Karate Kid, The (United States, 1984)
January 16, 2025
When The Karate Kid was first released during the summer of 1984, it came into theaters unheralded. Despite the minimal fanfare and irrespective of its lack of a big-name movie star, it became the sleeper hit of the season and one of the year’s top earners. More than forty years later, The Karate Kid remains popular. There have been three direct sequels (with another on the way), a remake, and a hugely popular Netflix series (Cobra Kai). Before it was a franchise, however, The Karate Kid was just a stand-alone production that cashed in on the popularity of the ‘80s high school genre crossed with a Rocky-inspired sports movie.
Nostalgia isn’t the lone reason The Karate Kid continues to entertain after its teen stars have become AARP members. There’s a sweetness and innocence to the story that avoids entering saccharine territory by incorporating darker themes into the mix (including bullying and the tragedy of the United States’ treatment of Japanese-American citizens during WW2). The bad guys are mean, the good guys are likeable, and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) is iconic. Most of all, with Rocky’s director, John G. Avildsen, at the helm, it inspires and uplifts. And, although it follows a template that was already developed by 1984, it does it better than at least 75% of the other sports seeking to cultivate the same emotions.
As the movie opens, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is about to
become a fish-out-of-water. A Jersey boy born and bred, the 17-year-old is
being transplanted cross-country to Reseda, Los Angeles so his single mom,
Lucille (Randee Heller), can get a better job. Daniel’s first interactions with
his soon-to-be fellow students are mixed. He hits it off with pretty blonde
cheerleader Ali Mills (‘80s “It” girl Elisabeth Shue) but runs afoul of Ali’s
ex-boyfriend, black belt Karate alpha male and all-around bully Johnny Lawrence
(William Zabka). Daniel also forms a connection with his apartment’s handyman,
Mr. Miyagi, a karate sensei.
Daniel soon becomes the target of mistreatment from Johnny and his fellow Cobra Kai students. They follow the doctrine of their teacher, ex-Marine John Kreese (Martin Kove), which emphasizes revenge, domination, and violence. This is a philosophy rejected by Miyagi and he reluctantly agrees to teach Daniel so he can counter the abuse. Miyagi and Kreese reach an agreement – Daniel will fight Johnny during an upcoming karate tournament if the Cobra Kai members agree to stop the harassment in the interim. So Daniel trains with Miyagi and woos Ali under the baleful glare of Johnny as he awaits his opportunity to pounce.
The Karate Kid contains its share of memorable/iconic
moments, none more often parodied than the “wax on/wax off” exercise Miyagi
uses to train Daniel’s muscle memory. The Crane stance, introduced by Miyagi
during a beach visit and employed by Daniel during the climactic confrontation,
was often imitated during the 1980s. Not everything works – the upper-class
disdain exhibited by Ali’s family feels tired and obligatory and the incident
at the country club seems like an extract from a lesser movie. Outside of
Daniel and Miyagi, none of the characters are well-developed with Ali being
relegated into a two-dimensional girlfriend role and none of the villains
showing much depth.
The movie’s emotional resonance comes through the Daniel/Miyagi relationship and finds its apex during a scene in which a drunken Miyagi reveals the truth about his (deceased) family and how he was earning medals for fighting the Germans in Europe while his pregnant wife was enduring the poor conditions at the Manzanar internment camp. Although the film doesn’t dwell on Miyagi’s personal tragedy (which happened forty years prior to the story’s time frame), it informs Daniel’s perspective (and that of the viewer) for the rest of the narrative.
The success of The Karate Kid proved to be a boon for
the three most prominent cast members. It made Ralph Macchio, whose only previous
major role had been in 1983’s The Outsiders, into both a star – a position
he parlayed into a successful acting career (returning often to the role of
Daniel over the years) – and a teen heartthrob. It allowed Pat Morita to escape
typecasting as Happy Days’ Arnold while providing him with a character with
which he would happily be associated for the rest of his life. And it introduced
film-goers to Elisabeth Shue, whose star would shoot into orbit a few years
later when she headlined Adventures in Babysitting.
Although the ending of The Karate Kid leaves a major plot thread dangling (Kreese doesn’t get his comeuppance), the movie wasn’t made with the expectation it would become a series. However, when it came time to make more movies, most of the major participants (including director Avildsen, screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, and producer Jerry Weintraub) were involved, assuring a degree of continuity. Although neither The Karate Kid Part II nor The Karate Kid Part III matched The Karate Kid for pure entertainment, they shared several qualities with the first movie: exciting, well-choreographed fight scenes; detestable villains, and a lasting chemistry between Macchio and Morita. Those elements, combined with an overall crowd-pleasing mentality, made The Karate Kid one of 1984’s must-see summer motion pictures and allows the film to resonate long after many of its contemporaries have either been forgotten or turned into sources of retro humor.
Karate Kid, The (United States, 1984)
Cast: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, William Zabka, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller
Home Release Date: 2025-01-16
Screenplay: Robert Mark Kamen
Cinematography: James Crabe
Music: Bill Conti
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
U.S. Home Release Date: 2025-01-16
MPAA Rating: "PG" (Violence, Mild Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Subtitles: none
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- (There are no more better movies of Ralph Macchio)
- (There are no more worst movies of Ralph Macchio)
- (There are no more better movies of Pat Morita)
- (There are no more worst movies of Pat Morita)
- (There are no more better movies of William Zabka)
- Back to School (1986)
- (There are no more worst movies of William Zabka)
Comments