Unblockable Crane Kick of Nostalgia: A Review of Cobra Kai

As a child of the late 80’s, The Karate Kid is a movie I’ve watched and re-watched dozens of times. From first viewing, I identified with Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) as he struggled to make friends and gain acceptance at a new school. Boy, did he face some obstacles: over the course of the movie, Daniel was punched, kicked, slide-tackled, poor-shamed, and even pushed off a hill by 1980’s bully-extraordinaire Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Just when it seemed like hope was lost, Daniel was rescued from the bullies by building super/karate expert Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita). Miyagi became the father figure Daniel was missing in his life, and his lessons propelled Daniel to triumphant victory in the All-Valley Karate Championship. The mentor/student relationship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi formed the emotional backbone of The Karate Kid and subsequent sequels. The Youtube Red series Cobra Kai has the enviable task of continuing this classic movie story into the 21^st century. It largely succeeds by inverting key relationships, including quality callbacks to previous installments, and focusing on the student/teacher dynamic that made the series a hit.

Cobra Kai picks up 33 years after the ending of The Karate Kid and immediately flips the story upside-down. Johnny is living a sad, lonely life as a building super, while Daniel owns a successful luxury car dealership. Enter Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), a down-on-his-luck teen living in Johnny’s apartment complex. Miguel is mercilessly picked on by a group of school bullies and needs help defending himself. While it was Mr. Miyagi who swooped in to mentor the down-on-his-luck kid in The Karate Kid, Johnny becomes the reluctant mentor to Miguel in Cobra Kai. Daniel, meanwhile, trains a pupil of his own: Johnny’s estranged son Robby (Tanner Buchanan), putting Daniel and Johnny on another collision-course that ends at the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Reversing the roles of the original characters is a brilliant decision: it allows Johnny to have a story arc of his own, transforming the former bully into a rough-around-the-edges mentor. William Zabka shines in his evolution from bully to curmudgeon, and in doing so, accomplishes the almost-impossible task of humanizing one of the great villains of 1980’s cinema.

Fans of The Karate Kid will have a lot to like about Cobra Kai. All of the previous movies are referenced throughout the series, even Mr. Miyagi’s bonsai tree store from the forgettable Part III. There’s a Halloween dance (with an obligatory Cobra Kai skeleton costume), 1980’s music montages, and lots of karate training montages. Like Daniel’s memorable “wax on, wax off” scene in The Karate Kid, Johnny’s estranged son Robby also learns muscle memory with a series of menial jobs. Miguel and Samantha have a first date at the same “Golf & Stuff” as Daniel and Allie in The Karate Kid, set to the same song. Stars of the original movie make plenty of cameos, and there’s an excellent tribute to the late Pat Morita. Cobra Kai channels the best story beats of the series and leverages them to the maximum. If viewers liked The Karate Kid, and are looking for more of the same, Cobra Kai satisfies in spades.

While I loved the many callbacks to The Karate Kid in Cobra Kai, I wondered whether strangers to the franchise would react to the series the same way. Much of the initial focus of Cobra Kai is on Johnny and Daniel, not Miguel, Samantha, and Robby. As the series progresses, the next generation of karate kids starts to shine, but it takes some time. When the show does get more dramatic, it relies on nostalgia over original content to drive the point home. In fact, many of the series’ most emotional moments are flashback scenes from The Karate Kid. I loved the callback to Miyagi’s speech about balance in karate and in life, but I wished the 2018 characters could deliver the same emotional punch themselves. While the dramatic moments in Cobra Kai are great to re-live for fans of the original, they can lack the same punch for a new viewer who hasn’t seen The Karate Kid dozens of times.

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling. Just ask any Star Wars fan what it felt like to see Luke Skywalker fire up a lightsaber after a thirty-two-year hiatus. Fans of The Karate Kid have had an equally long wait to see their favorite characters hit the mat again. Luckily, Cobra Kai is a joy to watch for fans of the 1984 movie and the entire series. It inverts character relationships in a way that keeps the plot fresh without abandoning the established continuity. There are wonderful callbacks to the original movies that add another layer of enjoyment for people familiar with the material. Karate Kid newbies will enjoy getting to know the new cast, especially Xolo Maridueña and Mary Mouser, but long-time Karate Kid fans will get the most enjoyment from Cobra Kai.

About the Pop Culturalist Contributor, Rob

Rob is a Marketing Manager living in Astoria, NY. He enjoys sci-fi, fantasy, video games, and 80’s pop culture.

Photo Credit: YouTube Red