The Karate Kid

Inspiring underdog tale from "Rocky" director John Avildsen stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, a New Jersey teen who moves to L.A. and runs afoul of a bullying bunch of karate students. Learning how to defend himself from handyman/martial arts master Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), Daniel enters a dangerous tournament in order to even the score. With Elisabeth Shue, William Zabka, Randee Heller, and Martin Kove. 126 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English, French; Subtitles: English, Spanish, Chinese, Thai, French; audio commentary; featurettes; "making of" documentary; theatrical trailer.

John G. Avildsen not only directed Rocky, he tried remaking it over the years in a dozen different ways. One of them was this popular 1984 drama about a new kid (Ralph Macchio) in town targeted by karate-wielding bullies until he gets a new mentor: the handyman (Pat Morita) from his apartment building, who teaches him self-confidence and fighting skills. The screen partnership of Macchio's motor-mouth character and Morita's reserved father figure works well, and the script allows for the younger man to develop sympathy for the painful memories of his teacher. But the film's real engine, as with Rocky, is the fighting, and there's plenty of that. Elisabeth Shue is on board as the girl the klutzy Macchio dreams of winning. --Tom Keogh