Netflix’s 6-Part Martial Arts Series Reinvented An Entire Genre

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Martial arts films were incredibly popular in the 1970s and 80s, but their popularity waned after that. However, a recent hit show on Netflix successfully revived interest in the genre. The history of martial arts films is complex, and surprisingly, the genre reached the height of its popularity in the US shortly after Bruce Lee’s death. Although Lee’s films were already hits, the Shaw Brothers studio capitalized on his legacy, bringing martial arts movies to a wide mainstream audience throughout the late 70s and into the 80s.

Though audiences loved the exciting fight scenes and stunts in action movies of the 1980s, the film The Karate Kid (1984) really sparked widespread interest in martial arts. It made these films appealing to younger viewers and helped turn actors like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, and Steven Seagal into household names. The popularity of martial arts movies faded quickly in the 1990s, but it experienced a revival with the arrival of Cobra Kai on Netflix.

Cobra Kai Reinvented ’70s & ’80s Martial Arts Stories For The Modern Era

Cobra Kai, created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, cleverly flips the traditional underdog story from the original movie. The show centers on Johnny Lawrence, once the one-dimensional villain in The Karate Kid. While portrayed as a typical, somewhat cruel athlete in the 1984 film, Johnny becomes a much more complex and sympathetic character in Cobra Kai. His choice to start a karate dojo revives his long-standing rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, the hero of The Karate Kid, and challenges the familiar tropes of 1980s martial arts films.

At first, Johnny was hesitant to get back into fighting, only starting to teach self-defense when he saw kids being bullied. But unlike most martial arts heroes, Johnny had been a bully himself – viewers remembered him as the one doing the tormenting in the original movie. This makes the story of Cobra Kai much more complicated morally than the first film, and that was even before all the students and their different perspectives were added to the mix.

Cobra Kai Is A Rare Example Of A Revival Topping The Original

Unlike the original Karate Kid, which had a simple story and one-dimensional villain, Cobra Kai constantly surprises viewers. The show’s villains aren’t typical bad guys; they’re often complex and even relatable people who make poor choices. Johnny’s attempt to become a better person isn’t a quick fix; it’s a difficult process with plenty of challenges along the way.

The show Cobra Kai clearly loves the original Karate Kid movies, but isn’t afraid to point out their flaws. By giving characters like Daniel and Johnny more depth, and showing the struggles of their students, the series actually surpasses the original film. It’s now hard to watch the first Karate Kid without noticing how simple and lacking in complexity it feels.

Over six seasons of the popular Netflix series, we see how Daniel and Johnny’s perspectives influence their students, and how their own self-perceptions aren’t always accurate. Both characters become surprisingly complex, turning the show into a compelling exploration of their personalities. This has helped Cobra Kai revive interest in martial arts movies, even though it acknowledges and builds upon, rather than simply surpasses, the original Karate Kid films.

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2026-04-23 01:29