There are always those classic movies you can go back to watch and enjoy them as much as you did on your first viewing. One of those movies for me is the original Karate Kid. While the sequels or the Jaden Smith spiritual successor don’t pull me in quite as much, the original is still a classic that I can easily come back to watch at any time.
When I found out that there was going to be a new Karate Kid sequel show, I was a little skeptical at first, but eventually found myself engaged in the whole show. Thankfully, the new “YouTube-Premium-series-turned-Netflix-series” gives that same enjoyable amount of content that can be rewatched multiple times, and still be found entertaining and enjoyable. If you are thinking about watching this show, maybe this spoiler free review of Season One will help pull your attention in!
As I wrote earlier, Cobra Kai is a sequel series to the original trilogy of Karate Kid movies from the 1980s. This series follows Johnny Lawrence, the antagonist of the original film, who lost to Daniel LaRusso in the climactic battle of the first movie. Johnny Lawrence is down on his luck, living alone in an apartment block in Reseda, California. One day, after being fired from his job, Johnny saves a kid, named Miguel, from a group of bullies at a nearby convenience store. This act of courage from Johnny inspired himself to reopen the old Cobra Kai dojo, the dojo he was a part of and represented during the All Valley Karate Tournament in 1984. Taking in Miguel as his first student, Johnny trains Miguel in the ways of Cobra Kai karate and begins to take in more students. This alerts the attention of his rival, Daniel LaRusso, who is lacking the direction from his deceased master, Mr. Miyagi. Soon, Daniel begins to train two students, his daughter, Samantha, and surprisingly Johnny’s estranged son, Robby.
Cobra Kai may seem like a dramatic show, but the show is more than just that. Between the drama and tension, there are moments of camaraderie between the masters and students, and yes, of course, there are many action scenes involving karate fights. The show does a great job at balancing out the tension, the comedy, and the action quite well, sometimes even having these tones play into each other. A part of the show that might draw in older fans of the movies is it’s soundtrack. The soundtrack occasionally sprinkles in familiar 80’s classics to tie it back to the generation the movies are from, as well as resonating with older generations of fans of the series. The soundtrack besides the 80s classics does a great job at helping show the emotion in a scene and help the characters resonate with the audience in a scene with well fitting music.
In addition, the show’s scenes are shot very well, with dynamic angles and great shot composition to subtly play into the story and the emotions of the characters. Overall, the composition and details along with a compelling and gripping story that make up this show are incredibly well done and make this show a treat to watch, especially in Season One. Season One was a fantastic start to this series, and this level of quality has carried over to the other two seasons, but for anyone new to this series, Season One is a great start. Enjoy!