Summary30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is running a successful car dealerships business while his old rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is seeking to turn his life around by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo.
Summary30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is running a successful car dealerships business while his old rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is seeking to turn his life around by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo.
Cobra Kai Season 5 is a showcase of the best elements of the series, despite a bit of roughness around the edges. The latest installment features some big laughs and impressive fights but also sheds a light on what's to come without feeling like it's just a set-up for the next season.
One of the most badass shows of all time. It has a great cast and the second I saw the entire first season I just got into it so badly. Season 5 was the best in my opinion and I can't wait for season 6. The storytelling is also very phenomenal and I liked how it impressively connects to the older movies.
Call-backs to the movie are as ample as fans would demand. At the same time, the show refuses to wallow in the past, preferring to drag it screaming into the present. Cobra Kai will continue to thrill Eighties kids. But it is no museum piece and viewers insufficiently ancient to appreciate the totemic significance of phrases such as “wax on/wax off” will still get kick from it.
The young actors do a fine job in their vanilla “West Side Story” universe, but it’s the adults who pack the biggest punches in “Cobra Kai.” ... Finally, we have a Johnny Lawrence worth rooting for.
The new season has flaws in its efforts to give its story new dramatic underpinnings, and those flaws at times really bugged me. The new season is also the closest creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have come to evoking the actual tone of the original franchise.
One could wax on (wax off) about these representation issues, but the show’s strength is also its weakness. “Cobra Kai” is simply too accurately a product of that specific ‘80s franchise. Sure, it could change, but why should it? The series remains entertaining despite its flaws, and fortunately it has a hero that negotiates this disconnect between retro mindset and contemporary consciousness.
Cobra Kai’s overt nostalgia is of a simplistic dudebro variety, marked by Johnny’s neanderthal attitude and routine references to the likes of Rocky III, Bloodsport and Top Gun. Yet more objectionable is its regressive sitcom form, which reduces its comedy and romantic/familial/peer dilemmas to a fourth-grade level. For a season or two, that might have lent the show a quaint charm. At this point, however, it’s just a sign of everlasting immaturity.
The performances from the mainline cast are great. Production is above average.
Writing is not good.
Woke trends and tropes taking priority over the story especially in S2 are really forced and ruin this.
6/10 at best for KK fans.
The glorification of fragile masculinity. The acting is subpar and one-note. The writing is lazy. Save yourself the time and watch the original Karate Kid.
Dawson's Creek with karate. I have friends who's opinions I respect that like this show for how bad it is. I can't get past the lame acting, lame storylines, the once original neat idea from eons ago turned into some dumb drawn out soap opera about high school drama. I really like when Daniel was looking for his daughter and she was at Johnny's house. Daniel was at the door asking for her. Johnny says "Yeah, she's here. Whats it to you?" Hahahaha, too good.