Cobra Kai
Greetings, ‘Cobra Kai’ is a martial arts, comedy and drama television series that continues the story of ‘The Karate Kid’ films that captured the imaginations of audiences across the world in the 1980s. Consisting of 6 seasons, the show ran from 2018 to 2025 and started out as a Youtube Red production before Netflix bought it over after the second series had aired. The success of ‘Cobra Kai’ revitalised interest in the franchise so much so that a new movie named ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ was released earlier this year. The cast consists of many returning actors from the films such as Ralph Macchio reprising his role of the titular ‘Karate Kid’ Daniel LaRusso, William Zabka as former antagonist Johnny Lawrence, Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith as Cobra Kai senseis John Kreese and Terry Silver. It also ushered in a new generation of actors and actresses into the franchise including Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchannan and Peyton List who play the more prominent roles. The music was composed by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, the former of whom worked on the scores for the most recent Muppet movies in the early 2010s.
30 odd years after his surprise defeat to LaRusso at the 1984 All Valley Tournament, Johnny Lawrence is still wallowing in his failure that he suffered on the mat. No longer a bullying adolescent, he has grown into a bad tempered alcoholic with a short fuse and barely scrapes by working as a handyman. His unfulfilling employment is taken away from him after a fiery confrontation with a displeased customer gets Johnny fired from his work. To make matters worse for Johnny, his old rival Daniel is a local celebrity who happens to be happily married and also runs a successful car dealership. It is revealed that Johnny, a person very much stuck in the past in regards to tastes and attitude, is also estranged from his teenage son and has no romantic entanglements to speak of. The listless Johnny soon finds an unexpected sense of purpose in the dreary life he has built for himself after a chance encounter one night. That fresh start occurs when his newly moved in teenage neighbour called Miguel Diaz is being picked on at a grubby convenience store by a gang of wealthy louts.
Things quickly turn violent when Johnny steps in to defend Miguel and uses his old karate techniques to decisively beat the wayward youths. The meek Miguel is awed by Johnny’s fighting capabilities. He begs to be taught to fight like Johnny so he can overcome his own weakness and helplessness. Johnny, still feeling the sting of his defeat many years prior, refuses to do so before he is taken away by the police for disorderly conduct. He is bailed out by his unloving father, named Sid, who has disowned Johnny and attempts to bribe him out of his life with an undisclosed amount. Although there is no love lost between the two, Johnny refuses to take the money due to his strong pride. He has a change of heart when his car is smashed up in a hit and run which he later discovers involved Daniel’s daughter Sam. It is the last straw for Johnny as he accepts his father’s offer and uses the money to buy an empty property. Now with a space to teach students, his old dojo of Cobra Kai has returned with Miguel enlisted as Johnny’s first pupil. News of the unwelcome resurrection rattles Daniel who thought the mischievous Cobra Kia had been banished from the Valley for good.
When I was first introduced to this series, I had never seen any of the ‘Karate Kid’ films and wasn’t expecting much from a Youtube original. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the pilot and I quickly became engrossed in the plot it was weaving. I certainly enjoyed the concept of seeing the point of view from the villain of the first movie and the show really developed him into a sympathetic, fun character that is easy to route for. As the programme went on it also humanized other villains, who had been very clichéd up to that point, and expanded on the backgrounds that shaped their brutish personalities. It could be cheesy and a little cringe worthy at times, especially when it came to some of the interactions between teens which were clearly dialogues written by adults, but ‘Cobra Kai’ has become something of a feel good phenomenon. I was very much swept up in the craze and would say that I’m a fan of the show which spurred me on to watching the pictures that inspired it.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
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