Martial arts movies have been staples of the film industry for decades, but Cobra Kai managed to do something that most could not. Based on the Karate Kid movies from the 1980s, Cobra Kai takes a unique approach to the formula established by Daniel LaRusso’s story. This time around, Johnny Lawrence is the wise sensei, who passes on unique lessons to his underdog students.
Cobra Kai ran for six seasons, and the show holds an impressive 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the lowest-scoring season of this Netflix series, season 3, sits at a “Certified Fresh” 90%. This is the sort of critical success that any TV show would dream of, especially within the more niche martial arts genre. Cobra Kai‘s achievement is even more impressive considering it is a spinoff series.
The fact that Cobra Kai continued to do so well from season to season is no coincidence. The series managed a unique balance of drama, comedy, and all the staples of the martial arts genre. It pokes fun at the sort of camp that is typical of martial arts movies, while still treating the genre with reverence and respect. Overall, this allows Cobra Kai to stand out as something spectacular.
Netflix’s Cobra Kai Is The Best Martial Arts Show Of All Time
Though martial arts TV shows aren’t as plentiful as films, they are nothing new. The 1990s came with the short-lived but phenomenal action drama Raven, full of smooth, exciting fight choreography set against a moody, noir-like backdrop. More recently, we’ve had a wider variety of martial arts TV shows, including Into the Badlands, Warrior, and Kung Fu.
Each of these excellent TV shows includes some of our favorite tropes from the martial arts movie genre, but is enhanced by the longer format of television. The fight choreography is visually stunning, and the stakes are always high, making these shows perfect for adrenaline-hungry viewers. Still, they lack something that Cobra Kai mastered.
The danger of martial arts TV is that things can get old very quickly. Even some of the best shows are typically short-lived, because this intensity and general outrageousness can only go so far. What makes Cobra Kai unique is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The action and intensity are genuine, but the Netflix series is deeply self-aware. The show frequently acknowledges just how over the top it is.
Modern martial arts TV shows often aim to reinvent the cheesy camp of classic movies like Fists of Fury or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. On the other hand, Cobra Kai goes to great lengths to embrace the outrageousness. Every season features a variety of overly dramatized fights that can only be described as epic. The show is essentially a love letter to the genre as a whole.
Why Cobra Kai Is Better Than Most Martial Arts Movies
Martial arts movies are an art form, and, in some ways, Cobra Kai‘s format could never compete. However, the TV show’s longer format allowed it to do something that the typical film can’t. Cobra Kai maintained strategic character arcs (many of which were established by the original movies) from season to season, diving deeper than any film ever could.
Cobra Kai‘s TV format also allowed it to pack in as much martial-arts-genre nostalgia as it possibly could without becoming too tiresome. Rather than one epic training montage, we got several. Rather than the typical climactic rise and fall, Cobra Kai kept its audience on a ferocious rollercoaster. It was everything we love about martial arts movies, all on repeat.
Once again, Cobra Kai was able to pull this off because of balance. Though the series as a whole is an homage to martial-arts media, the character-driven stories made Cobra Kai enjoyable even for those who aren’t frequent flyers within the genre. There’s a little something for everyone. Add in that unique brand of self-aware comedy, and this Netflix series truly found the golden formula.
The Netflix Series Even Surpasses The Movie It’s Based On
In this day and age, nostalgic reboots and spinoffs are a dime a dozen. The vast majority fail, since it’s nearly impossible to ever live up to the original. This is another area that Cobra Kai is wholly unique. Not only did this spinoff series capture everything that made The Karate Kid so beloved, but it also improved and revitalized what had become a slightly worn-down formula.
The Karate Kid established the idea of a wise sensei using bizarre chores to quickly teach an underdog teenager to fight. This same formula was repeated endlessly in popular media, but Cobra Kai took it and turned it on its head. The teenage villain, Johnny Lawrence, became the wise sensei, but he did everything differently from Mr. Miyagi. From there, each season further played with this trope.
Cobra Kai didn’t just match The Karate Kid in quality; it actually retroactively improved the original story.
Cobra Kai didn’t just match The Karate Kid in quality; it actually retroactively improved the original story. Unpopular sequel stories, like Daniel’s time training under Terry Silver, were suddenly made better. Iconic moments like Daniel’s original “You’re the Best” montage became even more nostalgic. Overall, Cobra Kai is an enigma that, against all odds, managed to do everything just right.
Cobra Kai
8/10
- Release Date
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2018 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Netflix, YouTube Premium
- Showrunner
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Jon Hurwitz
