PG | 2h 6m | Drama | 1984
This coming-of-age movie isn’t only about karate. It argues that ancient martial arts traditions are more about heart and mind than arms and legs. They’re more about cultivating restraint, a work ethic and discipline, than showmanship, one-upmanship, or revenge.
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), age 17, and his single mom have just moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles. New to school, Daniel falls for a pretty, blonde fellow highschooler, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). Her conceited ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) notices, and he and the school bullies give Daniel more than one black eye.
Hungry to win back some respect, Daniel drops by a karate school. But sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) thinks that the best defense is to “strike hard, strike first” and that “mercy is for the weak.” Worse, his star pupil is bully-in-chief, Johnny.
Learning More Than Karate
Miyagi’s training is unorthodox, more like unpaid labor than martial arts drills. Soon, Daniel’s washing and waxing cars in Miyagi’s yard, painting his fence and house, and playing oarsman while he’s fishing. With the tournament imminent, an increasingly impatient Daniel wonders if he’ll ever learn karate. Then it strikes him. It isn’t just about karate; Miyagi’s been teaching him a newer, wiser philosophy, too, that separates wisdom from street smarts.
Director-editor John G. Avildsen’s East-meets-West story, featuring the boyish 22-year-old Macchio, takes a different approach. Avildsen’s opening scene spotlights Macchio’s skinny biceps, his fragility making him a credible target for bullying, not to mention an ideal underdog. You share his shock as he makes it past the first round of the tournament.
Charismatic Macchio is perfect as Daniel. He walks just as an insecure teenager might. His heels hover an inch or two above the ground to appear bigger and less docile. Watching Ms. Shue, it’s hard to believe it’s her first feature; she’s a natural as Daniel’s attractive cheerleader love interest.
No Bad Students, Only Bad Teachers
Like his young protagonist, screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen also took up martial arts as a teenager because he was bullied. Kamen had once given up on a martial arts school because its teacher endorsed revenge. He, too, had handpicked another teacher whose lessons were unconventional, even if his English was halting. That gentler ethos shines through his Miyagi, who’s convinced that there are only bad teachers, and that fighting is a last resort: “Miyagi hate fighting.”Daniel itches to master karate so he can get back at bullies. But Miyagi cautions: Impetuousness is pointless. Miyagi shows that life, like karate, is about balance. Too much, or too little force or resistance, one way or the other, and Daniel had “better pack up and go home.”
Miyagi ties a headband around Daniel’s forehead. In the Eastern tradition, it’s worn to signify effort or courage, rather than achievement; to Miyagi, success lies in courage.
Miyagi’s a tough taskmaster, never pampering Daniel with high-fives. For all his whining about unpaid labor, Daniel does all he’s asked. Every time Miyagi’s mock grouchiness raises the bar, Daniel rises to meet it, as if on cue.
