Jimmy Kimmel called it “the most successful movie about people kicking each other ever made”. While success may be measured in many ways, by Hollywood standards The Karate Kid is like few other motion pictures. Almost forty years ago the fictional character, Daniel LaRusso, moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles to become the eponymous Karate Kid. This led to Karate Kid II, Karate Kid III, The Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank in 1994, and a Karate Kid reboot and reimagining with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in 2010, which should have been called “The Kung Fu Kid”. Now, Netflix has a 5 series hit which reunites many of the original cast to do battle with the evil Cobra Kai. Netflix rarely produces 5 series of anything, which speaks to the popularity of this film franchise. This longevity is a statement of how popular the original concept was.
Larusso, played by the seemingly ageless Ralph Macchio (now 60), is the new kid in town. He is attracted to a cheerleader from school, which angers her ex-boyfriend (played by William Zabka) who is a budding martial artist from the morally bankrupt Cobra Kai dojo. All of Cobra Kai seems to take a dislike to Larusso, who is bullied, chased, and beaten. It looks like Larusso is out of luck until Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming, Japanese maintenance man saves him and begins instructing him in karate. The story line is not original and bears major structural similarities to the movie Rocky from eight years earlier, including an unlikely hero, an aging mentor, and a journey of self discovery culminating in a major battle. Of course these elements are found in many “hero” stories and movies, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars among them. This story template has been repeated in many cultures throughout human history and Hollywood has discovered that people are drawn to it again and again.
I cannot say that the craftsmanship of The Karate Kid is exceptional or that the story is very believable, but it fills a universal need and the characters (and the actors) are likable and engaging. There must have been many bullied kids for whom this movie was a catharsis and who spent their evenings practicing the “crane kick” alone in their room.
