Review: Cobra Kai

24 years since the premier of the final movie of the Karate Kid series (10 years since the 2010 remake), Netflix released their series Cobra Kai. In 2018 season one was released of this new take on the classic movie, which takes place in present day where main characters Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) no longer fight against each other, but run rival dojos. 

The plot of this series is, to put simply, Karate Kid: to be continued. Taking place years later, Larusso owns a car dealership when he gets word that Lawrence opened a new branch of the old dojo he competed with, Cobra Kai. Johnny started the dojo when he met Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena), a new kid to the town who gets bullied, and Johnny makes it his mission to teach Miguel karate, and in doing so, brings back Cobra Kai. As soon as Larusso hears about Cobra Kai, he reopens Miyagi do, his former dojo.

Believe it or not, I have never seen the Karate Kid movies. Call me uncultured, old movies just aren’t my thing. Regardless, the story line and plot was never confusing to me. One thing this show does a great job of is making sure the audience understands how what happened in the movies relates back to what’s happening now. So speaking as someone with minimal knowledge on Karate Kid, I can confidently say that the show does a great job of explaining the background, and is not confusing in the slightest.

The acting in this show is down-right atrocious. The characters are annoying, and their interactions are so fake. While I love the plot of this series, some of the scenes are so unbelievable. My favorite example: a full-school karate battle in the middle of the high school. Despite security guards on campus, the students of the rival dojos break out into war for what seems to be an hour. Glass shattered, tables flipped, the school is trashed. To end the scene, a Cobra Kai member pushed Miguel of Miyagi Do over a third story balcony, where we watch a slo-mo action shot of him flailing his helpless arms through the air as he falls onto broken ribs. When I saw this, I laughed at the stupidity.

The sound track in Cobra Kai really sets the tone for each scene beautifully. While fighting in the dojo, we get 90’s rock music, reminding Karate Kid fans of the original movies. While Larusso meditates with his students, we get soft, peaceful music, as you would expect. While it is nothing too extreme, the soundtrack really enhances the episodes, and almost gives the show a nostalgic feel.

Overall, I’m a big fan of Cobra Kai. If you can get past the terrible acting and laughable fight scenes, the plot will captivate you for hours. Hopefully for season three, they bring in some new, more experienced actors. This three-season series (with more to come) can be viewed on Netflix, and is a great continuation of a classic film.