"Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off." 

Review: The Karate Kid  (1984)

An Augustus Review of 7/10

For today's review, we will look into the movie of a bullied boy who must learn discipline, patience and the true meaning of karate to overcome his suppressors and develop a relationship with a father he never had.

The Karate Kid stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. 

Daniel Larusso is a high school senior who moves to California with his mother from New York. They live in an apartment building where the handyman, Mr. Miyagi, is an Okinawan immigrant who is kind but keeps to himself.  At his new school, Daniel meets Ali (Elisabeth Shue) and immidiately becomes friends. Ali's ex-boyfriend, Johnny (William Zabka) is a hot-head who trains at a very strict martial arts dojo. Johnny and his friends see Daniel becoming close with Ali and decide to interfere. At every opportunity, the boys beat up Daniel, who in return, is not able to defend himself.

On his way home one night, the boys brutally beat Daniel. Mr. Miyagi witnesses the incident and jumps in.  With ease, he fends off the boys with a very experienced level of karate. The boys run off and Mr. Miyagi tends to Daniel's injuries.

Daniel is amazed by Mr. Miyagi and desperately asks him to teach him karate. To Daniel's suprise, Mr. Miyagi refuses. Daniel explains that if he doesn't learn to fend for himself, the boys will continue to harrass him. Mr. Miyagi decides that he will go with Daniel to Johnny's dojo and speak to the sensei.

At the dojo, the boys are taught a very cruel and brutal form of mentality. They are told to never hold back, "no mercy". Mr. Miyagi and Daniel witness the terrifying boys in training and begin to speak to the senei, a Vietnam-war veteran. The sensei refuses to let Daniel off the hook and tells Mr. Miyagi that he needs to fight his own battles. Mr. Miyagi decides to offer a wager, that the boys will fight in an up-coming karate tournament. If Daniel wins, the boys will have to leave him alone. The sensei agrees but only on one condition, if Daniel loses, not only will the boys continue to harrass him, Mr. Miyagi will also become a target.

Mr. Miyagi beings to teach Daniel the art of karate. However, instead of teaching him moves, he gets Daniel to do chores around his house: painting a fence, waxing cars, sanding floors. Daniel becomes irritated after a few days spent doing chores and demands that Mr. Miyagi teach him real karate. Mr. Miyagi then begins to throw punches at Daniel. Mr. Miyagi tells him to use the same hand motions that he used when he was doing chores. Daniel is able to block the blows by muscle mentality. Mr. Miyagi tells him that discipline and patience is the key to learning the true art of karate.

Daniel and Mr. Miyagi train together with every moment they get. They become very close and develop an almost father/son relationship. Through their training, they learn each other's secrets from their past that strengthen their bond. Together, Daniel is ready to face Johnny in the tournament and truly prove himself as a karate kid. 

This movie did very well during its release. It received a 90% positive review from Rotten Tomatoes and film critic, Roger Ebert, named it the best movie of the year, giving it 4/4 stars. 

The Karate Kid created a fantastic franchise and released a second, third and forth movie. In 2010, the movie was remade with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.

I strongly recommend this watch for it is a very powerful and intriguing story. You'll get a real kick out of it. 

- Augustus