The Karate Kid Movie Review!
Throwback brought to you by Amazon Prime rentals and a 9-year-old who did not want to do multiplication drills with daddy today.
Word to the 9-year-olds…if your daddy tells you to repeat your multiplication tables over and over and you whine about it, you will have picked Karate Kid for family movie night.
Grab some popcorn and prepare for the legitimate best of all things eighties. Also prepare to answer questions about why everyone does everything from the terrible Sensei at the dojo to Mr. Miagi trying to get Daniel to drink with him because he’s too drunk himself to think clearly.
Pros:
Fun night of watching kids do stupid stuff, learn good stuff, and willingly do a bunch of chores (until he’s not willing and then he loses his ever lovin mind. Still fun to watch though.)
Adorable Elizabeth Shue and Ralph Macchio. I’m one hundred percent sure that 80s teen couples don’t get cuter than these two. They probably would have stayed top on my list forever, but Tom Holland and Zendaya exist. Sorry kids.
Big build up to the last match is fantastic. I genuinely loved that Bobby was crushed that he’d taken a cheap shot at Daniel. Sometimes grownups are the actual worst. I want to punch the terrible teacher in the throat.
Cons:
When you’re a kid, most of the troubling stuff slips past you, but for a good ten minutes of the movie, all I could think about was, “That fully grown man with a lifetime of training just beat the crap out of five teenage boys…no one is calling the cops on this dude?” The boys had it coming, don’t get me wrong, but still…it caused a lot of stress for grown up me.
Daniel and Ali’s first kiss where it is super obvious they are all up in each other’s mouths…yuck. How did the director think that was a sweet first kiss? Strongly dislike.
Horrible Cobra Kai teacher. Gosh I hate him so much. He’s a brilliant villian and all, but oy. Why?
Interesting observation:
I used to think that Daniel losing his mind and screaming at his adults was unpardonable…now I realize, he’s just a normal kid reacting in normal kid ways. The adults who love him remaining calm, giving him hugs, and teaching him to breathe was pretty beautiful. I wish more adults did that…then and now.
This was a delightful family night movie. The kids loved it, we loved it, we loved watching them love it. A solid win all the way around.