Daniel Larusso was the king of his castle back in Newark, New Jersey, but thanks to his mom taking a new job in California, they are moving across the country. Suddenly he is completely out of his element, not understanding why people at the way they do at his new school, and not understand at all how he could possibly fit in. He even sees himself as being pretty tough, but when he is faced with a group of bullies from his new school, he suddenly finds himself faced with more than he can handle. His temper combined with his pride lead to him not backing down when faced with difficult odds, and to make matters worse, he becomes a target of this group of kids. It certainly doesn't help matters that the ex-girlfriend of the leader takes a liking to Daniel, and it just sets up more drama for the lead character.

One night, while running from the gang of kids (again), Daniel is really beat up badly. Towards the tail end up this incident, the repair-man from his new apartment complex suddenly steps out of the shadows to defend Daniel from the kids. In a matter of moments he has dispatched with the less organized and far less disciplined group of youths. Seeing this through his haze of consciousness, Daniel wants the man (Mr. Kesuke Miyagi) to teach him everything he knows. The man isn't very willing at first though, because Daniel only wants to do it out of revenge, and has a lot to learn before he can really learn the true ways of Karate. This is where the story starts to get good, and develops from a typical high school film about trying to fit in, into a coming-of-age tale for the main character.

Ralph Macchio is the lead character of Daniel, having gained notoriety for his at times heart-wrenching performance in The Outsiders from 1983. He is pretty young in the role, and thus not quite disciplined as an actor yet, so sometimes he doesn't come off all that great on screen, but other times it helps to show that his character doesn't have a complete grasp on things around him. In the role of Mr. Miyagi they cast Pat Morita, in what turned out to be the perfect selection for the character, as he exuded exactly what was needed in the part. The quite, subdued, and very educational Miyagi brings a lot to the story, and really keeps the film grounded. It ended up being very impressive to the Academy as well, because they would give him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at that years awards.

The Karate Kid is really one of those great stories that came out of the 80's, which appealed to a younger audience, and tried to show just what the underdog is capable of in situations such as these. The best message that the film sends though, is that revenge is never the answer, and that there are alternative ways to deal with bullies than just fighting in the streets. All of the ideals of the film made it a great one in 1984, and one which has now found it into our home collection of DVD's. Macchio and Morita make it really interesting, and when you can throw in an early performance by Elizabeth Shue, you know that you are in for a treat. This is one of those films that has really great heart, and is really geared towards being a film that families can enjoy watching together. It's of course highly recommended for all of its ideals, and it is one that still has held up pretty well over the years.


















Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD