Kevin Lazzari | Special to the Fitzhugh
The year 1984 has now become a significant one to remember. Arnold Schwarznegger’s catchphrase, “I’ll be back,” was introduced into pop culture, Apple would change our world by creating the MacIntosh personal computer and the Wendy’s burger franchise would coin the phrase, “Where’s the Beef?” The thing that I remember the most is The Karate Kid hitting theatres.
The film had a powerful message and still resonates to this day. Anti-bullying campaigns have been modeled after the movie. OK, I made that last one up but it certainly brought awareness to the issue of bullying.
Fast forward to 2018 and three guys decided to create a series called Cobra Kai based on the original Karate Kid movie. I have watched all four movies that involved the Karate Kid theme and thought what could possibly be done with the storyline. Josh Head, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg came up with an idea that no one ever considered. Why not tell the story of what happened to the villain, Johnny Lawrence, and get his perspective? Thirty-four years later, we meet Johnny and find out nothing in his life has gone smoothly because of losing the All-Valley Karate Championships to Daniel LaRusso.
I have to say Josh, Jon, and Hayden are geniuses for coming up with that twist in the narrative. They pull characters back from the past and mesh them with the new storyline.
Cobra Kai is a who’s who of actors and they get better with each season. I was shocked how many original cast members are in the Cobra Kai series and how brilliant they are in each episode. You can binge watch all three seasons and let me know what you think.
Kevin Lazzari, owner of Video Stop, is reviewing movies for the Fitzhugh.
Cobra Kai (TV series) is available to stream online.
