Movie Review: The Karate Kid

I haven't got around to watching "Spiderman 3" yet. Maybe I'll watch it tommorrow at the Cinerama Dome. Most of the criticisms I have heard about it have been pretty bad. Granted, it does look overstuffed with villains, and that's what kind of messed up "Batman Returns" all those years ago. "Spiderman 2" is definetly a tough act to follow.

Anyway, I wanted to write about "The Karate Kid" because it's one of those movies that gets stuck in your head to where you know every word in the screenplay. It is one of the many movies that I got to see at the long gone Melody Theater back in Thousand Oaks, where I saw a lot of classic 80s movies. I remember vividly seeing this one with my older brother and my mother. It was one of the few movies that my mom would ever take us to. That, and "The Right Stuff," and any Star Trek movie.

It's now been 20 years (!) since this movie came out, so you all know the story. Ralph Macchio plays Daniel Larusso who moves with his mom from New Jersey to California. Having moved a bit as a kid, I understand and can appreciate his fustration at having to adapt to new surroundings that are not exactly prepared to welcome you with open arms. He runs afoul of a tough gang of karate kids known as the Cobra Kais, and they are led by Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabaka in one of his dozen cocky assholish roles). When he sees Daniel flirting with his girlfriend (played by the goddamn beautiful Elisabeth Shue), Johnny lays down the law and kicks Daniel ass whenever he's around.