The Karate Kid movies

[Drac]

Well ok, here is goes..Remember this is MT and not one of the " other " sites, so keep the name calling polite..I was recently involved in a discussion about the Karate Kid movies..I shocked the others involved when I made the statement that I DISLIKED all the Karate Kid movies, even the Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank, most were stunned..Is there anybody here that also disliked them? I have NO DESIRE to see the next one either...

 

[Blade96]

I loved the first one (which i bought and watched like last week or so) and which I think is cute. I thought Daniel LaRusso (Daniel-san) was pretty sweet. (You just wanted to put him in your pocket and take him home as your own little son.) And I really loved kindly and wise Mr Myagi.

even though as a real karate student I know parts of the movie were not realistic.

Havent seen the other movies though.

 

[dancingalone]

Well, I don't think anyone would argue that the movies are great in the 'movie art' sense. Because they weren't. There was some cheesy overacting in all of them.

That said the movies (especially the first one) resonated with a great many youngsters in the eighties. You've got the classic underdog (dork) kicking butt and getting the girl in the end. You've got some funny fortune cookie wisdom doled out in perfect fashion by Pat Morita. The movie probably got more than a few people to sign up for martial arts. I know I did as a teenager.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Well to be honest, the original Karate Kid was what inspired me to start studying martial arts when i was a child (I was 4 years old when that movie came out). I think that The Karate Kid was one of the few martial arts films to convey some of the aspects of martial arts beyond the kicking and punching aspect.

Of course, it's Hollywood, so there is indeed fallacies associated with it. But, IMHO, it captures an essence of TMA; studying will provide self-defense, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Aspects of life transcend into martial arts, and aspects of martial arts transcend into real life.

Not to mention it has some of the sa-weetest quotes ever.. . "There is no mercy in this dojo!" "Sweep the leg!" **Not that I would EVER endorse either of those, but they are iconic**

As for the sequels I rate them more of B rate martial arts movies. That said I still enjoyed them, but I enjoy most every martial arts movie I've ever seen, haha!

 

[Drac]

The movie probably got more than a few people to sign up for martial arts.

At one theater I know of a local dojo paid to have a table set up with flyers...

 

[Drac]

Not to mention it has some of the sa-weetest quotes ever.. . "There is no mercy in this dojo!" "Sweep the leg!" **Not that I would EVER endorse either of those, but they are iconic**

I recently read in Black Belt that Martin Klove aka Kreese Sensei is using his character to teach children how to deal with bullies..

 

[Joab]

I liked the first and second one, and I believe the poll should have allowed you to pick two or three not merely one or dislike all four. The first one was the best, which is typical of movies, the sequel is normally not as good as the first.

I never met anybody who didn't like the first one, even those who had no interest in martial arts at all. This was primarily because of the mentoring of an older man with a young one in ethics and morality. My only problem with the first one was the full contact tournament without pads, I think that might turn off some parents from allowing their kids to compete. Than again, I'm not into sports martial arts at all, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me either.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

It's rather ironic that the philosophies espoused by the "Cobra Kai Dojo" were considered to be "villainous" in the film, yet are perfect philosophies to adopt if one wishes to successfully defend oneself( Just a shame that was ALL the teacher knew and didn't know how to switch off).

 

[Blindside]

I was a bit too young (12) for what should have been the least believable part of the movie (dork gets Elizabeth Shue), and I was already in karate so I wasn't impressed with the second least believalbe part (60 day wonder geek beats guys training for years.) All it caused me to do was have to listen to repeated "belts for holding up pants" quotes for several years.

And mostly that I think most modern dojos that have developed from that era need more "Cobra Kai" instructors than "Mr. Miyagi" if they want to impart an attitude geared toward survival.

 

[Big Don]

The first is a classic. The second is mediocre. The third was a waste of film. The fourth? OMG? Seriously? Ballroom dancing,bowling, Buddhists? WTF was that?

 

[MA-Caver]

I liked the first and second one, and I believe the poll should have allowed you to pick two or three not merely one or dislike all four. The first one was the best, which is typical of movies, the sequel is normally not as good as the first.

I never met anybody who didn't like the first one, even those who had no interest in martial arts at all. This was primarily because of the mentoring of an older man with a young one in ethics and morality. My only problem with the first one was the full contact tournament without pads, I think that might turn off some parents from allowing their kids to compete. Than again, I'm not into sports martial arts at all, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me either.

I agree that we should've had multiple choice polling here. But :idunno: anyway...
Agreed that the acting was cheesy in places throughout... I did like the story-line of the first. I do think it's plausible for someone to train intensely to defeat someone who has been training over the years... "the fight goes to the one who wants it the most" ~ Bruce Lee. Understanding Daniel's plight and his knowledge deep down inside that if he DIDN'T win those guys would be after him regardless... so he knew he HAD to win and he did. I'm speaking from personal experience with bullies hounding me until I got fed up and started fighting back and WINNING and they either respected me or knew that eventually they'd get seriously hurt.
The second one was okay, putting Daniel in a real-world situation but again the acting was a bit over the top... if not alot.
I lost interest after that and didn't pay attention to the third and didn't bother with the fourth (sequels have a way of wearing one's welcome out).
Now with this re-make... :shrugs: who knows. Hollywood has been remaking classic films that don't NEED remaking so why should THIS one be any exception.

What pisses me off is a rumor that Forbidden Planet will be remade that is about as blasphemous as remaking The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Sorry about the thread hijacking

 

[David43515]

I watched the first two until I could pretty much quote them by heart as a kid.....but I was more interested in Elizabeth Shue and Tamilyn Tomita than I was in the plot.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Well ok, here is goes..Remember this is MT and not one of the " other " sites, so keep the name calling polite..I was recently involved in a discussion about the Karate Kid movies..I shocked the others involved when I made the statement that I DISLIKED all the Karate Kid movies, even the Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank, most were stunned..Is there anybody here that also disliked them? I have NO DESIRE to see the next one either...

I am up to see Jackie Chan in anything he does these days. Some are stinkers, but I will give him a chance. The other flicks sucked to the degree of "Lethal Weapon IV". And that is bad.
Sean

 

[Fiendlover]

Well ok, here is goes..Remember this is MT and not one of the " other " sites, so keep the name calling polite..I was recently involved in a discussion about the Karate Kid movies..I shocked the others involved when I made the statement that I DISLIKED all the Karate Kid movies, even the Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank, most were stunned..Is there anybody here that also disliked them? I have NO DESIRE to see the next one either...

I liked the first one and the second was ok. I didn't even know there was a 3rd and 4th one and I have no desire to see the new one.

 

[grydth]

Took my girls to the movies last weekend, and there was a trailer for the new Karate Kid film, set in China, with Jackie Chan. Even though the original title is now absurd to use, (The Kung Fu Kid?, The Wushu Wunderkind?), Jackie Chan has always struck me as having real skills and as being able to laugh at life and at himself. Both girls want to go when it comes out this summer. We'll give him a chance and I bet it pays off.

 

[jks9199]

The first one had a decent story, and some good points. It was a coming of age movie that happened to involve martial arts... Without too much alteration, it could have been a surfing movie, a boxing movie, or whatever. I enjoyed and still enjoy it... though Daniel-san is a whiner.

The second one? Daniel-san is annoying, but there was some nice scenery.

The third... OK, nice scenery, cute girl... but gawd Daniel-san is a whiner!

The fourth? Hillary Swank was cool, some neat scenes and the monks were kind of fun. Especially when they came to visit...

The new one? Proof that Will Smith has the pull to gratify his ego. But it's got Jackie Chan, so I'll probably end up watching it. Probably at home, whenever it makes it to premium cable.

 

[Bruno@MT]

In the first movie, a thing to remember is that Daniel would not have had his *** kicked so badly if he had realized that spraying the lead bully with a water hose was stupid. The moral of the story imo is that you can prevent a lot of bad things from happening if you know when it is time to bow out.

Daniel was out of his league. I am not 'blaming the victim' here, but if you want to taunt Mike Tyson, you had better have a plan for dealing with his fists. Daniel knew they would not let that one slide so doing what he did was stupid and shortsighted. If he really felt the need to strike back for past things, he should have been smart about it and not get caught.

 

[Blade96]

It's rather ironic that the philosophies espoused by the "Cobra Kai Dojo" were considered to be "villainous" in the film, yet are perfect philosophies to adopt if one wishes to successfully defend oneself( Just a shame that was ALL the teacher knew and didn't know how to switch off).

i see your point. after all martial mean the military aspect of things which that sensei certainly had in his cobra kai dojo. and we have it in ours too.

Difference is, Warrant Officer or Lieutenant or w/e the frick title he had in the army..Kreese was a bully and a jerk. (I know for a fact what the us taught its soldiers about vietnamese wasnt good. and he was too young to have fought in WWII.) Army, even royal canadian army cadets, which i was in for 4 years, and martial arts, all with the genuine military aspect, builds you up. teaches you skills. makes you feel good about yourself. This guy used a military aspect, but tore people down in the process.

In the first movie, a thing to remember is that Daniel would not have had his *** kicked so badly if he had realized that spraying the lead bully with a water hose was stupid. The moral of the story imo is that you can prevent a lot of bad things from happening if you know when it is time to bow out.

Daniel was out of his league. I am not 'blaming the victim' here, but if you want to taunt Mike Tyson, you had better have a plan for dealing with his fists. Daniel knew they would not let that one slide so doing what he did was stupid and shortsighted. If he really felt the need to strike back for past things, he should have been smart about it and not get caught.

Sure, we would think of that, but we're adults. realistically would we thought that stuff through when we were kids. Not me. and I was bullied. Actually I took revenge on a jerk girl who was mean to me by hiding poison ivies inside her sleeping bag at girl guide camp. I never got caught though and no one knew I did anything. Daniel-san was a high school kid who saw his chance to get back at johnny for hurting him. I think he thought he would get away at the time anonymously because he was hiding inside a shower =]

 

[JohnASE]

..I shocked the others involved when I made the statement that I DISLIKED all the Karate Kid movies, even the Next Karate Kid with Hillary Swank, most were stunned..Is there anybody here that also disliked them? I have NO DESIRE to see the next one either...

Just curious, why didn't you like them, and why not see the new one? Are your reasons related? I don't think the new one will be anything like the old ones.

Personally, I liked the first one, thought the 2nd one was okay, don't remember much about the 3rd one but didn't hate it, and again, thought the 4th one was okay. One of the things I liked about the first one was it's similarity to one of my favorite movies, the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, where tedious chores were used to build a foundation for martial arts training. Hokey, yes, but fun.

Regarding the new one, I'll see it for sure. Don't know if I'll spend the money to see it on the big screen, but even if it doesn't get great reviews, I'll want to check it out for myself. I might wait until I can rent it.

 

[chaos1551]

Not to mention it has some of the sa-weetest quotes ever.. . "There is no mercy in this dojo!" "Sweep the leg!" **Not that I would EVER endorse either of those, but they are iconic**

"Put him in a body bag! Yeeaaaah!"