El Karate Kid

"The Karate Kid" is the tale of Daniel Laruso (Ralph Macchio), a young man who, on the heels of his mother's finding a new job, is uprooted from Newark, New Jersey, to the sunny shores of California. Daniel's mother has visions of a new start, a new life with the sky as the limit. Daniel, however, quickly finds that, for him, the West Coast holds nothing but hard times.

With the comforts of his rough, middle-class neighborhood thousands of miles away, Daniel tries to make friends and blend with the well-to-do, upper-class kids in his new home. At first, Daniel seems to do alright but, before long, he crosses paths with Johnny (William Zabka), the tough, rich leader of a group of karate students who attends Daniel's new school. To make matters worse, Johnny is the ex-boyfriend of Ali (Elisabeth Shue), a girl Daniel is pursuing.

Enter Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), an aging handy-man who works at Daniel's apartment building. Struggling for friends and failing to fit in, Daniel finds support in Miyagi. After enduring several beatings at the hands of Johnny and his gang, Daniel comes to learn that Miyagi, in fact, knows karate. Following a vain attempt to speak with Johnny's karate teacher (Martin Kove) about being left alone, Daniel is suddenly entered into the All-Valley Karate Tournament, where he will attempt to win the respect that Johnny and his gang have taken.

As he trains for the karate tournament with Miyagi, Daniel learns invaluable lessons about life and love. And brought to the foreground of this karate story is Daniel's pursuit of Ali, who truly is the single person who gave the new kid a chance.

On many levels, "The Karate Kid" is an uplifting movie. It illustrates how a lonely, out-of-place kid triumphs against the odds, and the movie doesn't need computer-animation or special effects to get its story across. But, for me and anyone who loves '80s movies, the "The Karate Kid" has to be appreciated for its nostalgia trip back to "better times." For that reason alone, this movie is a classic.

I've enjoyed few movies, if any, more than "The Karate Kid." I highly recommend this flick to anyone who loves a touching, uplifting story, or to anyone who simply can't get out of the '80s!!!

While John Hughs' films may be the standard for teen flicks in the 1980s, Hughs' films were just a few of the great and unique teen films to be released in that decade. Coupled with Back to the Future, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, the 80s was a rather unique time for teen movies. The Karate Kid just happened to be another one of those films. With the immortal Pat Morita leading the way, this film was not only touching, but put a whole new spin on the `zero-to-hero' story line which we have all seen too often. Ralph Macchio may have had no career after these film, but at least he proved to be comparable as Daniel (san). Sure, the ending and outcome proved to be a little predictable, but the film was still a winner.

Done by the same director as Rocky, this unusual "feel good" movie became a hit in 1984 and generated two sequels before the mania died and the franchise imploded.

I remember the phenomenon from the 80s yet as a "prolific reviewer" for the IMDb now (which, for buffs, is not the same thing as a "Voracious Eater" from the Claymore series) I now see the film differently.

I see a very competently done film that is literally lifted off the ground and carried to the finish line by the extraordinary one-of-a-kind performance from a (then) 50 year old Pat Morita, an actor who essentially spent his entire career doing "asian walkons" and offers us only this one role as a chance to see what he actually could do. Given half a chance.

Macchio and Shue were competent (the former had some momentum from Happy Days/Laverne and Shirley and the latter was beginning a short career as a type of "brat pack" teenage star) but it was Morita who owned the film and kept your interest.

Unfortunately the historical record even on the IMDb does not reflect any of this. Shue actually won an award for a completely forgettable part and Morita not only did not win anything for this film but the only nominations he received were in the "supporting role" category. This is clear "color blindness" on the part of Hollywood. He has almost as much screen time as Macchio (I counted) but because his career was merely bit parts before (and after) this was the prevailing mindset. The film would have failed without him.

As a footnote, I was not able to identify precisely why he was cast in the role, but historically Okinawa has indeed been associated with its own unique brand of martial arts and, in the martial arts world, short stocky older men have long been acknowledged as champions even though in the films of our present era someone of Morita's age or body-type would never even be considered for such a part.

The two sequels were much weaker but the demand for them was great and, when there is money on the table, Hollywood will always oblige.

I am a kid of the 80's, no doubt about it. This movie meant a lot to me back when I was growing up. I never really took karate and I wasn't really bullied, but it is great to remember a time when profanity wasn't needed for humor, or vulgarity, or shootings or blowing up buildings.

A time when the " good guy " would adhere to the rules and had morals. A time when the " bad guy " had no honor, but would rarely curse...lol. ( Hey, this was a PG movie after all, wasn't it? LOL. ) " Oh, I think nothing of cheating and being mean, because THAT'S what makes the audience dislike me and root for the hero, but I just can't use filthy words. " I miss that.

I love the movie because it takes me back to my childhood and a simpler time. A good guy and a bad guy, with the good guy coming out on top. If the " good guy " curses like a sailor, shoots everyone that gets in his way, and does everything vile imaginable, he's not really that good of a guy, is he?

Yeah, I'm " old school. " So what?

A lot of posts focus on the 'coming of age' aspect of this movie, but the very overlooked part is the role it played in helping to alleviate many of the stereotypes a very Asian phobic America was after WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

They make a point of showing Miyagi in a US Army Uniform--and a War Hero-- and makes references to detention camps Miyagi's family was sent to (a horribly dark period in American history)...where Miyagi's wife was being sent (pregnant) and where she and his unborn child (son) ultimately die during childbirth. There are also a few scenes in which ethnic slurs are used by rednecks toward Miyagi.

Taking this into light, and taking the fact that Daniel has no father that we know of in this movie, the name Daniel-san (sounds like Daniel-SON) helps demonstrate a father son bond that is overlooked. Much of the conversation between Daniel and Miyagi is about Miyagi's great father in Okinawa, because Miyagi has acquired all this knowledge and wants to share it. Daniel substitutes for the son Miyagi never had and Miyagi substitutes for the father Daniel doesn't have.