Yeah, yeah—I haven’t seen this before. That’s the point!
Daniel LaRusso moves to the Valley with his mom, leaving a life he loved in New Jersey. Despite initial attempts to fit in and make friends, he starts to get picked on and beat up by popular kids from the “Cobra Kai” dojo. Okinawan immigrant and apartment handyman Mr. Miyagi takes an interest in Daniel and offers to help mediate between him and the bullies. When the asshole sensei of “Cobra Kai” rebuffs this attempt, Mr. Miyagi offers to train Daniel in karate. Initially, Daniel is good-spirited about a training regiment made up entirely of house chores. But when his patience begins to wane, Mr. Miyagi confirms the purpose behind the conditioning. Daniel finishes his training rusty but spirited and defends himself in the All-Valley Karate Championships.
I know you all probably know this, but the Mr. Miyagi-Daniel duo represents one of the great mentorship-relationships in all of film. I mean, seriously, what’s better? Only Yoda-Luke seems to crack that. I thought this film was really special in how it perfectly matches Ralph Macchio’s fire with Pat Morita’s heart. This came to a head in a scene where Daniel helps a drunken Mr. Miyagi settle down and we see them as one—two men who have tried to play by the rules and suffer at the hands of bullies. In this way, the film transcends “Sports Film” and becomes a worthy tale about doing what’s right, not skipping on the details, building confidence through self defense, and growing up. Other than the notion of "karate as a social currency for cool", the film really holds up.