First of a treacherous franchise (Karate Kid (DVD))

Member Name: Cammij

Product:	Karate Kid (DVD)
Date:	29/09/08 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Actors and strong Christian values

Disadvantages: The good guy loses

The Karate Kid is a dark drama/action movie from John G Avildsen who also gave us the heartbreaker "Rocky 2" where another popular champion ultimately loses. The Karate Kid is the story of a hardworking, honest and popular kid named Johnny Lawrence (Famous Academy award nominated actor William Zabka) who has just broken up with his highschool sweet heart Ali played by a very Gentile looking Elishabeth Shue, because she has a nihilistic streak and needs pofessional emotional help instead of being in a serious relationship yet he wants to stand beside her as a friend.
The swarthy villian of the story is a vicious swarthy arrogant troublemaker named Daniel Russo, played by Ralph Macchio, who hints of being "mobbed up" who arrives from "Jerssy" with his mother, probably one step ahead of the law. He shows up at an end of summer beach party and attempts to take advantage of Ali by being her "rebound". Johnny tries to protect Ali's honor and is viciously attacked by Daniel who uses a form of very violent and aggressive Kung Fu taught only in books and at the YMCA. Johnny after being sucker punched at one point barely escapes with his life by utilizing the Karate taught to him by the kind and strong mentor "Kreese" played by Marty Kove. Kreese is an honorably discharged Special Forces sldier from the Vietnam war who teaches his boys self defense that is not anti-western and filled with high faluting Eastern mumble jumble philosophy and anti-Christian rhetoric. Johnny is a good guy who talks about working hard in school, he refuses a chance to drink underage and always wears a helmet while riding his dirt bike. Meanwhile Daniel is a violent tempered disrespectful boy who lies (even to his mother) and bullies everyone.
The movie leads to a predictable end with Daniel antagonizing Johnny repeatedly. He goes to Johnny's Karate School to make trouble and antagonize Johnny in front of his kind and wizened Sensei Kreese then destructively and cowardly sprays steaming hot water on Johnny and his friends at a Halloween Dance. This is while he is misleading and abusing Ali and treating her like garbage. There is no hint of safe sex or protection being used as Daniel clearly has an attitude that he does not care if he gets her pregnant as he simply does not respect anyone.
When Johnny confronts Daniel about burning him with the water Mr Miyagi shows up and proceeds to violently assault Johnnys friends, enjoying it even more since some of them presumably minors. After this "saving" Daniel begins a twisted and complex (implied that Daniel becomes a Catamite as he seeks a father figure) relationship with a wicked Svengali played by Pat Morita who got an Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance. Miyagi was a war criminal who brags to Daniel how many innocent German soldiers he murdered in Italy (presumably while POWs). He proceeds to teach Daniel a very aggressive and violent form of martial arts that is meant to maim and hurt people. They even kill flies with chopsticks just for fun to show off their reflexes and killer instincts.
Daniel begins to stalk Johnny and Ali and even trespasses into their country club to spy on her. Johnny only ever tries to help her and keep her away from this bad guy but due to her mental illness she can not make wise decisions and Daniel is eager to take advantage of this. Everyone finally agrees that Daniel will abate his twisted attempt to take over Reseda and earn street cred by bullying Johnny if Johnny will fight him in an all valley Karate tournament. Then Daniel and Miyagio begin a training montage that is more Dark Jedi than Rocky.
Johnny has to fight many skilled and powerful opponents on his inevitable collison course with Daniel. He sticks in there knowing that enduring this pain is the only way that he can save Ali. Unfortunately in the end he fails and loses when Daniel uses illegal moves and some heathen pain suppression techniques to unfairly circumvent the rules and thus beat the ever decent and trustworthy Johnny. There are a couple of other great reviews athttp://www.billyzabka.com/pb/wp_bff1b346/wp_bff1 b346.html?0.37314803089037
Karate Kid is a timeless classic that can inspire everyone. Although the ending is unhappy and the bad guys win by cheating and hating we see that Johnny maintains dignity and self respect through it all. That is the lesson, that doing the right thing is still best even if it does not lead to immediate rewards. Incidently the Karate Kid franchise lived on, in a perverse and new approach of carrying on with the villain being the star.After the first Karate Kid movie Daniel leaves Ali high and dry (some oblique refrences hint that she miscarried his child, which he incidentally did not want and committed suicide but he claims she left him for a USC footballer ) BEFORE Daniel and Miyagi go to Okinawa in part two and creates tension by violating the chasity of a local girl and in part 3 him and Miagi make trouble back in California while running a fradualent counterfeit bonsai tree store and Daniel has yet another new co-dependent weak female to abuse. It is not about a flawed tragic hero, it is a francise of horror films based on the shock of what this misogynist brute will do next to polite society.

Summary: A classic tale of the underdog coming up an inch too short