Movies

I being a child of the 80's have a soft spot for this movie. Yes it is predictable,but what makes it a great movie is the performances by the 2 main characters. Ralph Macchio is great as a teenager that is bullied at his new school. But the movie belongs to Pat Morita as Mr. Myagi. He plays an old apartment maintenance man that befriends Macchio. He becomes his karate teacher, but they develop a great friendship that makes the movie all the more enjoyable. The great thing is that the movie shows that the old man comes to need the kid as much as the kid needs him, it is a touching relationship. All the rest is standard Rocky film stuff, but what Rocky and this film have in common is that the characters are people we care for, so all the climactic scene stuff works.

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.

The Karate Kid isn't the best movie ever made, but it is nostalgic, and is appealing, fun and charming. Even with some of the weak spots of the script, and the admittedly formulaic plot, I really like this movie. It is well filmed, has a nice soundtrack, has a good message, some terrific karate sequences and some decent direction. Plus it goes along at a brisk pace. I for one also liked the acting, Ralph Macchio is appealing in the lead, while Pat Morita(always the highly watchable actor, and the actor who elevated the sequels to a more watchable standard) is excellent and it was nice to see the charming Elizabeth Shue. Overall, I like The Karate Kid, even with the flaws, it is nostalgic and enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox