Everyone, in preparation for the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends, we travel back in time to the 1980s, when the Karate Kid film series began in the first place. Today, we begin with the one that started this classic series back in 1984. Man, does time fly! Well, let’s discuss the very first Karate Kid film!
Plot: When teenager Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), and his mother, Lucille (Randee Heller) move to Los Angeles, California from Newark, New Jersey, Daniel makes some friends, including love interest, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). However, he begins to have troubles with many other people, most notably with the leader of a group of bullies, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Now, with the help of landowner Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), can he learn karate skills, enter the All-Valley Karate Championships, and successfully get Johnny, and his gang from bullying him ever again?
Wow, what an excellent film. The characters are well developed, the acting is awesome, and the story is well done. Honestly, it is also great how well written the relationships are too. A couple of the major highlights, in addition to Daniel, and his Mom, are the relationships between him, and his girlfriend, Ali, as well as his relationship with Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi is also a great character overall not only for his personality, but also because he helps Daniel become a better person not only for the purpose of being a better fighter, but also for the purpose of helping him grow into a better person overall. The film also did well with establishing the rivalry between Daniel, and karate expert Johnny. Also, how could you not consider certain choreographed moves from characters like Daniel, when he’s trying to practice certain karate moves, very memorable? Additionally, The Karate Kid is also great at portraying relationships in a very realistic way. Finally, The Karate Kid teaches some important lessons about not giving up when it may be easy to do so, and to be willing to face any giants that may come your way in life.
And that’s my review for The Karate Kid. Man, it truly is a classic film with fun action, a heartwarming story, memorable characters, as well as excellent lessons to take away from this film as well. If you haven’t seen this film yet, I would say definitely do so, especially if you’re planning to see Karate Kid: Legends when that gets released here shortly.
Final Rating: 10/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 