The Karate Kid
Summary
The Karate Kidwas one of the dear movies of the 1980s , but look back on it 40 age later , it ’s clear there were a few rough realities that must be faced . As the underdog story of the adolescent karate scholar Daniel LaRusso and his rivalry with the ominous bookman of the Cobra Kai dojo , The Karate Kidfeatured plenty of incredible moments , but there were just as many issues on show when looking back on it with the power of hindsight . While characters like Mr. Miyagi became iconic , upon further inspection , they were also slightly problematic .
WhileThe Karate Kidwas a meaning box berth success that led toan entireKarate Kid - based franchisewith sequels , a remaking , and even an acclaimed idiot box follow - up calledCobra Kai , its storyline , characters , and legacy have also take up a number of issues . The Karate Kidfeatured several iconic quotation and moments that have gone down in cinematic history , but that does not think of its legacy should not be scrutinize 40 twelvemonth later . The Karate Kidhas remain as popular as ever , but a few harsh realities became clear upon rewatching it .
10It’s Predictable Through And Through
The Karate Kid was full of clichés and tropes
The Karate Kidwas a 1980s classic that has maintained an important place in popular civilization 40 years since its sacking , but the harsh reality was that its narrative was good predictable . With a classic underdog set up about a new small fry in townspeople , a spiritual guidebook who teach him to be the best version of himself , and cartoonish villain who must be defeated , the tarradiddle ofThe Karate Kidwas obvious after the opening scenes . From the get - go , any looker could tellThe Karate Kidended with Daniel LaRusso as the raw Reseda karate paladin .
However , like all the effective stories , The Karate Kidwas about the journey , not the destination . watch over as Daniel slowly learned the value of Mr. Miyagi ’s wisdom , get the girl , and overcame his opposition madeThe Karate Kida delightful movie despite its cliché - laden story . As a motion picture aimed at younger viewer , The Karate Kidwas often a young audience member ’s first exposure to this type of underdog story , and it proved that a movie did n’t take to reinvent the wheel to become a beloved classic .
9Ralph Macchio Was No High Schooler
The Karate Kid star was 22 years old at the time
The actor Ralph Macchio made a name for himself playing the 17 - year - one-time mellow school scholar turned karate champion Daniel LaRusso inThe Karate Kid , but the harsh reality was he was not a tike at all . Despite the fact that Macchio pulled off his role as a teenager with believability and conviction , he was in reality 22 years old when he first take up the part . Despite the fact that Macchio continued to appear in subsequentKarate Kidsequels and the television seriesCobra Kai , Macchio ’s eld never matched up with LaRusso .
aged actors being cast as teenagers was nothing new , and in other movies , it has feel wholly incredible , butMacchio always maintained his youthful appearanceand always dumbfound away with play the younger quality of LaRusso . The other characters inThe Karate Kidwere nearer to their actual ages as William Zabka , who played Johnny Lawrence , was 19 years old when the first picture show came out . Elizabeth Shue , who played the teen erotic love involvement Ali Mills , was also slightly older , at 21 years old whenThe Karate Kidwas give up .
8Ali Mills Was Majorly Underdeveloped
The Karate Kid love interest was very one-dimensional
With just a few short scenes , such as when Daniel and Ali bonded as he taught her soccer tricks , Ali feel more necessary for the story than a fully developed three - dimensional character . Ali ’s design in contributing to Daniel and Johnny ’s plot line was further encapsulate by how her inner uprbringing was used as a stark demarcation to Daniel ’s anxiety about his social standing . While Ali did not appear in the subsequence , her character was further develop decades later when sheappeared in the goggle box seriesCobra Kai .
7A Rocky Rip-Off
The Karate Kid had a lot in common with Rocky
When rewatchingThe Karate Kidit ’s impossible to discount just how many similarities this underdog news report had with the hugely popularRockymovies being released at the same clock time . The law of similarity was no coincidence asThe Karate Kidwas engineer by none other than John G. Avildsen , the director of the originalRockymovie from 1976 . With a standardized poor boy ’s journey , the usage of collage , and an underdog train by an older wise man , The Karate Kidwas essentiallyRockyfor kids .
Sylvester Stallone has even joked with him , “ You just f—— rive off my movie ”
The Karate Kidscreenwriter Robert Mark Kamen has even tell thatRocky’sactor and creatorSylvester Stallone has even joked with him , “ You just f—— ripped off my movie”(viaSI . ) The connectedness do n’t end there as the Sung “ You ’re the estimable ” feature during the karate tournament wasinitially written forRocky IIIbut was rejected by Stallone in favor of “ Eye of the Tiger ” ( viaThe Things . ) While there are plenty of similarities between the two films , bothThe Karate KidandRockyalso had a unique identity that made them such iconic movies .
6Mr. Miyagi’s Character Was Very Stereotypical
The Karate Kid mentor played into Asian stereotypes
Mr. Miyagi was Daniel LaRusso ’s impudent old karate teacherwho consistently gave insightful advice regulate by Eastern doctrine . Although he ’s one of the most iconic movie characters , looking back 40 years later , it ’s well-defined his depiction played into the figure of speech of the mystical Asian . This stereotype relate to how Asian characters in Western media were often present as possessing supernatural - like wiseness that they used to pass the white friend . Unfortunately , the mysterious and mystical presentation of Mr. Miyagi felt slightly problematic when viewingThe Karate Kidthrough a contemporary lens .
Despite these issues , there was also nothing sinister about the demonstration of Mr. Miyagi ’s theatrical role , as he was also portrayed as a man of majuscule profundity and dignity throughoutThe Karate Kidand its sequels . Mr. Miyagi ’s backstory and heritage were further expanded inThe Karate Kid Part IIwhen he and Daniel jaw his Greenwich Village in Okinawa , Japan . While Mr. Miyagi could be understand as an Asiatic stereotype , The Karate Kidfranchise has made an sweat to control his heritage and setting have a grade of legitimacy .
5John Kreese Was A One-Dimensional Villain
The Karate Kid villain lacked believability
The Karate Kidwas a Hellenic full versus regretful story , and the baddest of them all was the Cobra Kai karate sensei John Kreese , who , looking back 40 years later , was so over - the - top sinister it made his theatrical role find very one note . When Daniel LaRusso gossip Kreese ’s dojo with Mr. Miyagi , Kreese had no issue with mortify his studentsand pushing them to the absolute demarcation line of their power . While this made Kreese a direful foe , it also begged the dubiousness of what drove him to try and bring everybody else down and what his reasoning was for being so rough on his students .
By the time LaRusso was fighting against Cobra Kai students at the Under 18 All - Valley Karate Championship , Kreese was so full of rage that he encouraged his pupil to pursue underhanded and illegal tactic to get ahead . Kreese ’s one - dimensional role as movie antagonist was plebeian for scoundrel in flick during the 1980s , but looking back , his abstract thought for being so menacing was not explored decently . Luckily , Kreese ’s backstory was further expand decennary later in theCobra Kaitelevision serial .
4Mr. Miyagi’s Training Was Often Exploitative
The Karate Kid mentor got a lot of work done for free
Daniel LaRusso ’s wise old karate teacher , Mr. Miyagi , conduct his expert cognition in such strange ways that Daniel did not even make he was being direct half the meter . From painting fences to wash railway car , Mr. Miyagi ’s strange practices often involved doing unproblematic home chores , which had the cumulative effect of learn Daniel everything he need to do it to become a karate superstar . While the famous “ wax - on , wax - off ” ethos of Mr. Miyagi work in the remainder , looking back , it also looked kind of exploitive .
Mr. Miyagi did not instruct Daniel the shipway of karate to get his car cleanedand enjoy a freshly painted picket fence , but this was a meaning welfare of his instruction style . Over the course ofThe Karate Kid , Mr. Miyagio had his house repurposed and sand and his car wash out and wax , which felt like a just trade wind for the free karate breeding he offered . The potentially exploitive nature of Mr. Miyagi ’s training way was even reference inCobra Kaiwhen Daniel failed to derive new student at his Miyagi - Do because they order his training sounded like a cozenage .
3Part Of The Appeal Is It’s Legacy
The Karate Kid’s reputation has grown over the year
Looking back onThe Karate Kid40 years after its original release , it clearly featured so many Greco-Roman moments , and its bequest has been entrench in popular culture . This diachronic significance and its continued success as a major franchise meant that every twelvemonth , new audience were discovering the original movie and enjoyingDaniel LaRusso ’s journey into becoming a karate champion . However , it must be admitted that this bequest became a meaning part of its solicitation .
Quotes like “ wax - on , wax - off , ” and iconic characters such as Mr. Miyagi have carve out an of import office in society ’s corporate cognisance .
WhenThe Karate Kidwas released in 1984 , it received mixed reviews from critics , although it was a hit with audiences . The original moving picture ’s reputation has only preserve to arise over the year as its music , quotes like “ wax - on , wax - off , ” and iconic fictitious character such as Mr. Miyagi have chip at out an important lieu in society ’s corporate cognisance . This was not to say thatThe Karate Kidwas not a estimable motion picture when it first came out , but it ’s cleared that its status and legacy have only grown in the yr since .
Custom image by Yalin Chacon.
2Johnny Lawrence Was Not So Bad
The Karate Kid antagonist was deeper than he initially appeared
Johnny felt threatened by Daniel LaRusso and was later heartbroken after his X - girlfriend Ali moved on and started dating Daniel . While Johnny belike did not act in this most appropriate way , his hard upbringing and his sinister sensei , John Kreese , negatively impacted his ability to handle conflict and confrontational circumstances . Johnny was by no agency an angel , but looking back onThe Karate Kidall these tenner later , it ’s clear he was just a sad Thomas Kid in indigence of some positively charged direction .
1The Karate Kid Paled In Comparison To Cobra Kai
The Karate Kid follow-up series as overtaken the original in many ways
WhileThe Karate Kidwas one of the most beloved film of the eighties that spawn an intact franchise of sequels , remake , spin - offs , and even an animate serial publication , the most late entry in the series , the television showCobra Kai , has managed to take over the original in term of timbre . Cobra Kaicleverly deconstructed the world ofThe Karate Kidand insert new meaning into many moments from the original flick . From fleshing out the backstory of Johnny Lawrence to foreground some of the plastic film ’s ludicrous logic , Cobra Kaimodernized the news report and kept it relevant .
Cobra Kaidid so many things better thanThe Karate Kid , and the harsh realness was it now stood as the best entry in the franchise . From adding more moral equivocalness to featuring proficient action sequence , Cobra Kaitook what worked aboutThe Karate Kidand afford it a Modern lease of lifetime . As a highly self - referential and clever boob tube serial , Cobra Kaiworked so well because it already had such strong characters and conception to work with , but it does not change the fact that theThe Karate Kidpaled in comparison to the latest TV show .
Sources : SI , The Things
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Cast
Released in 1984 , The Karate Kid follow the tale of Daniel LaRusso on his unexpected journey to becoming a Karate expert under the tutelage of a martial arts schoolmaster . lately relocated from New Jersey to Los Angeles , Daniel and his mother are judge to adapt to their new plate . Unfortunately , Daniel becomes the target of a ring of Cobra Kai dojo students . When his jack of all trades , Mr. Miyagi , saves him with expert Karate skills , Daniel convert him to learn him his Karate to defend himself , and put his bullies in their place .
