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Bookmark this pageThe Karate Kid (1984)
Director: John G Avildsen
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A surprise summer hit in the States, this is another film-making-by-numbers exercise in teenage wish-fulfilment. A Jewish divorcée moves to California from New Jersey, and her son, a male Carrie called Daniel, has terrible trouble fitting in with West Coast ways. His first incipient romance runs foul of the girl's ex, a blond thug who trains at the local karate dojo run by a deranged Vietnam veteran. Fortunately his E.T. comes along in the form of an elderly Okinawan karate master, who not only becomes his special, secret friend but also handily teaches him persistence, inner strength, moral values and karate - which lead him into an apotheosis worthy of Rocky. This is actually director Avildsen's first hit since Rocky, and it has the same mixture of calculation and apparent naïveté. It borrows its formula from both East and West with good humour, and is completely free of intelligence, discrimination and originality. No wonder it was a hit.Author: TR
User reviews of this film
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- Madwoman in the Attic said...
- Posted on Jan 24 2009 04:27 Oh-oh! Your roots are showing. The mother is patently not Jewish as the opening lines (approximately: tell somebody the parmesan is in the fridge) are meant to convey that these folks are EYE-talian. Why would you make such an error about a character who has little or nothing to do with the lot except as a people-mover?
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: John G Avildsen
Producer: Jerry Weintrab
Cast: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 127 mins
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