Netflix's six-season martial arts series overcomes one of the biggest challenges faced by reboots and remakes and surprisingly succeeds. More often than not, when classic action franchises are rebooted in any way, it is hard not to be skeptical about their return. Franchise revivals usually feel forced and lack enough originality to justify their existence.
When it comes to Cobra Kai and the Karate Kid franchise's future, it is unknown whether we will get to see new follow-ups for the two in the near future. Regardless of what the future holds for the franchise, Cobra Kai seems to have set an incredibly high bar for legacy sequels by overcoming a nearly impossible challenge. It seemingly stumbled a little towards the end, but it is hard not to appreciate how it revived interest in an almost dead franchise.
Cobra Kai Delivered '80s Nostalgia Without Relying On It
Cobra Kai achieves a rare balance of delivering nostalgia while still finding creative ways to appeal to new viewers. It features a whole new generation of young karate learners. At the same time, it does not shy away from filling its roster with legacy characters from the original Karate Kid movies. From its early moments itself, it recreates the same sensei-student dynamic that made the first Karate Kid movie successful.
However, instead of merely emulating the first Karate Kid movie, Cobra Kai turns its story into a tale of redemption for the film's villain, Johnny Lawrence. Like the movie, Cobra Kai, too, evolves into a story about the long-standing rivalry between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. But it ensures that it perfectly leverages its long runtime to become a lot more than a typical battle between good and evil.
Some of the legacy villains, like Terry Silver, John Kreese, and Chozen, also become a part of the show's roster. While some of them continue as antagonists, others get cleverly written redemption arcs that suddenly make them rootable despite their questionable actions in the original movies. Cobra Kai's nostalgia also does not completely rely on drawing references to the original movies.
Even viewers who have not watched the original films will be reminded of the '80s and '90s after watching the show because, through characters like Johnny Lawrence, it keeps delivering callbacks to everything from old-school action flicks to classic rock culture.
Even More Impressive, Cobra Kai Improved Upon The Karate Kid
MoviestillsDBCobra Kai, by no means, is a perfect show. However, even some of its imperfect bits come off as accessories because of how brilliantly it leverages its intentional campiness. It features some incredibly immersive fight sequences that involve high stakes. At the same time, though, it also does not shy away from capturing the absurdity of teenage characters using karate in street fights.
The show is also packed with many bizarre plot developments and corny dialogue, which again works in its favor, reminding viewers of classic action comedies. The Karate Kid franchise struggled after the first two movies and could not find a unique way to continue its run without relying on the first film's formula.
Netflix's Cobra Kai, however, achieved the impossible by borrowing the first movie's typical underdog story while still giving it a unique spin that makes it feel refreshing yet deeply rooted in the spirit of the original franchise.
The Netflix action series also ended its six-season run on a satisfying note, where it delivered its initial promise of giving Johnny Lawrence the redemption he deserved. Potential future additions to the Cobra Kai franchise will likely struggle to beat the high expectations set by the series, but, thankfully, the Netflix show also has high rewatch value.
English (US) ·