The Karate Kid (1984)

 

The Karate Kid

One of the most iconic, most referenced and highest grossing movies to be released in 1984 was “The Karate Kid”. Even today, one of the best series on Netflix is “Cobra Kai”, a spin-off of “The Karate Kid”. “Wax on, Wax off” must rate as one of the most recognizable quotes in movie history and this movie is supposed to have done the same for the karate sport as “Sideways” did for Pinot Noir.

Why is this movie not on the List?

My wife asked the same question after we had watched the movie (again) last night and the only answer I can give is snobbery. I do not think “The Karate Kid” was ever considered high art and by including “The Terminator”, I suppose the List editors thought they had ticked that box for 1984.

Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is a high school teenager moving to California with his mother (Randee Heller). Daniel starts his new Californian life with a few bumpy days. On the upside, he meets a pretty (and rich) girl Ali (Elisabeth Shue). On the downside, he also meets Ali’s very jealous ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Unfortunately, Johnny knows karate and so does his buddies, so Daniel gets his ass kicked multiple times.

Daniel also meets the Japanese born janitor of the apartment block, Mr. Miyagi (yeah, I can see it, you are beginning to smile...) (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita). When things look the very bleakest, Miyagi steps in and probably saves Daniel from ass-kicking turning fatal. Mr. Miyagi also knows karate.

A confrontation with Johnny’s master Kreese (Martin Kove) of the Cobra Kai dojo results in a truce. Johnny must stay off Daniel until the All-Valley karate tournament, 2 months hence, at which point he can kick the shit out of Daniel. Daniel now has two months to learn karate from Mr. Miyagi himself.

While “The Karate Kid” is a martial arts film with a lot of fight scenes that (I am told) are both awesome and realistic, this really a coming-of-age story with the focus on the master and apprentice relationship between Daniel and Miyagi. This relationship is also what makes the movie special and memorable all these years later.

From the outset, Daniel is obnoxious. There is no other way to describe him. If it is the lack of a father figure, I do not know, but he takes to Miyagi as if he was his father and there is a mutual respect and sympathy between the two that is very touching. This starts before the karate training begins, but the karate makes it formal. By teaching Daniel karate, he is also forming him as a person.

It helps a lot that Miyagi is a quirky and amusing character with a lot of fantastic lines. The famous “Was on, wax off” line is not even close to his best ones. Morita’s deadpan delivery makes his lines even better. Morita could both draw on his father’s (a Japanese immigrant) mannerism and speech and his experience as a stand-up comedian and his Mr. Miyagi character is one of the classic characters in movie history, synonymous with mysterious-wise and fatherly teacher.

Robert Mark Kamen wrote the story based on his own childhood experience. His first teacher was a Kreese-type teacher, while his second was a Japanese teacher who was a follower of Chojun Miyagi of Okinawa. It sort of creates depth to the story.

As a child, I could totally identify with the characters in the movie and who has not dreamt of having a Mr. Miyagi? As an adult, I still find the movie incredibly watchable. It is not just interesting at its core, it is also very well executed on all sides and funny to boot. This may be a template story, but so well done that I can forgive the clichés.

“The Karate Kid” generated many sequels and spin-offs and for the most part they got progressively worse. Trying to tell the same story again and again is not a recipe for success. This lasted until 2018 when Macchio and Zabka came together in the “Cobra Kai” series that picks up the thread 33 years after ”The Karate Kid”. Six seasons down the line, this is still the best thing on Netflix.