Cobra Kai

I watched the original Karate Kid for the first time on Netflix a few months ago. I have to say that despite the hype, it wasn't a very good movie. It felt dated and low budget. I also had this impression that the movie seemed to end abruptly. But as someone who grew up in the 80s, the movie was a cultural phenomenon even in a place as remote as Pontianak. Well, the crane kick was, at the very least. The stance, it was world-famous. 

Years after I moved out from Pontianak, I saw a glimpse of Jackie Chan's Karate Kid. It didn't impressed me either. The one that caught my attention was the bits and pieces in How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom series that I enjoyed very much. Barney Stinson loved the Karate Kid, but instead of the protagonist, he liked the blonde one that many would deem as the bad guy in the movie. The scenes, especially in an episode called the Bro Mitzvah, were hilarious. Legend has it that the spoof renewed the interest in the Karate Kid and eventually inspired the birth of Cobra Kai.

In a way, it probably did. The story of Cobra Kai, especially the first season, was uniquely told from the perspective of Johnny Lawrence, a former bully from the Karate Kid and now a loser in his 50s. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't know any other series that did this and that made it all the more interesting. It took its time to tell just the right amount of story in a 30-minute format per episode. Enough to make you care about the characters. 

Johnny wasn't that smart, especially lacking in IT knowledge and he was as stubborn as hell (and these qualities made him unintentionally funny at times). Yet you'd believe that he was on the road to redemption, thanks to the accidental situation he was put into. You'd want to find out more and couldn't help clicking the next episode button! It was just that addictive, it'd get you hooked!

Now, if Johnny was supposed to the good guy, what happened to Daniel LaRusso then? He was not necessary a bad guy here because the world could apparently use two good guys, but he was having a hard time to believe that his former enemy would redeem himself. He certainly had his doubts after seeing the sign of Cobra Kai! Here was a dojo that taught the students to strike first, strike hard and no mercy! And Daniel surely had the first-hand experience with that kind of teaching!

As if the bad blood between the two wasn't good enough, the series also introduced the future generation in the form of Miguel, Robby, Samantha and others. They were given chances to shine or, to quote Johnny, to be badass. The writers put much effort on fleshing out their stories that by the end of it, you just gotta root for them! 

But apart from expanding to the future, the series also managed to look back and blend in perfectly with its past. The creators did it nice and slow, giving us the blast from the past bit by bit, season by season. By bringing back many characters from the Karate Kid series such as John Kreese, Ali, Chozen, Kumiko, Terry Silver, Jessica Andrews, Mike Barnes and many more, it became a universe of its own. Forget DCU, MCU, MonsterVerse or multiverse! Miyagi-verse certainly kicked ass!

I never cared much about the Karate Kid series before, but Cobra Kai was so old school and loveable. They didn't try very hard to create fighting scenes like Ip Man, but it just worked for the show. It was also so rich with Easter eggs, poking fun on mistakes they did during the Karate Kids. They also weren't afraid to rely on the good things they did back then. They built those up and gave the audience the moments we didn't know we had been waiting for. Many, such as Ghostbusters or Star Wars, had tried to have some form of continuity with their past, present and future, but none worked as well as Cobra Kai.

Right after I finished season 5, I watched again from the beginning. It was one helluva brilliant show, and it only got better as it progressed. The rewatch felt like rediscovering why I fell in love with the series a few years ago. The final battle with Terry Silver could have been the ultimate ending for the series, but no, it seems like they still have one more season to go and end this once and for all. Cobra Kai never dies!

PS: can't believe I can't get Coors Banquet here in Singapore!

Badass.

Cobra Kai

Baru-baru ini saya menonton Karate Kid di Netflix untuk pertama kalinya. Harus saya katakan bahwa meski sering terdengar namanya, filmnya tidaklah begitu bagus. Kesannya seperti film usang dan rendah anggarannya. Adegan tamatnya pun terasa terburu-buru. Namun sebagai seseorang yang tumbuh besar di tahun 80an, film ini merupakan fenomena budaya, bahkan di tempat terpencil seperti Pontianak. Paling tidak kita tahu tendangan bangaunya. Posenya memang terkenal. 

Bertahun-tahun kemudian, saya sempat melihat sekilas versi Jackie Chan. Karate Kid baru ini pun tidak mengesankan. Yang menarik perhatian justru referensi Karate Kid di How I Met Your Mother, salah satu serial komedi favorit saya. Barney Stinson menyukai Karate Kid, tapi bukan tokoh utamanya, melainkan pemuda pIrang yang sebenarnya merupakan musuh bebuyutan jagoan di film. Cerita tentang Karate Kid, terutama di episode yang berjudul Bro Mitzvah, luar biasa kocak. Konon berawal dari sinilah daya tarik terhadap Karate Kid kembali membumbung dan akhirnya menjadi inspirasi lahirnya serial Cobra Kai.

Cerita Cobra Kai, terutama di season pertama, sangat unik karena diceritakan dari sudut pandang Johnny Lawrence, anak muda jahat dari Karate Kid yang kini menjadi seorang pecundang di usia 50an. Sejauh yang saya tahu, sepertinya tidak ada serial lain dengan alur cerita seperti ini dan oleh karenanya sangat menarik. Ceritanya dibangun dengan pas dan proposional dalam format 30 menit per episode. Cukup untuk membuat penonton menjadi peduli dengan tokoh-tokohnya. 

Johnny tidaklah terlalu pintar, terutama dalam masalah IT. Dia pun keras kepala. Kombinasi semua ini membuatnya lucu tanpa disengaja dalam berbagai adegan, namun juga membuat anda bersimpati dengannya, bahkan penasaran bagaiamana situasi dan kondisi yang dilewatinya akan membawanya kembali ke jalan yang benar. Saya jadi selalu ingin tahu kelanjutannya dan tanpa sadar kerap kali menekan menu next episode! Begitu serunya cerita, sampai-sampai yang nonton jadi ketagihan.

Nah, kalau Johnny menjadi orang baik sekarang, lantas bagaimana dengan Daniel LaRusso? Dia tetap baik seperti semula dan jauh lebih sukses hidupnya sekarang, tapi dia masih sulit untuk percaya bahwa musuhnya ini bisa bertobat. Dia jelas ragu, terlebih lagi setelah dia melihat logo Cobra Kai! Ini dojo yang mengajarkan murid-muridnya untuk menyerang dulu, serang yang keras dan tanpa ampun! Daniel tentu takkan lupa dengan pengalamannya akan doktrin ini! 

Apabila perseteruan antara dua orang ini masih belum cukup, serial ini juga menampilkan anak-anak muda seperti Miguel, Robby, Samantha dan yang lain. Setiap tokoh ini juga memiliki alur cerita tersendiri yang memberikan mereka kesempatan untuk tampil memukau atau, mengutip kata Johnny, menjadi badass. Penulis serial ini tidak setengah dalam hati dalam bercerita sehingga penonton pun jatuh hati dengan mereka! 

Selain ekspansi ke masa depan, Cobra Kai juga kembali ke kisah masa lalu dan memanfaatkannya dengan baik. Idenya cemerlang, perlahan tapi pasti memberikan kita sedikit demi sedikit tokoh dari Karate Kid, mulai dari John Kreese, Ali, Chozen, Kumiko, Terry Silver, Jessica Andrews, Mike Barnes dan masih banyak lagi. Di era perfilman di mana kita mengenal DCU, MCU, MonsterVerse atau multiverse, Miyagi-verse memiliki tempat tersendiri di hati penonton.

Saya tidak pernah peduli dengan serial Karate Kid sebelum ini, tapi Cobra Kai menampilkan tahun 80an dalam kemasan modern sehingga begitu mempesona. Serial ini tidak menampilkan adegan pertarungan sebagus Ip Man, tapi apa adanya dan pas di cerita. Selain itu, ceritanya pun kaya dengan referensi masa lalu. Para penulisnya juga menggali kembali berbagai elemen cerita lama, membangun cerita baru dan memberikan hasil akhir yang tanpa sadar penonton nantikan. Banyak yang telah mencoba teknik ini, misalnya Ghostbusters atau Star Wars, tapi tidak ada yang sesukses Cobra Kai.

Setelah saya menyelesaikan season 5, saya langsung tonton ulang lagi dari awal. Memang bagus kisahnya, dan kian bagus ketika cerita berkembang dan bergulir. Menonton ulang serial ini membuat saya menemukan kembali, kenapa saya suka cerita ini beberapa tahun silam. Sempat saya kira bahwa pertarungan terakhir dengan Terry Silver adalah akhir dari Cobra Kai, tapi tampaknya mereka masih memiliki satu season lagi sebelum benar-benar usai! Cobra Kai takkan mati! 

PS: sulit dipercaya bahwa saya tidak bisa mendapatkan Coors Banquet di Singapura!