The Karate Kid Cobra Kai, seasons 1 & 2
(DVD)

Cobra Kai is the spiritual sequel to The Karate Kid movies, taking place 30 years after the final confrontation between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. You don’t need to have watched the films to understand what’s happening here, but there are a fair few Easter eggs and inside jokes that fans of the movies will enjoy.

Originally released as motion pictures in 1984, 1986, and 1989.

Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Elisabeth Shue.

The karate kid, special edition: Daniel, a fatherless teenager, arrives in Los Angeles from the East and faces the difficult task of making friends. He becomes the object of bullying by a gang of karate students when he strikes up a relationship with Ali, the gang leader's ex-girlfriend. Daniel asks Miyagi, a master of martial arts, to help him learn karate. Daniel then prepares himself both mentally and physically for the fight of his life.

The karate kid II, the story continues: Karate student Daniel LaRusso accompanies his teacher, Miyagi, to Miyagi's ancestral home in Okinawa and becomes involved in a collision of cultures and combat.

The karate kid III: Kid Daniel LaRusso, has an upcoming tournament in which he is the target of vicious student Mike Barnes. Mr. Miyagi instructs LaRusso not to compete, but LaRusso's pride sends him to instructor Terry Silver who is secretly setting LaRusso up to be the loser.

Cobra Kai Season 1 picks up 30 years after the fateful karate tournament that saw Daniel LaRusso claimed as the winner. His successful karate venture has allowed him to launch a successful dealership chain. His high kick that knocked out Lawrence is infamous, and there are even adverts playing off this. Adverts that our main character, Johnny Lawrence, ends up seeing. Since losing the tournament, Johnny has been on a downward spiral. He’s drinking, lives alone and has very little going for him. Out one night, a boy Diaz is bullied, Johnny doesn’t actually care until the fight spills over to his car. Johnny beats all the kids up and Miguel Diaz is taken under Lawrence’s wing to be taught how to defend himself.

Cobra Kai Season 2: The second season takes place immediately after the events of Season 1 and follows the Cobra Kai Dojo's power struggle between Johnny Lawrence and his former sensei, John Kreese. Season 2 also expands on the plot of Season 1 further by exploring the growth of Johnny's son Robby and Daniel's daughter Sam, and their rivalry between Miguel and Cobra Kai newcomer Tory.

MPAA rating: PG.

DVD; Anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1); Dolby surround sound; Remastered in high definition, Region 1.

In English, French, Portuguese, Spanish with subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai. Closed captioned.