The Karate Kid: THE Sports Movie

The Karate Kid is born.

Honestly this film should have been a one off, as you can tell from my other reviews of the franchise the rest of the Daniel run are not good and get steadily worse.

This film works well as not only does it have all the standard beats of a sports movie, but it also has a lot of emotional depth for Mr Miyagi and makes him a rounded character, they could have relied on racist stereotypes and cliches but they didn’t for the most part.

I thought the bullying storyline was very played out even for the time period it came out, but I did like the evolution of the fight your bully and stand up for yourself storyline turning it into this grand sporting event. Doing this allowed the film to feel a little like the later Rocky films but on a smaller scale as its aimed at kids.

Daniel works as a blank slate that you can project yourself onto as a kid, rather than how he gets in the later films.

Overall, a solid teen sports movie with its heart in the right place.

3/5

Pros.

It is a good sports film

It has a good soundtrack

It is fun

Cons.

Some elements are generic

Its predictable

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Karate Kid Two: Daniel In Okinawa

Summary

Daniel, Ralph Macchio, goes to Japan.

In many ways I feel similarly about this film as I do the third film in the franchise, really it didn’t need to exist. In many ways it would have been better to have gotten a Karate Kid prequel about a young Mr Miyagi, Pat Mortia, learning Karate in Japan then this.

We see the beginnings of brat Daniel here as well, when he is a whiny little prima donna. There is still some good training sequences wherein he is learning new moves and his interest in Japanese culture is nice to see. However, in how he treats Mr Miyagi and those around him it is clear to see which way the character is heading.

There is some rather outdated and offensive depictions of Japanese culture which feels quite jarring on the rewatch, and the villain of the film imbibes a lot of these qualities and feels almost cartoonish at times. The ending of the film really feels like a natural end point for Daniel’s story.

Overall, it is interesting to have a focus on the background lore of the first film and to explore what Japan looks like in this world, however, more needed to be done to justify this films existence and Daniel is incredibly annoying at times.

2.5/5

Pros.

The focus on the life and lore of Mr Miyagi

Going to a new location

The training sequences

Cons.

Daniel is irritating

It doesn’t need to exist

It is badly paced

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The Next Karate Kid: Better Than Daniel

Summary

Hilary Swank is the Karate Kid.

Now this will almost certainly be a controversial review, however, I put forward with this review the idea that The Next Karate Kid is easily the best film in the franchise. This is for two central reasons, Mr Miyagi, Pat Morita, gets more of a central focus and we get to see more of his world. The monks are a great addition to the mix. The second reason is that Morita and Swank have better chemistry than Daniel and Miyagi ever had.

I enjoyed that this film tried to do things a bit differently and was about Swank’s character opening up more and ended with her going to the dance, rather than yet another martial arts tournament. That said the action was still on point and Swank easily managed to pull off the moves.

Overall, I am a person who enjoys Cobra Kai more for the character moments than for the action so I was always going to prefer this film to the Daniel trilogy, reviews coming soon.

4/5

Pros.

Swank

The focus on Miyagi

The relationship between the characters

The change of setting and final act

Cons.

Not all the jokes hold up.

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The CCP Kid

Summary

The Smith family have found something they like more than open relationships, and it’s the CCP.

So as a kid and before I was franchise literate I watched this film and liked it, however, after Cobra Kai ended I went back and rewatched all the Karate Kid films and found that this one is likely the worst.

There are two key reasons why this film sticks out for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, it is a shot for shot remake of the original film at times, yes sometimes they try and riff on it and do something different with certain shots, but for the most part it is shot for shot the same. This isn’t a loving homage its damn near plagiarism.

The second is the fact that this film is so in love with the Chinese Communist Party, a party that harvests prisoner’s organs without consent, a party that commits genocide against its minorities, a party that locks away anyone who speaks out of turn. The fact that this whole film feels like its trying to be a visit China advertising campaign makes me feel a little sick.

Overall, a Temu rip off of an American IP.

0/5

Pros.

None

Cons.

The plagiarism

How in love with the Chinese state it is

Smith is bratty right the way through the film

It is boring

Mr Han is no Mr Miyagi

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Karate Kid Legends: New Blood?

Summary

A new Karate Kid is chosen.

So this was a fairly charming film. I was a fan of Cobra Kai and when I heard about this film I was unsure, especially when it was murky whether it would even mention any of the events from the show, however, I have to say the final stinger of the film with Miyagi-Dough made me cheer a little bit inside.

This is a reverse Jaden Smith Karate Kid and has a Chinese boy, Ben Wang, come to America which was interesting. Personally I think the Smith starring film is easily the worst in the franchise so I was not super hyped about the return of Mr Han, Jackie Chan, though he did have a few funny scenes. It is such a shame that Chan has become a whore for the Chinese Communist Party, and all they have done, I used to like him but him being in this makes it hard for me to watch.

Seeing Daniel, Ralph Macchio, was a highlight and I loved how they honoured the legacy of Mr Miyagi, Pat Morita, and managed to bring together the two schools of Kung Fu and Karate.

Was it a bit formulaic? Yes. Did it repeat plot beats from the franchise? For sure. However, there was enough here to make this special and charming.

Overall, probably the best action film of the summer.

4.5/5

Pros.

Daniel

How they honoured Mr Miyagi

The stinger at the end

It was charming

The action was pretty good

Cons.

It was a bit familiar at times

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Polite Society: Martial Arts And Uncomfortable Relationships

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A wannbe stuntwoman, played by Priya Kansara, becomes convinced her sister, played by Ritu Arya, is marrying a baddie.

In a sense I really wanted to connect with this film as I often do try to give British films the benefit of the doubt, but in all honesty this film just didn’t jive with me.

I think there are certainly some entertaining parts to it, and the fight scenes are impressive for what they are but I do think in the end the issues outweigh the positives.

The main issue I had with this film is that tonally it is two separate films. The first half is much more of a comedy about a girl struggling to accept that her sister is moving on with her life and then the second half is full of vaguely incestuous clones and kidnapping scenes, they don’t align at any point and at others feels very much at odds with one another.

To make matters worse the lead character isn’t likeable. Throughout most of the film the character comes off as incredibly possessive towards her sister, and thinks that it is okay for her to interfere and mess with her life doing worse and worse things to try and get the outcome she wants. The film justifies this in the end by having her being proven right to be so involved in her sister’s life, but throughout the film she just comes across as a busy body.

Moreover, I don’t know if it is just how I red it but there is a subtext to this film that is quite depressing and sad. In a sense the second half of the film could be read as a metaphor for mental illness and the sister fully falling into delusion, as the film likes to remind us she has an overactive imagination. In this sense the ending then develops something of an uncanny and almost unsettling quality but perhaps that was just how I made sense of the two drastically different tones within the film.

Overall, the tone of this film was all wrong and the main character was unlikeable.

2.5/5

Pros.

The fight scenes were good

It was nice to see a British film in the multiplex

It has a charm to it.

Cons.

It has pacing issues

It is tonally a mess

The main character has a God complex

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John Wick Chapter 4: One Man’s Ability To Fall Down Stairs And Get Hit By Cars With Barely A Scratch

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

John Wick’s story comes to a close.

Honestly, this film was a little disappointing to me. Not hugely so, but enough to be noticeable. Maybe I went in with too high expectations, or maybe the previous films set a standard so high that this film couldn’t match it.

I think my main issue with this film is that it spends a lot of its incredibly long run time, boy does this film have pacing issues, on fights. Now don’t get me wrong the fights are great as always, but instead of doubling down on the characters and the world and giving us more time with them they instead make each fight go on and on to the point where they become a little repetitive. Rather than have a ten minute long fight scene in front of a well known Parisian land mark, I would have rather it been five and we be given instead a flashback explaining how John, played by Keanu Reeves, came to know Caine, played by Donny Yen, and Koji, played by Hiroyuki Sanada.

However, it would be remiss to say that the film doesn’t give us any character/world development as it does in the form of introducing us to John’s family and also introducing a slew of new characters to the series. The film is at its best when the fighting stops and these characters are interacting, as oxymoronic as that might sound.

I thought the ending was appropriate, and gave John a fitting send off. Keanu Reeves as always was terrific and did a magnificent job with the physicality of the role, he truly is one of a kind as an actor. Going forward I could both see Wick coming back, in a faked his death sort of way, or him being gone for good. I would be happy either way. I would be quite interested to follow Akira, played by Rina Sawayama, in a spin-off and see some more new blood injected into the world.

Overall, good for sure but not as good as the previous films.

3.5/5

Pros.

The fights

The world building and the characters

The ending

Reeves

Cons.

I would have liked more character development and flashbacks

Pacing issues galore

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Kill Boksoon: Doing It All

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Gil Bok-Soon, played by Jeon Do-yeon, must juggle both the responsibilities of raising a teenager whilst also being an assassin.

I thought this film had a lot going for it. It completely nails its tones fliting perfectly between humorous and deadly serious, whilst also managing to deliver a number of great fight scenes that were both visceral as well as incredibly well choreographed.

Moreover, I also really enjoyed the world and the characters, though it may feel slightly small when compared to something similar like the world of John Wick, this film does have a lot going on beneath the surface. Whether it is the focus on single mothers, or LGBTQ+ issues within South Korea there is quite a bit of sub-text and deeper meaning to unpack.

A lot of this deeper meaning is the reason why the film is on for so long, as it goes out of its way to explore its characters. This proves to be a double edged sword as the exploration is appreciated, but it also makes the film a slog to get through.

In addition, this film is a shameless John Wick clone there is no way around that, but I have to say of the litany of films in that area this is the best.

Overall, an interesting film that is more funny than it has any right to be.

3.5/5

Pros.

The well-balanced tone

The fights

The story and the characters

It is fun to watch

Cons.

It has pacing issues

It is a John Wick clone

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Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings: Now We Have Dragons In The MCU

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Shang Chi, Simu Liu, must confront his past and his family in order to save the planet. A world of martial arts, dragons and family drama is explored.

Sadly Fin Fang Foom is not in this movie, I even waited till the very end to see if we were going to get a tease, we don’t. However, that is not to say their aren’t any dragons in this film we get two: The Great Protector and The One Who Dwells In Darkness, or something like that. Can I just pause for a moment and say how cool it is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has dragons in it. I very much enjoyed seeing this new magical world being explored and opened up, I can’t wait to explore it more in a sequel.

In terms of acting I think Simu Liu makes for a very capable leading man being both funny and charming throughout. Ben Kingsley returns to reprise his role of Trevor Slattery from the third Iron Man film and easily makes up for the sins of that film and lands some of the best jokes in the entire MCU. Continuing on that note this is easily one of the funniest films in the MCU and the comedy really enhances the film and adds a lot to it.

My one complaint of the film would be that the fight scenes aren’t very impressive. Watched in a vacuum without other films, without all the hype, someone might think these fight scenes were cool and impressive. However, in context of the genre, or at least the genre they are trying to emulate they are about five years out of date. Whilst the fight scenes are more intense and better structured than most in the MCU, when compared to something like the IP Man films, The Raid or even John Wick they feel like poor copies of other fight scenes done better elsewhere, and that is a big disappointment.

The breakout star of this film is easily Meng’er Zhang, she manages to out-badass Shang Chi himself and the final post credits scene promises something very exciting for the characters future. I personally found myself connecting more with her emotional journey and family baggage than I did with Shang Chi but that is not to say both weren’t well done.

Overall, a good Marvel film but an average martial arts film.

Pros.

The mystical side of the MCU is expanded further

Meng’er Zhang

Simu Liu

The comedy

Cons.

Pacing issues

Average fight scenes

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Kung Fu Panda 3: Mastering Your Craft

Kung Fu Panda 3 is an animated martial arts film directed by Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh Nelson. The plot sees ancient bad guy Kai (J.K Simmons), break free of the spirt world and return to the mortal plane hell bent on stealing the chi of every Kung Fu Master thereby destroying his old nemesis Oogway’s (Randall Duk Kim) legacy once and for all. There is only one Panda who can stop him.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, it might have been my favourite since the first. I enjoyed the intensely personal journey at the heart of the story. Though you have all this end of the world end of kung fu stuff going on all around, the heart of the film is Po (Jack Black), coming to terms with you he is and finding his place in the world.

I think the journey that Po goes on, the inspiration for the series, is masterfully done and is a true achievement for the creatives involved. The progression feels natural and earned, when Po meets his birth dad Li (Bryan Cranston), it feels earned after all the soul searching he did in the second film. Truly his is a masterpiece of storytelling across multiple films and a beacon for how to do sequels.

I also enjoyed that the focus was not souly on Po, yes, he is the main focus, but this film gave those around him the chance to shine as well and shine they do.

Overall, this is the perfect end to the trilogy and feels like a much-deserved end, the character work and development is nothing sort of a master class and Black nails the emotion.

Pros.

The journey

The ending

The emotional heart at the core of the film

Giving the side characters a chance to shine

The voice acting

Cons

The villain is a bit weak, but it is such a minor issue.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke