The
Karate Kid (1984)
Rating:
PG
Runtime:
127 minutes
Box
Office (in today’s dollars): 203 million (approximately)
Characters:
Daniel LaRusso, Keisuke Miyagi, Ali Mills, Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese, Lucille
LaRusso, Bobby, Dutch, Jimmy, Tommy, Freddy Fernandez, Barbara, Susan, Mr.
Mills, Mrs. Mills
Cool
Stuff: Golf n’ Stuff
Cool
Music: “You’re the Best”
Cool
Quote: “Wax on, wax off.”
This
movie is one of the longer ones I have watched so far on my list, so there is a
lot to cover. Strangely, this is the first time I had seen this movie from start
to finish. There are a lot of characters in the film; few are actually
important. Daniel is the new kid in town. He seems to be a nice kid, but he is
also kind of a jerk. Miyagi is great. At first you think he is tricking Daniel
into doing all his chores (wash/wax his cars, sand his floor, paint his fence
and house), but he is teaching him how to be a karate master. Ali is the rich
girl next door and (against her friends Barbara and Susan’s wishes) is the only
one who likes Daniel. Johnny and all his Cobra Kai buddies (Bobby, Dutch, Jimmy,
and Tommy) are bad dudes, and they learned it all from John Kreese: ”Strike
first, strike hard, no mercy!”
The
coolest thing in the movie is a place I’d actually like to visit: Golf n’ Stuff
... a place where you can play arcade hockey and mini golf, ride go-karts and
bumper boats, jump on a trampoline, and visit a photo booth. Outside of one
song, the soundtrack is pretty bad. It ruins scenes by telling you what’s about
to happen. It’s loud when something bad is about to happen, quiet when we are
supposed to be learning something. But all is forgiven when the “You’re the
Best” montage finally arrives! I also really liked the scene where we find out Miyagi’s
sad backstory.
Deciding
the coolest quote was tough. My girlfriend loved “Must be ‘take a worm for a
walk’ week”, and I’m guessing everyone else loves “Get him a body bag ... yeah!”
Me, I’ll stick with the classic “Wax on, wax off.” To close, I’d like to
mention three things: Daniel’s mom is awesome, Ali’s mom is terrible, and this
movie has a bracket tournament! Salty likey!
Next
movie to review: The Terminator
Karate Kid was rad. The karate tournament montage was money. However, I still say that this is one of the very rare instances when the sequel was better than the original. Karate Kid II rules!
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