Critically Acclaimed by J. Ryan Stradal

Author:J. Ryan Stradal [Stradal, J. Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Published: 2018-01-09T00:06:00+00:00

Directed by Lars von Trier.

Most critics dismiss sequels and prequels as vehicles of basic financial prostitution, and in the past, the Karate Kid franchise has been no exception. While there are those who are quick to remind us that Pat Morita was originally nominated for an Academy Award for the first film of the series, there are countless others who pan the latter three or four films (depending on whether or not you view the Miyagi-less Smith/Chan product as a true sequel as some KK purists do not) as overly commodified garbage. But now this ferocious and oftentimes literally bloody, debate has been settled once and for all by the newest installment in the series, a prequel this time, that focuses upon a teenaged Miyagi and his Polish student “Jerzy,” who goes on to become the grandfather of the greatest cinematic villain of all time: Johnny Lawrence.

Johnny Lawrence was played brilliantly in KKI by a young ingénue named William Zabka, and director/writer Lars von Trier blurs the fourth wall by naming his teenaged concentration camp prisoner protagonist “Jerzy Zabka.” The choice of von Trier and his avant-garde Dogme 95 beliefs is in and of itself a bold demonstration of the film’s producer Tyler Perry’s commitment to resuscitate the overall artistic image of martial arts-based narratives. And von Trier’s continued insistence upon raw filmmaking techniques and banishment of non-diegetic production actually works seamlessly in this tale that interweaves the profound and often simple philosophies of the martial arts into the inspirational story of the systematic murdering of millions of Jews.

Several of the sequels in the KK franchise begin with the same jumping-off point: the end of the All Valley Karate Tournament in which Daniel has beaten Johnny Lawrence. For example, KKII begins with Miyagi rescuing Johnny from his abusive sensei, who is infuriated that his pupil has lost to the skinny Italian kid from New Jersey and is disciplining Johnny in front of all of the other Cobra Kai. Or the third film, which focuses upon the aforementioned abusive sensei as the primary antagonist, and which also begins immediately after Johnny’s defeat at All Valley and chronicles the sensei’s immediate downfall. While von Trier’s insistence upon a singular narrative timeframe without flashbacks or flashforwards may seem to have made this structural conceit inherently impossible, he ingeniously begins his own film with a scene that still thematically creates this overlap. In the scene, several prisoners at Sobibor argue over a piece of bread that one of them has smuggled from the kitchen. The actors in this scene are played by the entire original cast of actors that played the members of the Cobra Kai, including a now middle-aged William Zabka, Ron “Sweep the Leg” Thomas, Rob “Get Him a Bodybag” Garrison, and Martin Kove, who played the sensei. The ensuing result is both emotionally and metaphorically jarring and, oddly enough, a totally appropriate way to begin a martial arts movie.

After losing the fight for the piece of bread in the opening

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