Review - The Karate Kid (1984/2010)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. And, with the new movie Karate Kid: Legends hitting theaters this summer, I thought I would finally take a look into a couple of earlier films in the Karate Kid franchise. Unfortunately, I have only ever seen two movies in the series: the 1984 original starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, and the 2010 entry starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. And, surprisingly enough, those are the only two that are required viewing before going into the new Karate Kid: Legends movie. 

        So, the 1984 film The Karate Kid tells the story of Daniel LaRusso, a teenager living in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles, who befriends a girl named Ali, but has also unfortunately become a target of Johnny Lawrence and his fellow students at an aggressive karate dojo known as Cobra Kai. The instructor at Cobra Kai, John Kreese, is a ex-Special Forces man who teaches his students to show no mercy. One day, as Daniel tries to get payback against Johnny and his pals for bullying him, the Cobra Kai boys almost get the better of Daniel, who is saved by local handyman Nariyoshi Miyagi, who agrees to teach karate to Daniel. To help matters, Mr. Miyagi convinces Kreese to withhold hostilities from his students until the forthcoming Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship tournament. 

       Mr. Miyagi's karate training is pretty unorthodox, using various physical chores to teach Daniel defensive blocking techniques. Mr. Miyagi accomplishes this with such chores as painting his fence, painting his house, waxing his cars, and sanding the deck. And, while Daniel initially doesn't quite understand the point of all the chores, Mr. Miyagi shows him that they were a means of building two things: defensive blocking techniques and muscle memory. As the weeks progress, Mr. Miyagi teaches other karate techniques, including balance, in equally unorthodox ways, and eventually gifts Daniel with a karate gi and one of the cars from his collection as birthday gifts. 

       Ultimately, the tournament finally arrives, and Daniel does exceptionally well, even advancing to the semifinals. However, one of the Cobra Kai boys, Bobby, is instructed by Kreese to take  Daniel down with an illegal attack to the leg, disqualifying Bobby and forcing Daniel to forfeit to Johnny, who has already advanced to the finals. However, Mr. Miyagi helps Daniel fight through the pain, and he manages to fight in the finals. Daniel and Johnny keep it close, and Kreese tells Johnny to "sweep the leg," which he does with an elbow to the knee. But, Daniel wins the tournament using a crane kick he saw Mr. Miyagi pull off. And, by winning, Daniel earns the respect of Johnny and the other Cobra Kai boys. 

        The Karate Kid is another example of the classic underdog story. Daniel as the new kid in town, learning the ways of karate, and learning from an unorthodox sensei, is truly engaging and inspiring. The dynamic between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi is fantastic, and both Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita play their roles exceptionally well, and the bond they form as the movie progresses is simply fantastic. I also thought that William Zabka as Johnny and Martin Move as Kreese were fantastic antagonists. The martial arts in the movie were also fantastic, and really well handled. I genuinely enjoy this movie, and recommend it for anyone who hasn't already seen it. But, let's be clear, I'm sure a lot of you have already seen it. 

         Unfortunately, the original Karate Kid was followed by a trio of declining in quality sequels. There was both Karate Kid - Part II and Karate Kid - Part Three, which saw the returns of Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi and Ralph Macchio as Daniel, and while Karate Kid - Part II saw Daniel and Mr. Miyagi heading to Okinawa, Japan, Karate Kid - Part III was essentially a rehash of the first two, with Kreese seeking revenge against Mr. Miyagi and Daniel. A fourth outing, titled The Next Karate Kid, would see Mr. Miyagi training a new student in the form of Julie, played by a teenage Hilary Swank. And, it was easily the worst film of the set. 

         It would take several years for the Karate Kid franchise to make a comeback, and that comeback would come in the form of 2010's The Karate Kid , or as it's known internationally as The Kung Fu Kid, which would star Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. 

       So, this movie would center on Dre Parker, who would move along with his mother from Detroit Michigan to Beijing, China. And, much like Daniel in the original, Dre would be a target of local kung fu prodigy Chen, whose aim is to keep Dre away from a girl named Meiying, whose family is very close to Chen's. Dre nearly got annihilated by Chen and his crew, but a local maintenance man named Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master, would end up finding off Chen and his crew. Mr. Han would take Dre to meet Chen's kung fu instructor, a merciless man named Master Li, who runs the Fighting Dragons studio, and Li agrees the halt his students hostilities towards Dre while the boy trains for an upcoming kung fu tournament. 

       Mr. Han would agree to train Dre in the ways of kung fu, and his training method was a bit unusual and involved having Dre hang up his jacket, remove it from the hook, drop it on the floor, pick it up, put it on, and take it off. And, this process is repeated across multiple days. And, much like Mr. Miyagi's training techniques towards Daniel, Mr. Han's training techniques towards Dre are twofold: build muscle memory and develop defensive blocking techniques. 

       Over the course of the movie, building towards the tournament, Dre learns even more kung fun techniques, grows his bond with Mr. Han, and even grows close to Meiying. At the tournament, Dre's confidence is a bit shook, but he does exceptionally well, and even makes it to the semifinals. And, of course, Master Li instructs one of his students, Liang, to injure Dre and Force him to forfeit the tournament. However, with help from Mr. Han, Dre is able to work through the pain, and fights in the finals against Cheng. And despite Cheng being instructed to cheat by Master Li, Dre uses the techniques he learned to win the tournament, and also earning Cheng's respect. Cheng and the Fighting Dragon students bow to Mr. Han, looking to him as their new instructor, with Master Li leaving in defeat. 

        So, the 2010 version of The Karate Kid pretty much follows the exact same plot as the 1984 film, with one key difference. The martial arts form focused on in the movie is kung fu instead of karate. For those who don't know the difference, karate, which is Japanese in origin, is a much more rigid and harder form of martial arts combat, while kung fu, which is Chinese in origin, is a softer and more fluid in nature martial arts form. While I, personally, think that calling the 2010 movie The Karate Kid to be unfitting due to the Chinese setting and the focus on kung fu, I do appreciate that the movie tried to do something different from the original classic. 

        I will say that easily the best performance in this movie came from Jackie Chan as Mr. Han. Seeing one of the all-time legendary martial arts actors in the role of a king fu instructor is really fantastic. I also enjoyed Taraji P. Henson as Dre's mother, and thought her performance was very subtle but still impressionable. But, despite how whiny he could be throughout the movie, Jaden Smith as Dre was decent when it came to the actual kung fu. I also genuinely liked that the movie was set in Beijing, which is a genuinely gorgeous location. All in all, 2010's The Karate Kid is not as iconic as the original, but it's certainly preferable to other films in the series. 

       So, which of the two versions of The Karate Kid is better? While I believe that the answer to that question is based on which generation you ask, I will always, personally, prefer the 1984 original. The characters are iconic, the concept is fascinating, and the quotes are memorable. Not that the 2010 version is forgettable, but I think that everyone remembers such iconic elements like Cobra Kai, and quotes like "Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy" and "Wax on, wax off." But like I said, it's entirely generational, as most of the younger generation probably only know the 2010 version. For you youngsters out there, give the 1984 classic a watch, and see if you like it. And, for the older generation, maybe give the 2010 version another chance and see what you think. 

      Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys in the next review. And, before anyone asks, I do fully intend to give a review of the streaming television series Cobra Kai, but that's going to have to wait until I watch the series in its entirety. So, hopefully this time next month, I will be finished with Cobra Kai and will give you guys my thoughts on the series.