Review of The Karate Kid (1984) by Chad R — 09 Mar 2013

John G. Avildsen directs yet another underdog "rags-to-riches" kind of story, much like he did with the 'Rocky' films, 'Lean On Me', and '8 Seconds'. This time, the film tells the tale of a New Jersey teenager, Daniel LaRusso, who reluctantly moves with his mother to sunny California.

Of course, he is an impatient and impractical smartmouth, but the real Daniel - the Daniel that's actually tolerable, is not far beneath his rough exterior. Due to his new kid status, he is bullied by the Cobra Kai, an overly agressive group of teenage boys that are obsessed with using their own form of karate on their weaker 'inferiors'.

Daniel also takes a liking to Ali, who is of course the former girlfriend of the Cobra Kai's leader. Amidst all this, he befriends the handy man at his apartment building, a Mr. Miyagi. Like everyone else, Daniel at first underestimates Miyagi.

Over the course of the film, we learn that Miyagi is really a very wise man who knows a lot about karate - the less aggressive and more genuine kind. The Cobra Kai continues to torture Daniel, and he finally convinces Mr.

Miyagi to teach him the ways of the ancient art. But it is not just about getting back at his tormentors - Miyagi teaches him to use karate as a way to discover himself, as well as learning about honor, responsibility, and the like.

While I would agree that the film is predictable, and Daniel could get on anyone's nerves, the true magic of the story is Morita's performance as the wise handy-man/karate instructor. Rather than just come swooping in at exactly the right time to save Daniel's sorry butt, we meet him as a handy-man first, and therefore learn about him as a person before putting him into hero situations.

His performance makes Daniel tolerable, because without Miyagi, I don't think anybody could stand Daniel. Morita earned an Oscar nomination for the film, and while it was highly deserved, I can't really say whether he should have won because I don't know what his competition for the award was in 1984, without researching it.

However, it cannot be denied that he displayed masterful acting talent, and the only element that made the unnecessary and very repetitive sequels watchable.