Ralph Macchio as Daniel looking tired and concerned against The Karate Kid poster backdrop
Following the success of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, one of the biggest trends of the 1980s became underdog sports stories, with one of the more iconic being The Karate Kid. Helmed by original Rocky director John G. Avildsen, the 1984 teen drama not only became one of the biggest hits of its year, but also spawned a franchise that is still going to this day, including two direct sequels and the Netflix TV show Cobra Kai, which has served as a legacy sequel to the original movies.
Despite the familiarity, though, it's hard to deny the crowdpleasing nature of The Karate Kid 's story. Despite the familiarity, though, it's hard to deny the crowdpleasing nature of The Karate Kid's story. Macchio's performance as Daniel is full of life and emotion, which makes it easy for us to want to see him succeed in the tournament. The dedicated support from Daniel's mom, his love interest Ali and Mr. Miyagi also gives Macchio's protagonist all the more reason to want to win and prove himself.
One of the biggest characters who needed more focus was Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi. Between Daniel being the protagonist and playing up the mystic POC mentor trope that has been featured in countless movies, Miyagi is largely an enigma, with only a handful of mentions of his father teaching him some of the things he teaches Daniel, and a heartbreaking scene in which he relives the death of his wife and son.
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