The Karate Kid: 40 Years of Greatness

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

In 1984, The Karate Kid came out, directed by Rocky director John Avildsen and starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, William Zabka, and Martin Kove. The story of a teenager moving from New Jersey to California, falling for a girl, dealing with bullies, and learning karate from a man who would become his closest friend, has entertained audiences for years and spawned many sequels, a remake, and a successful legacy sequel television series, Cobra Kai. What makes The Karate Kid iconic and one of the best movies of the 1980s?

The best thing about The Karate Kid is the characters. The main character is Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio, who moves to Reseda, California. He befriends a girl named Ali Mills, played by Elisabeth Shue. Daniel is a flawed hero that the audience can root for. He’s not a perfect underdog, and at times, he gets easily frustrated. He’s taught by Mr. Miyagi, a maintenance worker in Daniel’s apartment from Okinawa. Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, is the best character in the movie. He’s calm, wise, and funny, and helps Daniel even before he becomes Daniel's teacher. Morita’s performance is the best in the movie and it earned him an Academy Award nomination. Miyagi, like Daniel, isn’t perfect. The best scene of the movie is when Mr. Miyagi is drunk revealing he served in WWII and during that time his wife and newborn son died while in an internment camp.

The antagonists of the movie are Johnny Lawrence, his Cobra Kai friends, and their sensei John Kreese. Johnny Lawrence is played by William Zabka and perfectly portrays him. He’s Ali’s ex-boyfriend and easily gets jealous when Daniel and Ali spend time together and eventually become a couple. Johnny, despite being a bully, has morals during the tournament. He respects his opponent in the semi-finals and disapproves of Kreese telling Johnny’s friend Bobby to put Daniel out of commission. During the finals, when Krese tells Johnny to sweep the leg Johnny looks horrified at the suggestion and when Daniel wins, Johnny personally hands Daniel the trophy in good sportsmanship, saying he’s alright and said it was a good match. Martin Kove plays John Kreese well and Kreese shows through the tournament that what Mr. Miyagi said about no bad students, only bad teachers are real with the things he tells his students to do and his no-mercy approach. Even Johnny’s friends have unique personalities. For example, Bobby is the more merciful member of Cobra Kai who is trying to push Johnny out of trouble and feels bad when he hurts Daniel during the tournament, apologizing. Dutch is the most vicious member who, unlike his friends, didn’t disapprove of Kreese having Bobby injure Daniel’s leg.

Another great element of The Karate Kid is the story. Avildsen could have easily made this Rocky with karate. Instead, he took a more unique approach. The teacher-student relationship of Mr. Miyagi and Daniel felt fresh for its time. There is a great development to it that’s not without its bumps in the road. The Daniel-Johnny rivalry never gets stale and doesn’t feel like a typical cookie-cutter hero vs bully scenario. Right away Daniel doesn’t become a karate expert. He learns slowly through chores that frustrate him at first and is ready to quit until Mr. Miyagi shows him how simple things like painting a fence and waxing a car make for perfect karate techniques. Daniel and Ali’s relationship is believable and feels like how a real-life teenage couple would act.

The soundtrack is also iconic. Whether it’s the 1980s songs like “You’re the Best” and “Cruel Summer” to the score from Bill Conti, The Karate Kid has some of the best music in a 1980s movie. The training sequences are incredible and add to the development of Daniel’s karate journey. The karate sequences are done well, from the first fights Daniel gets into to the All-Valley Tournament. The tournament montage never feels rushed and gives the audience enough time to absorb the environment Daniel is now in. The final fight between Daniel and Johnny is great and never disappoints.

The legacy of The Karate Kid has continued for over 40 years. In 1986, The Karate Kid Part II came out. In 1989, The Karate Kid Part III came out, which at the time seemed like a conclusion to Daniel LaRusso’s story until he returned to the role in the 2018 series Cobra Kai. Pat Morita would return one last time as Mr. Miyagi in the 1994 movie The Next Karate Kid, mentoring a new character played by Hillary Swank. These movies got mixed to negative reviews. In 2010, a remake of The Karate Kid came out starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, with more positive reviews than the original sequels.

The comedy show How I Met Your Mother created an interesting theory with The Karate Kid when Neil Patrick Harris’s character Barney Stinson claimed Johnny Lawrence was the real hero of the movie. Macchio and Zabka would make guest appearances on the show. Many fans believe this unofficially created Cobra Kai years later. In 2018, Cobra Kai premiered on YouTube Red with William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence as the main protagonist trying to restart Cobra Kai and learn what his point of view of the events of the first movie was. It would later continue on Netflix and conclude in early 2025. The show got great reviews and brought back other former Karate Kid actors alongside Macchio and Zabka. Soon a new Karate Kid movie called Karate Kid Legends will come out on May 30, 2025, with Ben Wang as the new young student mentored by Jackie Chan’s character Mr. Han from the 2010 movie and Daniel LaRusso.

My final grade for The Karate Kid is an A+. The story, performances, and karate fights are top notch and it’s a movie I watch every year that remains timeless. I highly recommend you watch The Karate Kid if you haven’t already. What are your thoughts on The Karate Kid? Let us know in the comments below.