The Karate Kid: Movies (1984-94)

The Karate Kid: Movies (1984-94)

Dirs. John G. Avildsen (Movies #01-03) / Christopher Cain (Movie #04)

01. The Karate Kid (1984). After moving to California with his mom, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) quickly makes an enemy of a clichéd high school bully. Both parties have an interest in karate, which adds flavour to what's on the surface a straightforward 80s underdog story.

There are teenager levels of romance to contend with, but it's illustrated with the best intentions, so it's not as forced as it could've been.

The real treasure is the believable sincerity that characterises the relationship that Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) has both with the eager-to-learn Daniel and the wider world, as a whole.

Morita's understated performance keeps Miyagi as a supporting character while simultaneously elevating him to become the true emotional core of the story. With a single wordless glance he can communicate a whole chapter's worth of feelings. He embodies what belief, patience, wisdom, and sensitivity can accomplish when each element achieves balance.

Mortal Kombat: Conquest (1998)

Mortal Kombat: Conquest (1998)

Dirs. Various | 22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

It's ridiculous to me that so many of the fantasy and/or supernatural TV shows that were aimed at a young adult demographic in the 1990s had secondary characters who were proficient in kung fu, or some other kind of mixed martial arts, no matter their alleged social background; vampire series like Buffy and Angel were the worst offenders.

With MK: Conquest, however, there's a reason so many citizens know kung fu: it's key to their survival. 

Villagers that haven't learned how to defend themselves aren't going to be safe for long. They may as well carry around a sign saying 'easy prey!'

(Alternatively, if they can't fight but are important to the plot, they get temporally saved by the chivalrous heroes... and then usually end up dead anyhow.)

It's set "...centuries ago, in a time of darkness and fury," which translates to an undefined pre-industrial era, in a place called Zhu Zin.

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1987)

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1987)

Authors: Jo Duffy / Howard Mackie | Illustrators: Steve Ditko / Jon D'Agostino / Alex Saviuk

"They're called nunchakus, and Chuck Norris himself taught me how to use them..."

The Karate Kommandos (1986) cartoon series lasted for five episodes, but it had a life beyond that in both an action figure line by Kenner and a comic book courtesy of Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel) that managed just four issues, but it's somewhat surprising that it existed at all, given how little success its parent series achieved.

The gang's all present, which means friend and mentor Chuck (obviously); twins Pepper and Reed, who spend much of their time together bickering like real siblings; the extremely polite sumo wrestler Tabe, who has an appetite as big as his heart is kind; the Japanese swordmaster Kimo; Wolf (an actual canine); and Chuck's adopted teenage son, the peculiarly named Too Much, who isn't as annoying as he could be, thankfully.

The youth wants to be just like Chuck when he grows up, which is presented as a positive thing. It's likely supposed to relate to Chuck's martial arts success, but is the star of violent action B-Movies really a good role model for school kids?

The Way of the Dragon (1972)

The Way of the Dragon (1972)

Dir. Bruce Lee

Sometimes titled with the definite article and sometimes without, The Way of the Dragon is the film in which Bruce Lee fights Karate champion Chuck Norris in a Roman coliseum while a kitty cat spectator sits on high.

Beyond that it's basically the same old story: Bruce's character arrives from overseas and helps some family members that are being exploited (this time they're in the restaurant business); there's an attractive woman (the adorable Nora Miao) for him to engage with; a traitorous countryman weasels about; and it culminates in a death match that enables Lee to show how bad-ass he really was - his fists are lightning fast during the fight with Chuck.

Even though poor Chuck only gets three words of dialogue he makes an impression.

It was the only film that Bruce got to direct before he died; he did well, especially on the finale. He also wrote, co-produced and is credited as martial arts director. The commentary on styles and how a student can be proficient in more than one is something he taught in real life.

Fist of Fury (1972)

Fist of Fury (1972)

Dir. Wei Lo

Unable to silence his feelings, and in direct opposition to the wishes of his recently dead shifu, martial arts student Chen Zhen seeks direct vengeance for the death of his teacher, bringing trouble to his own front door in the process, in a socially repressed Shanghai that's being overrun by Japanese officials.

When he's not kicking (or punching) seven shades of shit out of members of a rival martial arts school, for the majority of the film Chen exists in two basic emotional states: very pissed off, or on the verge of being very pissed off. That's okay because seeing Bruce in action is the reason most of us are watching in the first place.

I don't know how many people will have a deeper knowledge of the sociopolitical nature of the relationship between the Chinese and Japanese people in the era in which the film is set, but the distrust and enmity between the two sides is given a more literal plateau within the story itself, so it should be self-explanatory.

The Big Boss (1971)

The Big Boss (1971)

Dir. Wei Lo

TBB was Bruce's first major film. In it he plays Zheng Chao-an (alternatively spelled Cheng in some previous editions), a Chinese man fresh off the boat and working in a Thailand ice factory. All goes well enough for the new worker until he discovers that the ice factory is more than it initially seems.

It successfully established the template for much of what followed, while also highlighting his quiet, respectful persona that resorts to violence only when all other practical options have been exhausted. As such, it's not until well into the running time that we get to see the martial arts star in blazing action. But before too long there’s some WOOO-oooo-OOOO-WAHHH! and Bruce ends up angry, shirtless and bloody.

Bruce Lee (1995)

Bruce Lee (1995)

Author: Mike Baron  |  Illustrator: Val Mayerik  |  Page Count: 144

Bruce meets opposition when he opens a Jeet Kune Do martial arts school in America. The muscle-bound antagonists display their prowess in a dick-waving contest that Bruce doesn't lower himself to meet, except when he can teach them a lesson by kicking their steroid-pumped ass with his lightning-fast fists. Afterwards things get serious with murders, shootouts and a ton of other stupid shit happening almost daily.

Eventually the lure of stardom calls to him, and so he must balance a hobnobbing actor's lifestyle with that of a martial arts teacher. But he'll do it because he's a god-dammed real life superhero. At least, that's what the book would like us to believe. At one point he even turns into his Enter the Dragon ninja self, complete with a rope, in his off-screen life! It's plain ridiculous.

The dialogue isn't much better most of the time. It tries to spice things up by dropping in some of Bruce's own philosophy at opportune moments, which was an admirable idea but makes him seem like even more of an arrogant douche than the people he's supposed to be teaching by example.

Fearless: Director's Cut (2006)

Fearless: Director's Cut (2006) 

Dir. Ronny Yu

A biopic of Master Huo Yuanjia, founder of the world-renowned Jin Wu Sports Federation.

The disclaimer in the end credits states: while this motion picture is based on historical events, characters and incidents have been composited, invented and fictionalized.

It should really have been presented at the beginning to help viewers achieve the correct mindset needed to fully appreciate the film. I don't know about anyone else, but on my first viewing I was expecting the realism of a biopic. Having expectations thrown so far into the wind tainted the experience and it was many years before I gave it a second chance. I'm glad I did, though, because it's a film that deserves a place on a Jet Li fan's shelf.