Ranking the Karate Kid Movies

Karate Kid: Legends began this week, bringing together both the 80s and 2010 reboot Karate Kid movies.

Both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, both Karate and Kang Hu Sennis Daniel Laruso and Mr Han, Karate Kid: Legend fills these two worlds in ways never imagined before. So, in honor of this new pinnacle, we have ranked all five Karate Kid movies for you!

And yes, to answer your fiery questions, Netflix’s Cobra Kai still remains Canon for legend. That doesn’t mean that Cobra Kai’s characters will appear there, but the legend does nothing to deny Cobra Kai’s Gingus. It will be held 3 years After the Cobra Kai finale, the legend is played by Ben Wang (American-born Chinese) in search of Daniel Laruso in search of student training and guide.

So, which is the best Karate Kid movie? All the originals featured the great Pat Morita, who died as Miyagi, and mentored Daniel (or Julie of Hillary Swank) through the violent conflicts of life, and the reboot brought in Chan and Jaden Smith, echoing early Miyagi/Daniel rolls. This is all the karate kid flicks ranked!

Honorable mention: Cobra Kai

It’s a steaming series so you don’t qualify here, but Cobra Kai is a big miracle in the realm of Legacy’s sequels. This is a six-season follow-up to the first three Karate Kid movies, bringing back almost every old character you can think of, redraw them, shed new light on them, spinning them in an amazing way. While introducing a whole new generation of karate students and their own interpersonal dramas. Cobra Kai is so much fun that we created a new fanbase for the franchise.

5. The Next Karate Kid (1994)

One true outlier in Karate Kid Saga is linked to Miyagi of Boston, offering to swap homes with the widow of his old war buddy, in an attempt to oddly monitor his angry and sadistic granddaughter, Julie (Hilary Swank).

Yes, nothing is more ideal than a traumatized teenage girl. He lost his parents in a car accident. She lives with an elderly stranger because her grandma couldn’t handle her and needed a break. The Next Karate Child is not a terrible movie, but he didn’t seek Miyagi’s wisdom in the mid-90s (especially when Julie “transforms” Julie from the angry stage and “transforms” into a girl wearing a dress). Apparently there was a free rule to beat the kids and/or order them to order the bungee jump dive bombs of the school prom. Anyway, Julie, who already knows enough karate before Miyagi trains her, kicks their ass.

4. Karate Kid Part III (1989)

Karate Kid Part III has more and more retro appenations over the years, and some of it may have something to do with Cobra Kai, and in particular, the show redeemed (or at least summoned) many of the more bizarre elements of this film.

By 1989, and especially how crowded summers were, the blockbuster blockbuster was worn a bit thinly by Miyagi/larusso shtick. It was certainly not the right time for the new Karate Kid movie, and it was certainly not the right time for Daniel to give temporary anger on his dark side to the rage of his dark side, and these two best friends to fall out.

However, Part III contains a large waste that was cartoonishly discarded in search of emotional and physical revenge in the teenage boy as he humiliated his old army companions, but still has (Terry) silver lining. Certainly, Daniel, as the All Valley champion, oddly gets a goodbye to the final round (it’s a stupid new tournament rule), but the film is still at its peak with a big showdown. A grown man, and the karate “bad boy” Mike Burns (Shawn Canan), try to destroy the life of a teenager. It’s all, Cobra Kai is banned from all the valleys, and…well, you need to see Cobra Kai for the rest. That’s getting better.

3. Karate Kid (2010)

Karate Kid in 2010 was an effective and satisfying reboot that I think would get a follow-up much faster than 2025, given the box office success.

One of the more surprising things about this karate kid is how faithful they are in fact as a real remake. Similarly, all the beats in the same story come from the original 1984 film. Mom moves his son to a new location and excited that Smith’s Dore will be revenge on the school bully and revenge on the water to his new girlfriend’s disapproved parents… that’s almost everything. This is not what you normally expect from a reboot. Everything is usually a new take on old material. No, this is not the case. It plays hits.

Again, everything is still working. Smith’s Dore is a likable new lead, Chan is as great as Han (though his backstory here is a bit Too much (dark), and the Chinese setting gives this story a refreshing refresh of kung fu from amazing karate.

2. Karate Kid Part II

Karate Kid Part II is a great sequel, sending Miyagi and Daniel to Okinawa, both of whom get caught up in an old Miyagi girlfriend drama. It earned a ton of money, had a huge hit (Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love”), and continued to sweetly continue the tale of Daniel and Miyagi’s eccentric friendship. While Daniel’s relationship with Ali’s offscreen with Elizabeth Shue felt like a typical sequel cheat, Daniel has an even better summer escape romance with Kumiko, Tamlin Tomita, for our money.

Although not as great as the first film, Part II offers the product as a follow-up, realizing that regardless of where they are, the fans are concerned about is Daniel and Miyagi. Daniel’s mother is on the sidelines (although not as hilarious as Part III), and the rest very much reflects the best beats of the first film. Still, Part II is, more or less, the exact sequel you need if you’re being made.

1. Karate Kid (1984)

In 1984, director Rocky’s John Abilden (who also directed the sequel to Two Karate Children) gave us another exciting, emotional underdog story about a newly ported teenage boy from New Jersey. The karate kid had a slumbering sleep and won an Oscar nomination for Pat Morita for his portrayal of war veteran/karate teacher Miyajima.

Do you know they never explain how Marty and Doc Brown are their peers? Similarly, this kid and this old quirk are BFFs and no one blinks? Karate kids actually jump into this and invest in and make them believe in the intimate bonds formed by tormented teens and hidden handymen (secretly karate masters). When Daniel, who has found nothing but trouble since moving to California, tells Miyagi that he is his best friend, you believe it. And, just as Miyagi gives the naked basics of what is needed to fight and win, you can buy a beginner Daniel Laruso who can go through karate tournaments in just a month of training (strengthly and ideologically, strong emphasis on defense, and ideologically).

Karate Kid is one of the most fun and exciting films of the 80s. It has a great script, a powerful performance, and an exhilarating, front-end fascinating story. First Love, a typical ’80s bully (played by William Zabka), an iconic special ace – a sleeve kick.

That’s not yet Best.

What are your favorites in the series? Add the above tierlist and explain it in the comments!