Review of The Karate Kid (1984) by Mã©Lissa A — 23 Jul 2017

Avildsen's film is a great coming of age story detailing not only the difficulties of a high school life but the layered depths of culture. Performances are good, Macchio delivers a decent portrayal of a character in social crisis.

Morita is a god send and plays his mentor role well with a giddy and at times morally ambiguous role, he also plays the role with great depth. My only issue is that I found the initial and ongoing issues between both Daniel and Johnny petty throughout, annoying me more than anything.

The film is also way too long at 2hr 8min with scenes feeling both repetitive and ultimately redundant in the first hour.