The Karate Kid (1984, PG, 2h 6m)

The movie starts off with a boy and his mom going to their new home in California. The mom seems more excited than the boy but they both seem to be trying to make the best of the situation. The mom encourages the boy (Daniel) to go and try to find some other kids and make friends. Daniel meets some boys living in the same building and they end up going to the beach together and playing soccer. They end up playing until night when they see a group of girls and Daniel is interested in one of them. Daniel starts to talk to one of them but all of a sudden, a huge group of guys shows up, one of them the ex-boyfriend of the girl (Ali) Daniel is talking to. The guy (Johnny) shoves Daniel to the ground and starts harassing the girl. Daniel tries to defend Ali, but Johny beats him up and leaves him lying there, everyone leaves Daniel, and we see a scene of Daniel by himself bloodied on the beach. When Daniel goes back home his mom sees his injuries and she is not pleased. It is revealed that Johnny and the other boys from that night are on a prestigious Karate team. Daniel realizes this and knows he has no chance of sticking up for himself. Daniel and his mom also meet one of their neighbors downstairs who is a guy named Mr. Miyagi. Daniel is interested in his plants and the way he trims them. Daniel and Mr. Miyagi become friends over time. One night when Daniel is going to take out the trash he gets jumped by Johnny and his friends but then Mr. Miyagi comes to Daniel’s defense and beats up all 3 of Johnny and his friends by himself! Daniel is shocked by this and asks Mr. Miyagi to help train him in karate which Mr. Miyagi agrees to. Mr. Miyagi trains Daniel with very weird and unorthodox methods and after time Daniel doesn’t think these methods are working but then Mr. Miyagi proves to him, they are. Daniel trains and his goal is to beat Johnny in a karate tournament but Johnny trains at the best and most prestigious karate school in town, so the odds are definitely against Daniel. While Daniel was training, he and Ali become close and eventually start dating, much to his dismay of Johnny. The tournament day comes and at first, Daniel struggles but manages to win his matches and advances all the way to the finals, where he faces Johnny. It’s a very tough match between the two with Daniel getting an early lead. Johnny has a comeback though and hits Daniel with a cheap shot (with his instructor telling him to do so) and injures Daniel very badly in the process. The match comes down to the wire and Daniel uses a move Mr. Miyagi showed him that is impossible to defend but VERY hard to execute properly. Daniel executes the move perfectly and wins the match and the whole tournament. Daniel gets lifted up and praised by everyone and even Johnny shows him respect for his effort. Overall, I was a big fan of this movie as it showed a new kid who originally gets bullied but then sticks up to the bullies and beats them at their own game. I would recommend this movie to fans of cinema.