Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

The Karate Kid: A defense of Johnny Lawrence and why Daniel LaRusso was a jerk, and the real antagonist of the film

Forehead

By Forehead
in The Tailgate

Recommended Posts

Tulane Skins Fan

Tulane Skins Fan

Posted
Posted
You need to break down KK 2 the same way. Sato's nephew was wronged that whole movie.

Not to meniton 3. If only Mike Barnes (Karate's bad boy) could have finished off the job. He really should have just let larusso fall to the death when him & Jessica were repelling to get the sacred Banzaii tree......

As I read this masterpiece, I was thinking of Shooter McGavin the whole time. He should really defend him next. hahaha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
Posted
Kevin Spacey went from TV episodes of The Equalizer, Wise Guy ( Mel Prophet), LA Law and them he made the movie Seven where he had no speaking role and no real face time on camera either but was rather a blurry silent figure in a very dark film.... To WINNING the academy award for American Beauty.

That may be the most inaccurate depiction ever of Spacey's career.

Spacey had an uncredited cameo in Seven, because listing him in the credits would have given away the story. He was that big of a star then.

He went from Glengarry Glenn Ross to the awesme Swimmng with Sharks to The Usual Suspects to Se7en to Outbreak to a TIme to Kill to LA Confidential (which may have been the best movie of the 90s) to a couple of movies that were supposed to be huge but flopped to American Beauty (which is more dated now than Skidoo).

Spacey was probably one of the six or seven biggest stars in Hollywood at the time of American Beauty.

It's a shame he started thinking that was deserved. Because I don't think he has a made a good movie this decade.

Also, he had a ton of lines in Se7en.

Otherwsie, great post. Spot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GhostofSparta

GhostofSparta

Posted
Posted

As I read this amazing breakdown, all I could hear in my head was the voice of "Plinkett" from Red Letter Media. This absolutely made my Friday. Bravo, sir, bravo.

Also, things from Jersey should stay in Jersey. I think this movie was a prophecy of the bleak times we are facing now with the epidemic that is "Jersey Shore."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
Posted

I don't remember him ever having a speakign role in that movie. Don't remember him getting much face time in front of the camera either. The entire movie was his shadow eluding brad pit and morgan freeman.

Well...you didn't watch the movie then.

The last 20 minutes was practically a running monologue by Spacey.

Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!

A woman... so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this ****ty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.

She begged for her life and the life of the baby inside her.

[somerset punches him]

John Doe: Oh... he didn't know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mr. Sinister

Mr. Sinister

Posted
Posted

Defend Johnny Lawrence all you want, but there is no way in hell that you can defend Shooter McGavin. The guy was an insecure pompous ass who had what was coming to him. Sure, every little sabotaging tactic that he used backfired horribly against him, to the point where you eventually felt sorry for him, but if he wasn't such an insecure dick in the first place, nothing bad would've happened to him.

With that being said, I'd still like to see you try though. :ols:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Forehead

Forehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well, upon re-reading, I was shocked at the number of typos, but I cleaned up as many as I could see. Ugh, I guess that much typing, it's bound to happen. I still like the piece in general though, and I thank those of you who enjoyed it and commented.

Burgold....I have limits to my humor. I would actually make an attempt at Shooter McGavin except that I despise Adam Sandler and won't watch any of his movies willingly, but I'd at least try to defend McGavin. I'm not touching the Nazi's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NoCalMike

NoCalMike

Posted
Posted

My biggest Daniel gripe is that he is afraid of Mike Barnes in the tournament that takes place in Karate Kid III.....correct me if I am wrong but Daniel just got done being in a legitimate fight for his life in Karate Kid part 2, Mr Miyagi specificially said to Daniel, "this not tournament, this for real" and Daniel showed no hesitation in engaging in a fight in which he could have died. Then somehow in Karate Kid III Daniel is afraid to fight Mike Barnes in a karate tournament where the worst thing that can happen is him losing a trophy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tweedr01

Tweedr01

Posted
Posted

Ok, I finally got to watch it over the weekend and I'm not sure how this can be fully blamed on Daniel. When he kicked the door open at their apartment building and accidentally hit that guy he profusely apologized and thanked the kid for inviting him to hangout with his friends.

While I do agree that Johnny is a better person than we all remembered him as from watching the movie years ago, he is still a little crazy. Dude looked like a wife beater when he was yelling at Ali on the beach, I mean someone had to step in on that. Now Danielson shouldn't have tried to fight him, but he didn't initiate any contact, Johnny pushed him first, and then proceeded to lay the smack down.

Danielson pulled a woman move when he punched that kid in the face when they were playing soccer, he's trying not to look like a wuss....but instead he looks like an idiot.

This is the part where I think it went from both of them having a part in the blame to Johnny and his friends. Danielson riding his bicycle, surrounded by motorcycles, get's his bike forced off the road over a hill. The only thing I could think was....where are the brakes? But anyways, he shouldn't have had to worry about that, dude got screwed royally here, it was attempted murder.

Danielson finds Johnny alone (for the first time in the movie mind you), in the bathroom, rolling a joint. Finally a fair fight. But let's be honest, Danielson knows he's gonna get whooped, why get beat down when you can humiliate someone who has been doing the same to you since you got there? Drench the sucker in the toilet who's doing something illegal at the moment anyways? I think so. Again, Johnny can't do this alone so he has to have all 4 of his friends come to help beat the crap outta Danielson. Myagi owns them, awesome fight scene.

The only person who really gets screwed in this movie is Bobby. I feel bad for the kid. Throughout the entire movie he is the one who is trying to be the good kid and gets completely screwed in the end because of his egotistical karate master. Bobby could have taken Danielson, I think Bobby could have taken Johnny. Either way dude gets screwed.

On a sidenote: When Danielson was first starting his training and finished his first exercise he was making his way into Myagi's house when he looked startled. I thought Netflix had put some sort of weird, robot-chicken-esque alternate ending into my queue and Danielson was about to find Myagi had hung himself, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TD_washingtonredskins

TD_washingtonredskins

Posted
Posted
The only person who really gets screwed in this movie is Bobby. I feel bad for the kid. Throughout the entire movie he is the one who is trying to be the good kid and gets completely screwed in the end because of his egotistical karate master. Bobby could have taken Danielson, I think Bobby could have taken Johnny. Either way dude gets screwed.

YES!! Finally someone else agrees...I posted this last week. Great point!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Forehead

Forehead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Here's one thing I didn't talk about in the OP, but it's worth discussion. Has anyone noticed how Daniel's ability to punch varies over the movie. At the beginning, he hits Johnny with kind of a sissy shot while pretending to be hurt. But then, in the soccer confrontation, not only does he hit Bobby with a flying tackle, he also delivers a textbook perfect right cross to the kid's jaw. But then later, when training with Miyagi, he has to be taught how to punch again and his first efforts are nothing short of wussy. How did he randomly know how to punch in that one scene? Adrenaline?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TD_washingtonredskins

TD_washingtonredskins

Posted
Posted
Here's one thing I didn't talk about in the OP, but it's worth discussion. Has anyone noticed how Daniel's ability to punch varies over the movie. At the beginning, he hits Johnny with kind of a sissy shot while pretending to be hurt. But then, in the soccer confrontation, not only does he hit Bobby with a flying tackle, he also delivers a textbook perfect right cross to the kid's jaw. But then later, when training with Miyagi, he has to be taught how to punch again and his first efforts are nothing short of wussy. How did he randomly know how to punch in that one scene? Adrenaline?

The truth is...the film was shot out of sequence. So, the soccer scene was filmed toward the very end during re-shoots. At that point, Macchio had the benefits of all his on-screen training.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tweedr01

Tweedr01

Posted
Posted
Here's one thing I didn't talk about in the OP, but it's worth discussion. Has anyone noticed how Daniel's ability to punch varies over the movie. At the beginning, he hits Johnny with kind of a sissy shot while pretending to be hurt. But then, in the soccer confrontation, not only does he hit Bobby with a flying tackle, he also delivers a textbook perfect right cross to the kid's jaw. But then later, when training with Miyagi, he has to be taught how to punch again and his first efforts are nothing short of wussy. How did he randomly know how to punch in that one scene? Adrenaline?

steroids. and crack...maybe cocaine? what they don't is because he is from newark he has connections to the NY Giants, specifically LT. at that specific moment he used his crack power to take out bobby.

---------- Post added March-14th-2011 at 12:23 PM ----------

The truth is...the film was shot out of sequence. So, the soccer scene was filmed toward the very end during re-shoots. At that point, Macchio had the benefits of all his on-screen training.

is that true?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...