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I caught a little bit of The Karate Kid on cable last week and decided to netflix it. It came in on Saturday and I watched it this weekend. I haven't seen it for a long time--maybe not since the late '80s. I was really struck by what an unexpectedly great piece of movie-making it is. It would've been so easy to make some cheap, high school Rocky lknockoff, but TKK is so much more than that. The performances are terrific--almost everyone in it nails it (as great is Martin Kove is for the most part, he has one moment where I sort of cringe, when he says "But I like that!" in the dojo). I'm frankly stunned that Ralph Macchio didn't seem to get any award nominations--William Zabka (who played Johnny) got one, but RM didn't. That terrific scene where he says "to hell with this! I'm going home" and Miyagi takes him from "show me wax on" to that flurry of defensive blocks--the look on Danny's face as he realizes what he's been doing all along...it's just great. And that look of terror, resolve, and anticipation all at the same time, as he prepares to do the famous crane kick. Pat Moriyuta certainly deserved his Oscar nomination but I'm disappointed RM didn't get an Young Artist Award or something.
My favorite sequence is that long scene when Miyagi gets drunk, reminiscing about his wife, and then Danny puts him to bed and you see that those tears on Miyagi's face...and then Danny reads the telegram about the death of his wife and infant son in the internment camps. When Danny bows to him as he leaves---tears were running down my face. Man, I'm tearing up now, thinking about it. It's incredibly moving. The sequence goes from that to that beautiful montage of Danny training himself--on the piling practicing the crane kick, and on the rowboat, with that light on the water. That is some movie-making, people.
I also love how, as obvious as the good/bad dichotomy is, the "bad" kids are not completely unredeemable. I like it when Bobby tries to apologize to Danny after nailing him in the tournament, and I think it's damn classy of Johnny to humble himself to Danny at the end. (I mean, Ali-with-an-I must've seen something in him to have dated him at all, right? One thing I don't get though, is when Kreese orders Bobby to take Danny "out of commission" in the tournament and Bobby protests--Johnny is standing right there, following the conversation. And yet later he's stunned when Kreese orders him to "sweep the leg"--although I will say I love that look, that look of shock).
On a purely shallow note, the sheer display of man-candy is also quite enjoyable. I typically prefer brunettes and Ralph Macchio is just so cuuuuute in this, but I gotta say, William Zabka is pretty delicious as well, achingly-'80s red shiny jacket notwithstanding. In fact all the Cobra Kais (except maybe for Dutch, even if he IS Steve McQueen's son) were kinda hottt.
My favorite sequence is that long scene when Miyagi gets drunk, reminiscing about his wife, and then Danny puts him to bed and you see that those tears on Miyagi's face...and then Danny reads the telegram about the death of his wife and infant son in the internment camps. When Danny bows to him as he leaves---tears were running down my face. Man, I'm tearing up now, thinking about it. It's incredibly moving. The sequence goes from that to that beautiful montage of Danny training himself--on the piling practicing the crane kick, and on the rowboat, with that light on the water. That is some movie-making, people.
I also love how, as obvious as the good/bad dichotomy is, the "bad" kids are not completely unredeemable. I like it when Bobby tries to apologize to Danny after nailing him in the tournament, and I think it's damn classy of Johnny to humble himself to Danny at the end. (I mean, Ali-with-an-I must've seen something in him to have dated him at all, right? One thing I don't get though, is when Kreese orders Bobby to take Danny "out of commission" in the tournament and Bobby protests--Johnny is standing right there, following the conversation. And yet later he's stunned when Kreese orders him to "sweep the leg"--although I will say I love that look, that look of shock).
On a purely shallow note, the sheer display of man-candy is also quite enjoyable. I typically prefer brunettes and Ralph Macchio is just so cuuuuute in this, but I gotta say, William Zabka is pretty delicious as well, achingly-'80s red shiny jacket notwithstanding. In fact all the Cobra Kais (except maybe for Dutch, even if he IS Steve McQueen's son) were kinda hottt.
