The Karate Kid (1984)

United States of America

Action, Drama, Family

Columbia Pictures, Delphi II Productions, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, William Zabka, Martin Kove, Randee Heller

John G. Avildsen

Robert Mark Kamen

Taglines: He taught him the secret to karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands.

high school, friendship, martial arts, sports, fight, halloween, cheerleader, karate, bullying, sensei, teen movie, los angeles, california, dating, martial arts master, single mother, sabotage, beaten, high school student, martial arts tournament, martial arts training, crane, sport competition, nostalgic, school dance, semi autobiographical, mentor protégé relationship, teenage gang, teenage romance, philosophical, hard work, high school romance, inspirational, the karate kid, hopeful, optimistic

Daniel moves to Los Angeles with his mother, Lucille, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of high school students, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei, John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.

Reviews:

Author: r96sk
The start of 'The Karate Kid'. Good viewing, this. I'd be lying if I didn't say I expected more from it, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it - because I did. Coming into this I had only seen the 2010 remake, therefore I did know what was coming in certain points. Still, the plot is interesting and holds a positive message. I would say the run time is longer than I would've chosen, I feel they could've shaved a bit off and not have taken so long to get to the karate event itself. It builds up fairly slowly, meaning the opening 40 minutes are less interesting - to me, anyway. The rest is good fun though. I definitely sensed the 'Rocky' influence, particularly in Ralph Macchio's acting. He reminded me of Sylvester Stallone from the aforementioned film, in terms of the acting perhaps not being anything incredible but there being the required amount of likability and glimpses of hidden talent. Macchio (Daniel) is very good here, as is Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) of course. Onto the sequels!