It’s easy to understand why “The Karate Kid” became such a beloved commercial and critical hit in 1984. It was basically a West Coast Teen Rocky, with the same formula of a likable and shy underdog who courts a great girl and falls in love for the first time, and then enlists the help of a wise old mentor to take on a seemingly unbeatable and far more experienced foe in a championship bout. The films even shared a director in John G. Avildsen, a cinematographer in John Crabe and a composer in Bill Conti.
As was the case with the “Rocky” franchise, a bevy of sequels followed, none of them particularly memorable. (“Rocky” has had its misfires but over all has a much better track record.) “The Karate Kid II” gave us the payoff we wanted from the original, with Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi putting the ruthless John Kreese (Martin Kove) in his place, but “The Karate Kid III” and “The Next Karate Kid” (Hillary Swank!) were dreadful, scoring 15% and yikes, 7%, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes. (The 2010 “The Karate Kid” with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith was a solid and well-received effort.)
Cut to 2017, with Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg coming up with the ingenious premise of revisiting Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence decades after Daniel defeated Johnny with that controversial crane kick in the 1984 All-Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament.
Debuting on YouTubeRed and playing on that platform for two years before making the leap to Netflix, “Cobra Kai” was instantly compelling, in large part because it told the story primarily from Johnny’s point of view at the outset, before settling into a balance between the respective narratives of Johnny and Daniel, which would intersect and collide again and again. And again.
To be sure, Daniel was still influenced by the events of 1984; he draws on Mr. Miyagi’s teachings when mentoring young Robby (Tanner Buchanan), and he even hands out bonsais to customers at his successful luxury auto dealerships. (“LARUSSO AUTO GROUP: WE KICK THE COMPETITION.”) For Johnny, however, that defeat was a crushing blow that sent him into a tailspin from which he had never fully recovered. In Johnny Lawrence’s version of “The Karate Kid,” that damn Daniel-san was the villain.
The final five episodes of the final season of “Cobra Kai” will drop on Netflix on Feb. 13, bringing the total number of episodes to a whopping 65. (I’ll not spoil anything about what happens.) Through the run, “Cobra Kai” has been an endearing, heartwarming, funny and at times insanely goofy series. (Let’s face it, some of the karate students looked like they couldn’t punch or kick their way out of a large paper sack, and a few of the brawls played like “West Side Story” meets “High School Musical.” Also, I’m still processing that Carrie Underwood guest appearance in Season 4.)
In a formula that worked more often than not, “Cobra Kai” kept dipping into the legacy of the franchise, treating even minor characters as if they were part of the “Godfather” saga. We saw callbacks to at least a dozen scenes; my favorite was in Season 1, when Xolo Maridueña’s Miguel went on a date with Daniel’s daughter Sam (Mary Mouser) at the same arcade where Daniel hung out with Elisabeth Shue’s Ali in the original. (Though different locations were used for the two shoots.) Plus we had all those returning characters, led by the reappearance of Martin Kove’s John Kreese at the end of Season 1.
Other highlights included Elisabeth Shue reprising her character, who is now a doctor in Denver; Thomas Ian Griffith infusing Terry Silver with the same snakelike menace all these years later, and some nice full-circle arcs for a number of former antagonists of Daniel’s. (Particularly touching was the farewell to Tommy, played by Rob Garrison, who passed away shortly after his final acting performance in Season 2 of the series.) In other cases, I had to be reminded of the origins of the likes of Robyn Lively’s Jessica and Traci Toguchi’s Yuna and William Christopher Ford’s Dennis de Guzman, though the writers always managed to find clever hooks to bring them back.
Some of these storylines were handled with just the right touch. Others strained credulity. Mostly, though, there was the dynamic between Daniel and Johnny, whose lives were forever changed by that one kick in that one tournament all those years ago. “Cobra Kai” was a rematch that worked for both of them on levels they couldn’t have imagined. FINALLY, the story ends.
Oh wait: I’m being told that the 1984 version of “The Karate Kid” and the 2010 edition of “The Karate Kid” will intertwine in “Karate Kid: Legends,” with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprising their roles. The dojo remains open.