Throwback Thursday: The Karate Kid

 The Karate Kid is a 1984 drama starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka. The movie follows the journey of a displaced teen learning the secrets of karate and the value of friendship from a wise old master Mr. Miyagi. With the premier of the new YouTube series Cobra Kai, I thought I'd go into what I liked about the original.

 First off, everyone gives a great performance. Martin Kove gives a love to hate flair to antagonist John Kreese head of the Cobra Kai Dojo. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka both do well as rivals Danny LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Noriyuki "Pat" Morita gives a career defining performance as Mr. Miyagi who many words of wisdom are still quoted and referenced today. I can't even remember how many times I've heard "wax on. wax off" referenced in t.v. and movies. In an interesting side note originally Iwamatsu Mako was supposed to play Mr. Miyagi but couldn't due to commitments to Conan The Destroyer. After seeing his performance as Iroh in Avatar The Last Airbender I think he would have been great in the role but Morita does a good job and really makes you feel for the character.

 Honestly my favorite parts are all centered around Mr. Miyagi, he really makes this movie memorable for me. If had been a less powerful performance I don't think The Karate Kid would have been nearly as successful, much less spawned two direct sequels, two reboots and a t.v. series continuation more than 30 years after the original.The ease with which he takes down the Cobra Kai students on Halloween has always stuck out to me as a really cool moment. The other main thing I find powerful about the movie is the arc of Johnny Lawrence. His slow realization that he may be on the wrong side and his humility in defeat at the end show the spark of the good person that John Kreese has tried so hard to bury. Despite these glimpses into a deeper character he still responds realistically, like in the sweep the leg scene where it is clear that he doesn't want to win that way but will do what he has to. These things always made me more interested to know more about Johnny and I got my wish with the new Cobra Kai series( I've only seen two episodes but it seems promising).

 The soundtrack is great and bears mentioning. The main theme " The Moment of Truth" by Survivor is an excellent song and the finale track "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito is now a classic sports/martial arts song. Another fun fact, "You're the Best" was rejected by Sylvester Stallone for Rocky 3 and he eventually settled on "Eye of the Tiger" also by Survivor. The soundtrack is packed with great 80's rock and really adds another fun dimension to the movie.

 While I wouldn't say The Karate Kid defined my life or anything it was a good movie that felt like more than the sum of it's parts. I try to watch it every five years or so, it's not in my top ten movies but it's fun to watch and has a lot of heart. If you haven't seen it, go watch it, and if you have go re-watch it, I find little details that make me appreciate it even more the more I watch it.

 Thanks for reading!