of Avildsen's movie doesn't really pass the test of time and, unfortunately, its ending is so strangely edited that any drama is allowed to seep away.

In addition, the acting isn't exactly top drawer.

From what I have seen, Cobra Kai is very much superior.

Reasons to watch: Iconic 80s movie

Reasons to avoid: On several levels, it doesn't really pass the test of time

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Pat Morita was known for the role of Arnold, the restaurant owner on Happy Days, so producer Jerry Weintraub felt that audiences would not take him seriously in the role of Mr Miyagi. After Morita grew a beard and added a Japanese accent to his screen test, an impressed Weintraub had a change of heart and he was given the part.

The final word. Ralph Macchio: "It's a pretty wonderful thing to see the success of the Cobra Kai series off the source material, which was the original Karate Kid film, that you can still take characters from that time and combine it within the nostalgia yet create a fresh, a relevant take in 2019."

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