1984 was one of those landmark years in which cinephiles, film lovers, and people in general were gifted with a collection of films that would become staples of many childhoods and lives from people back then and to this date. Talking about “Ghostbusters,” “Beverly Hills Cops,” “Gremlins,” “Police Academy…” and of course, a little martial arts film directed by Rocky director John G. Avildsen called “The Karate Kid.”
Featuring “Happy Days” star Pat Morita (in an Academy Award-nominated role) and an up-and-coming young actor, Ralph Macchio, as a sensei and his student, respectively, the film was not only anchored by a strong lead performance, but also full of memorable moments that have become part of the cultural zeitgeist. The film became the fifth highest-grossing movie of that year, so Hollywood being Hollywood, it wasn’t a surprise they would keep milking this cow, and so they did.
Without further ado, here’s my personal ranking of all the movies. It was a bit of a hard time, with the first and the last being locked. Second one too. The others are somewhat interchangeable. And I’m only ranking movies, but in case y’all wonder where I would rank “Cobra Kai”? As a whole, I’d probably put it in second place.
As always, let me know in the comments what you think of this list and how you would personally rank them!
6. The Next Karate Kid (1994)
You know what? I am not mad at this movie. I’m disappointed… and underwhelmed.
So yeah, I believe this was the first film in the franchise I ever saw, a few clips from back when I was a kid. And honestly, I didn’t remember much. Not only because I only watched like a few minutes, but having seen the whole thing, this is a pretty forgettable movie. None of the new stuff here worked for me -and apparently many, if not everyone, who has seen this movie.
I didn’t care about the romance, the chemistry, or that anything between those two didn’t work for me. Hillary Swank is a 2xs (two times!) Oscar winner, so she has proven she’s capable of delivering strong performances. But you can only go as far as the writing and direction let you, and unfortunately, the material here wasn’t it. Zero memorable moments. The whole thing with the hawk and the birds was strange. The bad guy here was a joke. The dynamic between her and Pat was nowhere near as great or good as the one with Macchio.
Overall, a mostly dull experience, from beginning to end.
Also Related: The 6 Essential Bruce Lee Movies
5. Karate Kid 2 (1986)
Following such a memorable film that penetrated the cultural zeitgeist, as was the case with the first one, was never going to be an easy task. And while I am sure there are people out there who probably enjoy this more than the first one, I’m not one of them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is still a solid sequel. In many ways, you can say that whereas the first one was Daniel’s story, this sequel belongs to Miyagi despite not being at the center. The whole movie circles around him, specifically his past. It was great to dive more into his “darkest days” and learn more about like what made him refrain from using violence with our main antagonist, Chozen Toguchi, really well played by Yuji Okumoto, serving as a form of incarnation of the animosity that came to be between Miyagi and Sato.
I would love to see Miyagi struggle with these more, somewhat balancing his story with Daniel’s. But what we got was solid enough. All the performances are pretty good. I would say this is so far the best shot of all the films. James Crabe’s cinematography is really great, with some low-key stunning shots. hH does a good job making the best out of the new setting, the whole thing at the storm, and the finale are some good examples.
4. Karate Kid 3 (1989)
One of those movies in which one character in particular probably put this above the list. And of course, I am speaking of Terry Silver, arguably the best villain in the franchise as a whole. Not only in the movies, but he was a fantastic antagonist in the series. You think Kreese was the bad guy, but evilness must come out of somewhere, and here we see Cobra Kai’s dark methods had a greater mastermind, so to speak. Thomas Ian Griffith, with his towering stature, is equal to his poisonous and manipulative nature.
The rest of the film is solid. Ralph delivers another solid performance as Daniel LaRusso, who was great to see slowly turning to the dark side. The dynamic between him and Pat was also good, but it all felt a little too distant, which I guess makes sense in this film, but it could have worked better as that was the root of all prior films, and here that magic was very missed. The romance here was okay, but something was missing. The pacing was also a little bit off. These movies have proven to be pretty long. Yet I never felt that runtime, but here’s the first time I did, probably because there seems not to have been too much to justify this, as often the film seems to be running in circles.
Also Read: Top 10 Jackie Chan Films
3. The Karate Kid (2010)
Ne-ne-never say never! Ne-ne-never say never!
Released somewhere around 16 years after ”The Next Karate Kid,” this remake/reboot/sequel starring the great Jackie Chan and a young Jaden Smith around that period when King Smith was trying to turn his son into the next superstar, was my first “Karate Kid” movie and maybe this is nostalgia speaking, but having rewatched this recently I still had a great time. Chan was such an inspiring casting and he succeeds as this downbeat janitor who seems to have lost everything he loved in his life but finds the spark he was missing once he gets to train this young kid, pretty well played by Jaden in arguably his best role (not that’s saying too much).
The dynamic between Smith and Chan is great. The fight choreography wasn’t as memorable as the first one, but we got some cool moments. Sure, this should’ve been called Kung Fu Kid. But putting that aside, yeah, the final fight and the whole training was pretty good with the whole thing with the jacket not being on the same level as with “Wax In, Wax Out.” The fact that I got a kick out of it when I watched “Karate Kid: Legends” speaks about how much I liked it. Still, I find the first one more memorable, and it hits me a little harder.
Also, that Justin Bieber song is unironically such a great song – top 3 Justin song.
2. Karate Kid Legends (2025)
Not gonna lie. Looking at the reception this film has gotten has surprised me. Lots of 3-star and below rated reviews. If you have read my review and seen my rating, you can see I had a blast with it and can see myself rewatching it over and over again.
Ben Wang is a star in the making. Sadie made for a pretty good romantic interest, and the chemistry between these two was great. Even Joshua Jackson was pretty good, liked the whole training montage. Speaking of which, I don’t care what people say and all those weird Spider-Man references, but I loved the fighting. Sure, nothing distinguishable as the first one, but the whole thing in the alley with the parkour and the final fight was fun and so cool.
Despite me loving it, it does have its flaws. All the other films run for almost two hours, with the Jaden Smith version being around 140 minutes, and the one introducing a new character and featuring two sensei is, for whatever reason, the shortest of them all, which is unbelievable. I see a lot of people saying a lot of the film was left in the cutting room, and I wouldn’t be surprised. This could have used more time to flesh out the bad guy and/or develop more of the bond and relationship between Han and Li, and even Daniel. They popped up and appeared on screen together in the last 20 minutes. Criminal!
1. The Karate Kid (1984)
First of all, apparently, I watched a different cut than a certain group of people cause’ I didn’t see Daniel as the true villain of the story. Yeah, there were a few times where he got back to Lawrence, like in the bathroom, and when he got beaten up at the beach, but let’s not forget Johnny started the whole thing. Johnny and his goons terrorized Daniel and made him fall off his bike. 20 minutes into the movie, and Johnny had Daniel all bruised with a black eye and all.
But I digress.
As for the film, there’s no doubt why it became a classic. Once again, John G. Avildsen delivers a classic sports film with an underdog at the forefront. Both feature some great leads and antagonists, with the latter here falling more into the psychopathic territory (sorry, not sorry). And a pretty good soundtrack and score, nowhere near as iconic, but the score is pretty good, and “You’re The Best” is such a banger.
Ralph makes for a great lead. I was personally rooting for him to win the day. I thought Zabka had more of a background here, but having seen “Cobra Kai,” I grew to understand where he was coming from, and he acts up as one of the many psycho bullies that pervade the ’80s, especially. But he was great. Martin Kove has very little screen time, but he makes the most of it, and you grow to hate him. As Miyagi says, the fault isn’t from the student but the master, and you can see why all these kids in Cobra Kai are the way they are. You even get a few glimpses where they feel some remorse, but this is killed by Kreese, who forces them to have no mercy.
At the end of the day, the heart of this film is and will always be Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. It is one of those roles where he embodies the character, and you can’t see anyone else playing the role. He brings the wisdom, the earnestness, and the humor in equal measures. There’s something somewhat mystical about Miyagi that makes him more appealing. The dynamic between him and Ralph is top tier.
