SPOILERS are ahead for Karate Kid: Legends, now streaming with a Netflix subscription.

There’s a lot of memorable scenes in the original Karate Kid that makes it one of the best ‘80s movies. However, I'm not sure fans will ever forget the final fight between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence at the All Valley Karate Tournament, where Daniel beats his bully (and Cobra Kai) by executing the crane kick. Karate Kid: Legends pays homage to the OG film in various ways, but it has an even more impressive big fighting move in the form of the “dragon kick”.

When CinemaBlend spoke to Karate Kid: Legends director Jonathan Entwistle about the film (which is one of the big 2025 movie releases), I asked him about how the dragon kick was accomplished in camera. I was stunned that there’s a human in the world who can do the move without any movie magic. In Entwistle's words:

Upon further research, I found out the dragon kick (thanks to Vertigo Tricking) is actually referred to as the “shuriken cutter” outside of Karate Kid: Legends. The move implements a flip, kick and a twist in one single fluid motion. You can check out Ben Wang’s stunt double Anthony Correa Baniaga Jr. do some wild tricking in real life (outside the movies) below:

While Legends' use of this technique is different from what the original movie did, it offers audiences further exposure to the world of martial arts. More specifically, the legacy sequel highlights what one’s body can do outside of the moves the public has already learned, thanks to previous iterations of the beloved franchise.

Personally, when I asked Entwistle about the move, I was sure he’d tell me he and his team used wires to accomplish the move. Now, though, I’m more aware of an entire training discipline that implements both martial arts and gymnastics to achieve these gorgeous and mesmerizing moves. Overall, I find it amazing how these martial artists and stunt coordinators can do to push the boundaries of what the human body can do.

As Jonathan Entwistle also pointed out during our interview, he wanted to have a move in Legends that had the “essence” of the crane kick, but offered something different to viewers of the franchise. I'd say he succeeded in that regard.

Now that you’ve learned all about the dragon kick, check out what the director told us about the Karate Kid: Legends post-credits scene (which has a Cobra Kai connection). Fans can also read up on what Jackie Chan shared with us about doing his own stunts for the movie even though he’s in his 70s.

Sometimes, you watch a sports movie that is just so good you can’t help but go on your phone the moment after and look up how to play the sport. That’s the power of some of the best sports movies out there – and here are a few that exemplify that perfectly.

Challengers (2024)

This was the first movie that came to my mind when I was generating ideas for this list. While it’s undoubtedly one of Zendaya’s best films, Challengers also gave way to a huge movement of people learning to play tennis, as well as a slew of tennis-related outfits that were everywhere for so long. I’m pretty sure I have, like, five tennis dresses in my closet right now.

A League Of Their Own (1992)

I feel like with baseball, there are always plenty of movies out there, but A League of Their Own is special because it’s one of those movies that inspires girls to really get into the sport of baseball. While these types of movies can inspire anyone, since baseball is a relatively male sport and there are few softball movies out there, it’s a great film to encourage young girls to pick up the sport.

The Sandlot (1993)

Of course, I have to put The Sandlot. It’s arguably one of the biggest sports movies of all time and is considered a favorite of many people, not only those of my age but also older generations. We all want to be playing baseball outside as children after watching this film.

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Karate Kid movies have been around for several decades and continue to inspire many viewers to learn the art of karate. Mr. Miyagi’s teachings have continued into another generation, time and time again.

And to be honest, The Karate Kid is one of those franchises that I don’t think will ever die. You know that saying from Cobra Kai, “Cobra Kai never dies?” Yeah, that’s going to be this franchise. We will forever be seeing kids who want to learn karate thanks to this film, and honestly, I can’t really be upset about that.

Friday Night Lights (2004)

There are many iconic football movies out there, and I’m pretty positive that Friday Night Lights is one of them. I mean, it inspired a whole television show based on it. The movie is the epitome of high school football and the heart that goes into it.

Rocky (And The Sequels) (1976-Onward)

Do I need to say anymore? It’s the Rocky movies, as well as the Creed films. There is nothing quite like seeing an underdog rise to the top and take down big dogs throughout a film franchise. So many people became boxers because of this film.

Major League (1989)

Okay, so the movie itself is goofy and pretty raunchy, but look, it’s a hilarious baseball movie. Major League is one of those films that you watch and end up loving because of how obscene it is – and then you want to go out and whack a stick and ball around, too.

I, Tonya (2017)

Without all the assault stuff, you feel me? I, Tonya, is one of Margot Robbie’s best films – if not her best, next to Barbie, of course – where she truly shines in the starring role. I have to admit that watching figure skating made me want to get out on the ice, even if I have the same amount of coordination that Bambi had when he first learned to walk.

Either way, it’s still a great movie with some amazingly done skating scenes, and anyone who has any interest in skating will undoubtedly want to head to the rink afterwards.

She’s The Man (2006)

Amanda Bynes was genuinely a national treasure in the early 2000s, creating a slew of incredible teen movies that have defined a generation (mine). One of those was She’s the Man, where she pretends to be a boy to join a boys' soccer team when the girls' team is shut down. It’s inspiring, and it's certainly inspired plenty of young women to pick up the sport, including me.

White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

It's another hysterical sports comedy that will make you want to learn the sport while also laughing a lot. White Men Can’t Jump stars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, and is a hilarious movie that genuinely makes you want to go out and learn to play basketball – but don’t get into any tussles with those streetballers.

The Fighter (2010)

Arguably one of Mark Wahlberg’s best movies (as well as Christian Bale), The Fighter is another great boxing film based on the real tale of MickyWard and Dicky Eklund and their time in the boxing world. It’s inspiring, dramatic, and hits all the right notes – the perfect recipe to make you want to learn boxing as well.

The Longest Yard (1974)

I literally could not think of any other football movie that fits this list better than The Longest Yard. Starring Burt Reynolds, the film revolves around a football player recruiting prisoners to play a game of football against their guards. It’s a great movie and one that certainly will make you want to play football afterwards, just for fun.

Chariots Of Fire (1981)

While Chariots of Fire inspired one of the most meme-worthy musical scores ever, it’s also an Academy Award-winning movie that amazingly showcases the sport of track and tells a fantastic true story. If you haven’t seen this film, be sure to check it out.

The Mighty Ducks (1992)

Of course, I had to put The Mighty Ducks on here. This movie was a defining kid classic of the 1990s and inspired many people to take up the sport of hockey. The movie was so popular that it spawned an entire franchise.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Okay, so this movie is silly in a lot of ways, but Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a fun racing movie. When you’re not laughing your butt off, some fantastic race scenes are very well done. I’m sure NASCAR got a lot of fans after this.

Caddyshack (1980)

I’m pretty sure Caddyshack is one of the most famous golf movies of all time, and obviously, for good reason. The movie stars comedy legends like Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and more, and features some great golf sequences that make the sport look that much more entertaining (even if I probably will never play it).

Invincible (2006)

No, I’m not talking about one of the best Amazon Prime TV shows – I’m talking about the sports film that stars Mark Wahlberg, which tells the story of Vince Papale, a real-life football player who played for the Eagles back in the 1970s when he decided to go to a training camp for the Eagles. You’ll be rooting for this team in no time – GO BIRDS!

Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers is the type of sports movie that will make you want to shoot baskets the moment the film is done. The movie follows the story of a basketball team in Indiana and their journey to the national championship, but it’s so inspiring you’ll want to learn the game, too.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

"If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball," is a classic line from Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. And while there are plenty of inaccuracies about the sport in this film, it’s still a heck of a fun time, and as someone who was in school when this film came out, there was A LOT more dodgeball happening on the courts.

Happy Gilmore (1996)

While we waited years for Happy Gilmore 2, the original is still just as amazing and one that I will always recommend. It’s one of Adam Sandler’s best roles, hilarious, and makes every moment of watching it so funny while also introducing the viewer to the idea of golf.

The Blind Side (2009)

The Blind Side may have generated considerable controversy years later, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that the movie itself remains very inspiring and portrays football in a positive light. It is still one of Sandra Bullock’s best roles and makes you want the NFL season to come back around much quicker.

Raging Bull (1980)

Raging Bull might sound like a terrifying movie, but in reality, it’s a great boxing film. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, the series tells the story of real-life boxing champion Jake LaMotta and his rise and fall as a professional boxer. It’s iconic in many ways and has won several awards.

Ali (2001)

While Will Smith won the Academy Award for his role in King Richard, he was first nominated for his portrayal of legendary heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali, which depicted his rise to fame in the 1960s and 1970s. Another inspiring tale that could lead anyone to the ring.

Remember The Titans (2000)

The Remember the Titans cast is utterly iconic, and so is the movie itself. It’s all about integrating two different teams from two other schools in Virginia back in the 1970s, and yes…it gets pretty messy regarding racial tensions, prejudices, and more. However, the movie is inspiring, and so is the sport that inspired it.

Race (2016)

Starring Stephan James, Race is based on the true story of Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, and how he surpassed all odds to do so despite facing years of racial discrimination within the sport. It’s a race movie like no other.

Field Of Dreams (1989)

There are so many great baseball movies out there, but Field of Dreams is an excellent one. I only watched Field of Dreams a few years ago, but it made me want to create a baseball field outside my apartment building if I were able to communicate with baseball players who have passed on. That’s pretty cool.

Secretariat (2010)

Secretariat is a horse racing movie that tells the true story of Secretariat, one of the best (if not the best) racing horses of all time. As someone who loved this movie as a kid, all I wanted to do was go out there and ride a horse. It’s honestly such a fun time.

42 (2013)

There are the greats of baseball, and then there’s Jackie Robinson, one of the legends. 42 is all about that, starring the late Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and telling the legendary baseball player’s story.

Bring It On (2000)

Yes, of course, I had to include a cheerleading movie here because it is a sport, and anyone who tells you otherwise is an idiot. The film, about rival cheer teams, inspired so many young girls to get into cheerleading and showed that anyone could be a cheerleader if they put their heart and soul into it.

Rudy (1993)

If you want to talk about a true underdog story, then Rudy is the film that shows that. The film is based on the real-life story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, who, despite all odds, managed to play for the Notre Dame football team.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

There were a slew of soccer movies in the early years of the 2000s, and Bend it Like Beckham is a fantastic example of one, all about two young women who look for success in the world of soccer (or football, as they call it across the pond and pretty much everywhere else in the world).

The Legend Of Bagger Vance (2000)

The film is a sports fantasy drama that not only teaches you how to play the game but also tells an inspiring story about a former golfer who is coached back to become a legend.

Geez, now I feel like I have to go and sign up for some sports clinics – or maybe rewatch these movies. Where was my popcorn again?

SPOILERS are ahead for Karate Kid: Legends.

The latest of big 2025 movie releases that arrived over the weekend was Karate Kid: Legends. The new installment to the Karate Kid franchise finally ties together Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi with the 2010 The Karate Kid movie with Jackie Chan, however, you might notice one key component of the 15-year-old movie is missing: Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker.

I know I personally didn’t expect to see Jaden Smith in Legends given the son of Will Smith barely acts these days. But I do find it interesting to read about what director Jonathan Entwistle thinks about how Dre Parker fits into his new movie, if you were as curious as I am by the decision. Here’s what he told Inverse:

As Entwistle shared with the outlet, he definitely thinks Jaden Smith’s The Karate Kid character is still absolutely canon and out there somewhere in the world of Karate Kid: Legends. It seems like perhaps he wasn’t deemed necessary to the story of Ben Wang’s Li Fong and therefore is not in this new movie.

In Karate Kid: Legends, which couldn’t surpass the continued box office success of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning over its first weekend, Mr. Han has followed his time training Dre in The Karate Kid in the 2010 movie by becoming a master to many more in China since the end of his first and only appearance in the franchise. Li Fong is one of his students over in China, but after the tragic death of his brother after a kung fu tournament, Li Fong and his mother move to New York City for a fresh start.

And when Mr. Han senses that Li Fong can use some help over in New York City, and it involves karate, he hunts down Daniel LaRusso in California to help him learn the art. Sure, it’s a bit of a meandering plotline, but Legends does finally tie together the original movies with the 2010 version by connecting Mr. Han with Mr. Miyagi. Knowing that the pair have some shared history makes it more palpable that Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso would come together.

It would have been nice to see Legends nod to Dre and the 2010 movie, but I know I found it fun on its own to see Mr. Han and Daniel in the same Karate Kid film. It’s been awhile since I saw Jackie Chan in a Hollywood blockbuster, and he is still doing his own stunts at the age of 71 (and told CinemaBlend he always will). I also had a great time seeing Daniel and William Zabka’s Johnny joke around in the post credit scene. At least Dre Parker is still allegedly canon, but I do get why he’s seemingly not part of the plotline of the new film after the director’s comments.

It's somewhat fascinating that a movie franchise like The Karate Kid even exists, never mind has remained so popular over the years. A fairly simple film about a kid trying to stand up to bullies has now spawned, with the release of Karate Kid: Legends, six movies, six seasons of a TV series, and a pretty remarkable popcorn bucket.

Maybe I shouldn’t be quite so shocked. I’m certainly a fan of the franchise. The first Karate Kid movie is one of my earliest memories of seeing a movie in a movie theater. I would then go on to see both sequels that way as well, and I think The Karate Kid Part II is actually my favorite in the series. With the new movie coming out, it seemed like as good a time as ever to revisit a movie I hadn’t seen in decades. Not either of the first two films, but the third one, which holds a dubious place in my personal film history.

The Karate Kid Part III Was The “First” Bad Movie I Ever Saw

We all have those movies that have a significant impact on us. For most of us, it’s the great movies that do that. We see something that is so special that it changes us in some way. I certainly have those movies too, I remember the first time I saw Star Wars, but I also have a very clear memory of the first time I saw a really bad movie in theaters.

When you’re a kid, you tend not to distinguish much between good and bad movies. It’s often said that “kids’ movies” don’t need to be good because kids can’t tell the difference. While my own daughter is shaping up to be quite the movie critic, this is generally true. When you’re a kid, all movies are good.

And maybe that’s why I remember The Karate Kid Part III so distinctly. I remember the experience of seeing it in a theater at 11 years old. It was showing at a theater out of town, as it had been out for a while and was no longer screening locally. But I wanted to see it in the theater, as I had seen the other two movies. But what I remember most about The Karate Kid Part III was walking out of the theater and having a thought I’d never had before after seeing a movie for the first time, “Man, that movie wasn’t very good.”

Looking back, of course, a lot of the movies that I liked as a kid weren’t actually very good, but this was the first time that I realized it while watching the film. I’ve never forgotten that experience, and as a result, while I still revisit the first two Karate Kid movies from time to time, I’m pretty sure I never watched Part III ever again.

How Is The Karate Kid Part III Even Worse Than I Remember?

Just because I knew at 11 years old that Karate Kid III was bad, it didn’t mean the movie was all that bad. I sat down to rewatch it, open to the idea that the movie might be better than I remember. God, how I wish that had been the case.

My recollection of seeing the movie the first time was that I didn’t understand why certain plot elements were introduced, only to be seemingly forgotten. There’s a whole set of scenes that have Daniel concerned with learning leg sweeps that go on for multiple scenes, only for it to end with Daniel having a sore foot, and then sweeps are never mentioned again. The same thing happens with Robin Lively's entire character, who vanishes before the end of the movie for no discernible reason.

Rewatching the movie recently, I realize this may have been the least important of the film’s various issues. Katate Kid villains aren't exactly the most well-rounded characters, but Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) are basically cartoon characters. This wouldn't be a problem except that nobody else is approaching the film that way. Ralph Macchio doesn’t want to be there, his wooden performance makes that clear. The result is one character with too much energy playing against another with none.

The plot itself is incredibly contrived. The villains' plot to destroy Daniel would have had nowhere to go if Mr. Miyagi had decided he wanted to train Daniel to compete in the karate tournament up front. The fact that he doesn’t want to do that isn’t caused or influenced by the villains. Miyagi's own reasons are vague at best. The real reason is that the plot requires it.

Contrivances in films aren’t exactly unusual, and I’d argue they aren’t even a bad thing on their own. The issue is that you have to make the rest of your movie interesting enough that the audience doesn’t stop to consider the contrivances. That doesn’t happen here because the first half of The Karate Kid Part III is incredibly boring.

The Karate Kid Part III Seemed As Bored As I Was

We’re 40 minutes into a two-hour movie before Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi meet Terry Silver, the man who has hatched a plot to punish them with all the subtlety of a supervillain. Until then, the only drama in the story has been around whether or not Daniel will compete in the next karate tournament.

At first, Daniel wants to compete, but then he comes around to Mr. Miyagi's way of thinking. We don't see the reason Daniel changed his mind; he just did, mere minutes after he was angry that his mentor wouldn't train him.

Instead, the first half of the movie is more concerned with Mr. Miyagi's new bonsai business. The business itself isn't important, however, it's just a location for some of the action.

As a result of nearly half the movie being largely wasted, the rest has to move at double speed. Daniel’s “training” is rushed. What passes for a character arc for Daniel takes all of about 10 minutes to get set up and then resolve.

The Karate Kid Part III Needed Another Draft (Or Two) Of The Script

The thing is that some of the ideas in Karate Kid Part III aren’t bad. A version of Daniel that “goes bad” because he falls in with the wrong sensei after Mr. Miyagi refuses to train him isn’t a terrible idea. But the movie is clearly afraid to make Daniel the least bit unlikable.

Nobody in The Karate Kid III has a decent character arc, and without getting invested in characters, there's no emotional payoff. Daniel winning at the end doesn't feel nearly as special as it did the first time around because nothing that's come before it has invested you in the story. Cobra Kai may have found the good in Karate Kid Part III, but that doesn't change the movie itself.

The first two Karate Kid movies aren’t exactly Oscar caliber, but they certainly feel like it when compared to The Karate Kid Part III. It’s as bad as I remember, if not worse. I think it may be another 35 years before I try this one again.

The Karate Kid movies of the ‘80s track the journey of Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and his introduction to martial arts. Of course, LaRusso’s wise and jovial mentor, Mr. Miyagi, receives his fair share of the limelight as well. That’s especially true with the second installment of that original trilogy. While the 1986 film, subtitled Part II, isn’t held in high regard like its iconic 1984 predecessor, I really enjoy it, which is why I relish rewatching it. However, there’s one aspect of that sequel I wish were tackled in a different way.

One Miyagi-Related Aspect Of The Karate Kid: Part II Could’ve Been Improved

In The Karate Kid: Part II, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi travel to the latter’s homeland of Okinawa after receiving word that his father is gravely ill. While there, the duo cross paths with Miyagi's former friend, Sato Toguchi, who still holds a grudge against the handyman. Meanwhile, Daniel comes to blows with Sato’s nephew, Chozen (who evolves by the events of Cobra Kai). The story offers action, romance and more, but it’s the handling of Miyagi’s father that serves as a missed opportunity.

Miyagi Chōjun only appears in two scenes within the film – the moment at which Miyagi and Daniel arrive in town and when he later summons Miyagi and Sato shortly before his death. The patriarch has a few lines of dialogue upon seeing his son for the first time in decades, but he doesn’t speak again ahead of his passing. It’s because of this that Chōjun comes off as more of a plot device as opposed to an actual character.

Yes, this film is more so meant to highlight the surrogate father/son relationship between Miyagi and Daniel, but it could’ve been interesting for the former to spend a bit more time with his dad. Even an additional scene in which the two characters have a heart to heart - while speaking in their native tongue – could’ve been incredibly compelling. Such an exchange may have also provided some additional information about the relationship they had before Miyagi left Okinawa.

It’s a shame fans didn’t have the opportunity to see Mr. Miyagi interact with a living relative. However, there's still an opportunity to (somewhat) make up for the lackluster execution of Chōjun’s introduction.

How Can The Karate Kid Franchise Do Right By The Patriarch Of The Miyagi Family?

There’s been a lot of hope from fans of Cobra Kai (which is available to stream with a Netflix subscription) that the show might spark other projects set within the fictional universe. While the creators haven’t dropped any specific details, they have indicated that they are indeed talking out ideas. An obvious one would be to produce a prequel series focused on the adventures of a young Mr. Miyagi. Such a show would indeed allow the creative team the opportunity to flesh out the relationship between the lead character and his dad.

The EPs of the hit streaming show – Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg – do indeed want to tell Miyagi stories, yet there’s one thing they won’t do. As they shared with CinemaBlend, they’re not keen on tracking the character’s exploits around the time he met Daniel. The trio would prefer to explore the sensei’s earlier life and possibly have different actors play him in different eras. That would be a solid way to approach that kind of show.

Of course, I’d just hope that if that happens, fans will receive a layered representation of Mr. Miyagi’s relationship with his father. That just feels like an aspect of this fictional universe that’s ripe for exploration and, for me, it would certainly make up for what is easily one of Part II’s weakest elements.

Stream The Karate Kid: Part II using a Hulu subscription now. Also, check out the 2025 movie release, Karate Kid: Legends, in theaters now.

The late '80s and early '90s (for the most part) were the very brief time when Generation X ruled the culture. Movies, including classics like Reality Bites, The Breakfast Club, and so many others, are what helped define the generation, both for better and for worse. So here they are, some of the most important cultural movies of the era.

Reality Bites

Reality Bites is definitely the movie that best fits the purpose of this list. There are so many ways this movie defines Gen X, from the cast, including Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, and Ben Stiller, who also directed, to the plot about struggling to find purpose, to the music. It's number A1 on any list like this.

Singles

Seattle in the 1990s. There is nothing more iconic to Gen Xers. Singles brought that scene to the rest of the country. It includes many of the best bands from the city at the time, bands that were themselves defining a big piece of the culture, and also manages to highlight a lot of the angst that the generation also felt at the time.

The Breakfast Club

High school in the '80s and '90s was defined on the big screen by director and writer John Hughes, and his impactful film on an entire generation has to be The Breakfast Club. It's a movie that people who grew up in the era still quote endlessly and rewatch whenever it strikes their fancy.

Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee set the standard for telling the African-American side of the Gen X experience, and he opened up a lot of white eyes with his iconic movie Do the Right Thing. The movie remains just as powerful today as when it hit theaters in 1989, and at a time when only one side of the culture was really shown in movies, it was incredibly groundbreaking and important.

Heathers

There is no darker, more cynical comedy than Heathers. Cynical is often a word used to describe Gen X, so it makes sense that a movie with such a biting sense of humor would be so iconic. Oh - and it stars a few Gen X heroes like Shannen Doherty, Christian Slater, and Winona Ryder.

Slacker

The name says it all. Slacker. For years, that was the label that Boomers and even Gen Xers put on the generation. It wasn't ever a fair label, but it stuck for a long time. It turns out, Gen Xers mostly just want to be left alone, but they'll strive just as hard as anyone for what they want. Director Richard Linklater might be a Boomer himself, but he tapped into the culture like few others.

Pump Up The Volume

Disillusionment and frustration are definitely two things that Gen X thought about their lives while in high school, and that made Christian Slater's renegade DJ character in Pump Up The Volume an icon. He said out loud what many of us thought in our adolescence, even if we were wrong most of the time.

Dazed And Confused

Dazed and Confused might have been about the generation that preceded most of Gen X, but it still spoke to the generation like few other comedies did. Life in the '70s wasn't all that different from high school in the '90s. The internet changed everything for Millennials, but for about 20 years, life was pretty similar for teenagers.

Boyz N The Hood

Like Spike Lee, director John Singleton's work landed like a bomb on suburban America. Boyz N The Hood is one of the best movies about urban life in the '90s. It was an aspect of life that white America really didn't have any real insight into until Singleton and Lee told us. Boyz N The Hood remains one of the most important movies of the '90s.

Say Anything

There is no bigger Gen X icon than John Cusack, and the role that most exemplifies that is Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. It would be impossible to count just how many people took their style and musical tastes from Lloyd. He was a cool as cool got in the era.

Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino was the first director that Gen X really attached itself to. His movies didn't really influence style, or even music, as he used older tunes, but there is a nihilism in his movies that really resonates with those kids who were watching in the early and mid-'90s.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

For many, the first R-rated comedy they really remember watching is Fast Times At Ridgemont High. You didn't have to be in high school to idolize some of the characters, and the movie taught teenagers at the time a lot about the stuff their parents didn't want to talk about.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

The cast alone from 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Grape? earns it a place on this list. Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, and Leonardo DiCaprio have been a part of Gen X's lives forever, it seems like, and this movie is the highlight of all of their early careers.

Pretty In Pink

It might be a little embarrassing to admit just how many people took their fashion cues from Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Unrequited love may be ubiquitous among all generations of humans, but it felt especially acute in the '80s. Once again, we can probably thank John Hughes for that.

He Got Game

Like so many of his movies, Spike Lee spoke to a generation like few others in He Got Game. Basketball and hip-hop were enormous pieces in the Gen X puzzle, and this movie brought them together for the first time. A soundtrack of almost nothing but Public Enemy? That says it all.

Clueless

Between starring in Aerosmith videos and the classic comedy Clueless, Alicia Silverstone is a bona fide Gen X superstar. Her first truly star-making movie was, of course, Clueless. Plus, it made Paul Rudd a star, too.

Dead Poets Society

One of the movies on this list that took place in an era outside of Gen X is Dead Poets Society. Even though it was set decades before most Gen Xers were born, the movie really spoke to the generation, especially the boys of the era. I can attest to that, without question. Robin Williams was an idol to us, and still is today.

Clerks

"I'm not even supposed to be here today," could be the quote that defines the era better than anyone else. At least how we felt at the time. Dante's thoughts and words were our thoughts and words. We were stuck in dead-end jobs, dealing with idiots and dreaming about bigger things, with no idea how to achieve them. At least we figured out most of that in the end.

Empire Records

Generation X was the last generation that really shopped at record stores. By the time we were in our 20s, Napster had changed the game, and we never went back. Working at a record store was the dream of a lot of high school kids, and watching Empire Records gave us all something to strive for, even if most of us fell short.

Coming To America

Coming to America is, in some way, really on this list to represent all of Eddie Murphy's movies. We grew up with Murphy on SNL and followed him for the next decade, sneaking into his rated R movies, and watching bootleg VHS tapes of his standup. In a way, the pinnacle of his early career was Coming To America, so here it is, standing in for so many classic '80s comedies.

The Crow

It's hard to know if The Crow would be on the list without the tragic death of Brandon Lee. It was such big news at the time that it made both the actor and the movie he died on the set of iconic. Of course, it also had a fantastic soundtrack that included Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, and more bands that also helped define the culture of the era.

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is now a franchise that has now literally been with many Gen Xers for basically their entire lives. The first movie is legendary and it helped give us all hope that no matter our circumstances, we could win the trophy and get the girl. It didn't always work out that way, but it could, and we appreciated that.

New Jack City

It's hard to understand those who don't remember the Crack epidemic just how all-encompassing it felt to everyone. D.A.R.E., "Just Say No," and the war on drugs were part of everyday life for teenagers in the '80s and '90s, and it was mostly because of Crack. No movie showed that societal disaster quite like New Jack City did.

The Goonies

The Goonies really might need much explanation as to why it's on this list, of course. It's frankly a little amazing just how enduring the movie has been over the years. It's still a movie that Xers point to as a favorite, many decades after the Steven Spielberg movie hit the big screens. The stars were our age, it was a story we believed could be ours.

Colors

Like the Crack epidemic, the gang wars in Los Angeles were a part of nightly stories on the network news. You'd have thought the world was coming to an end in South-Central LA. The Bloods and Crips were household gang names. Colors, directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn, brought that into theaters in the 'burbs in this slightly misguided, but still iconic flick.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

One thing we were always on the lookout for was anything afoot at the Circle K. We can thank Ted "Theodore" Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq. for that. Gen Xers saw this movie over and over and over again in the era, and are honestly still liberally quoting from it today.

Swingers

As Gen X got a little older, so did the characters in the movies we revered. Swingers is a perfect example of a movie that came along just as Gen X was graduating from college, trying to live their dreams (and struggling), and hoping to meet that someone special to spend the rest of their lives with. And we all wanted to be as cool as Trent (Vince Vaughn). And we played video games before we went out. But we never really did much swing dancing.

The Lost Boys

The Coreys (Haim and Feldman), and vampires. Nothing says "Gen X" like that combo, right? The Lost Boys characters were so cool, whether you wanted to be a vampire or wanted to hunt them. It was all there in The Lost Boys.

American Psycho

Generation X has always had a real streak of nihilism to it. Nothing quite on the level as American Psycho, of course, but it still managed to speak hilariously to that feeling. It was dark, and Gen X loved dark, dark humor.

Office Space

Everyone hates their job at some point, as Office Space so eloquently highlights. This was especially acute for Generation X when this movie came out. Mike Judge raised us with Beavis and Butthead in high school and he was there again to usher in our working lives after college.

Edward Scissorhands

This list wouldn't be complete without a Tim Burton movie, now would it? It represents many of the movies that the director made that spoke to the generation, but this is the one that starred Depp and Ryder, so here we are.

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka

I’m Gonna Git You Sucka brought a brand new comedic sensibility to the generation, and it remains a uniquely Gen X movie, as there may not be any other generation that has seen it, much less revere it like Generation X.

The 1980s were the peak of movie soundtracks. It seemed like every single movie included a banger that became a hit on the pop charts. Sometimes, the biggest hits from those movies overshadow other great tunes. This list is all about those songs that we don't play as much, but we should. Songs from movies like Rocky IV that aren't by James Brown, or from The Lost Boys that don't involve shirtless saxophone players. Fire up your streaming service and start listening!

"Heavy Metal - Take A Ride" - Heavy Metal

The cult animated hit Heavy Metal has a bunch of great tunes in it. Sammy Hagar, Blue Öyster Cult, Devo, and others all have great tunes. One of the best, if not the best, is "Heavy Metal - Take A Ride" by former Eagles guitarist Don Felder. Felder never got the appreciation he deserved as a songwriter in the Eagles, and he shows why he should have with this classic.

"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" - Less Than Zero

The Bangles' cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic folk tune "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" takes on a real 1980s urgency in Less Than Zero. It is a completely transformed tune that fits the vibe of the movie exceptionally well. It's a movie about yuppie excesses, and the driving beat The Bangles achieved is pitch-perfect.

"Ghostbusters" - Ghostbusters 2

Everyone remembers Ray Parker's "Ghostbusters" from the first Ghostbusters movie, but far fewer people know the song by the same name by Run DMC from the sequel. I dare say it's an even better song (though that's not taking away from Parker's classic). Of course, it borrows heavily from the original, lyrically and musically.

"You're The Best" - The Karate Kid

There is no question that the biggest and most enduring hit from The Karate Kid is "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama. There is another banger on the sountrack though, "You're The Best" by Joe "Bean" Joe "Bean" Esposito. I'll bet you're humming it right now, but when was the last time you listened?

"To Live And Die In L.A." - To Live And Die In L.A.

To Live And Die In L.A. is a mostly forgotten movie from the '80s, and Wang Chung isn't nearly as remembered as they should be either. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is great and all, but their theme song, "To Live And Die In L.A.," is just as good.

"Love on a Real Train" - Risky Business

German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream were all over the soundtracks of '80s movies. One of their best soundtracks was the one they wrote for Risky Business. Everyone remembers Bob Seger blasting as Tom Cruise danced in his tighty whities, but fewer remember the trippy electro soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, especially the song played during the train sequence.

"Burning Heart" - Rocky IV

Every 4th of July, James Brown's "Living In America" from Rocky IV can be heard coming from backyards across the country. There is another song from the movie, played during the epic training montage in Siberia, called "Burning Heart" by Survivor. Survivor, of course, is most remembered for another movie in the Rocky franchise, "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III.

"Shakedown" - Beverly Hills Cop II

The first Beverly Hills Cop is a movie with some amazing music moments. The sequel, which is just as funny, doesn't have as good of a soundtrack, with the exception of Bob Seger's "Shakedown." It matches anything from the first movie, for sure. It was even nominated for an Oscar.

"Restless Heart" - The Running Man

John Parr had one of the biggest hits of the '80s with the theme to St. Elmo's Fire, but that wasn't the only banger he wrote for a movie. "Restless Heart" from The Running Man proved even '80s movies about dystopian futures could produce hit songs that ooze 1980s." You might not remember it from the movie, but it's classic '80s cheese, in the best way.

"One Foot In Front Of The Other" - Revenge Of The Nerds

There aren't any hits in Revenge of the Nerds, but there are some really memorable tunes. One of those, the best one, is "One Foot In Front Of The Other" by the band Bone Symphony, who really only had this one song. The movie may have been "canceled" (for good reason), but the song lives on!

"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" - Pretty In Pink

The Smiths are one of the most revered bands of the 1980s. They are probably more popular today than they were even at their peak. Like so many other great wave bands, they are featured in a great John Hughes movie, Pretty In Pink, with their song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want." It's not the biggest hit from the movie, but it's a total '80s classic.

"For Your Eyes Only" - For Your Eyes Only

Of all the many theme songs from James Bond movies, this song from the Roger Moore era is often forgotten. "For Your Eyes Only," from the movie of the same name, performed by Sheena Easton, is one of the mellower tunes in Bond history, and it's sneaky great.

"You Can Leave Your Hat On" - 9 1/2 Weeks

9 1/2 Weeks was a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1986. It featured a legendary soundtrack, and, in my opinion, the best song on it is "You Can Leave Your Hat On," performed by Joe Cocker. The song was written by the great Randy Newman (of "You Got A Friend In Me" fame) and appears in one of the most memorable scenes in the steamy movie.

"Cry Little Sister" - The Lost Boys

Everyone remembers the sweaty, shirtless saxophone player in The Lost Boys who still believes (Tim Cappello), but do you remember "Cry Little Sister" by Gerard McMahon? It's a banger too. Frankly, it's a little better than "I Still Believe," but not nearly as remembered, for obvious reasons.

"We Are Not Alone" - The Breakfast Club

Simple Minds had a huge, worldwide hit with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. It's a song that has remained beloved, especially by Gen X, ever since. Karla Devito had another song on the soundtrack, featured in the scene with Emilio Estevez dancing around the library, called "We Are Not Alone" that also deserves some love from Gen X.

"Playing With The Boys" - Top Gun

Okay, we admit this one might be a stretch, because the entire soundtrack to Top Gun is pretty well loved by millions. Still, "Playing With The Boys" by Kenny Loggins is far less remembered than his other song on the album, "Danger Zone," or the love theme from the movie, "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin. Everyone remembers the volleyball scene, but it's not because of the music,

"Cat People" - Cat People

Cat People is a wild movie, with a wild soundtrack by the legendary Giorgio Moroder. The theme song was co-written by Moroder and the equally legendary David Bowie, who also sang it. Is it the best Bowie tune ever? Well, no, but come on! It's Bowie and Moroder together! That alone is reason to still be talking about this song today.

"All She Wants To Do Is Dance" - Real Genius

This one is a little bit of a fudge, as "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" was pretty much simultaneously released as a single by Don Henley and appeared in the soundtrack to Real Genius. It's not the most talked-about song in the movie, however, so in that respect, it'll stay on the list. Everyone remembers the popcorn scene in Real Genius and the Tears for Fears song that follows it ("Everybody Wants To Rule The World"), but fewer remember this Henley hit playing during the party scene in the school lecture hall.

"Stir It Up" - Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop has a banging soundtrack featuring The Pointer Sisters, Glenn Frey, Rick James, and, of course, composer Harold Faltermeyer with his "Axel F." Patti LaBelle has two songs that are less remembered, and of the two, "Stir It Up" is my favorite.

"Glory Of Love" - The Karate Kid Part II

I'll admit it, I randomly heard this song recently, and it inspired this whole list. The "Glory Of Love" was a giant hit for Peter Cetera when it was released in 1986 on The Karate Kid Part II soundtrack. It hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and it was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. So why isn't it as remember today? It's a mystery to me.

"Eighties" - Weird Science

John Hughes had a knack for including some really great up-and-coming bands on his soundtracks, and Killing Joke, with their song "Eighties," is a perfect example. It was right as the band was breaking big, and the song, though less remembered than Oingo Boingo's theme song from Weird Science, is excellent.

"Mr. Night" - Caddyshack

There's a reason Kenny Loggins is so beloved for his soundtracks in the '80s. One of his biggest hits, "I'm Alright," comes from the Caddyshack soundtrack. It's not the only song he has on the album, though. He has a total of four tracks in the movie, and the best, including "I'm Alright," is "Mr. Night," which can be heard when the caddies hit the pool.

"Oh I Love You So" - Cocktail

The Cocktail soundtrack was one of the best-selling albums of 1988, with almost 6 million in sales, and it reached the top ten on the charts of multiple countries. It was anchored with the late-era Beach Boys hit "Kokomo" and Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy," but it also features a lilting little ditty called "Oh I Love So" by Preston Smith, and it's just as fun as those two other tunes.

"Somebody's Baby" - Fast Times At Ridgemont High

If you ask someone to name one song from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, the odds are almost all of them will say "Moving In Stereo" by The Cars. Maybe a few people mention "Goodbye, Goodbye" by Oingo Boingo. Fewer people will say "Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne, which seems to be a forgotten classic for many people.

"Bring On The Dancing Horses" - Pretty In Pink

It's hardly a surprise to see John Hughes movies on this list, as he really put together some great soundtracks. Pretty In Pink is a perfect example, as it produced the hits like "If You Leave" for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and a re-recorded version of the song the movie was named after, "Pretty In Pink" by The Psychedelic Furs. It also produced a minor his for Echo & The Bunnymen, "Bring On The Dancing Horses."

"Helplessly In Love" - Dragnet

If you wonder why people want to see Tom Hanks go back to pure comedies, check out Dragnet. It's not the best movie in his filmography, but he is really funny in it. It also features a great, forgotten song, "Helplessly In Love" by New Edition.

"Unbelievable" - Night Of The Comet

Night Of The Comet is an '80s cable classic. No one saw it in theaters, but everyone saw it on TV in the months following its release. It's a cheesy movie that has become a minor cult classic in the four decades since its release. "Unbelievable" by the short-lived and obscure band Revolver shares that '80s cheese DNA in all the best ways.

"After All" - Chances Are

What happens when you team up the great Peter Cetera with the legendary Cher? The love theme from the forgotten Robert Downey, Jr. movie Chances Are. The song, "After All," was good enough to be nominated for an Oscar, but you never see it on any playlists from the '80s, and it should be!

"Thunder In Your Heart" - Rad

Anyone who grew up in the 1980s dreamed about riding a BMX like the characters in Rad. That also meant bouncing on one tire to the tune of "Thunder In Your Heart" by John Farnham.

"Far From Over" - Staying Alive

The soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever is one of the best-selling albums of all time and is one of the most beloved of all time. It was a cultural bombshell in the '70s, along with the film that made John Travolta a movie star. The sequel, Staying Alive, was pretty much the opposite of Saturday Night Fever in every way, especially the soundtrack. However, "Far From Over" by Frank Stallone, whose brother Sylvester directed the movie, is a certified banger.

"Cheer Down" - Lethal Weapon 2

It's pretty astounding that a song by a former Beatle, in a movie as popular as Lethal Weapon, wouldn't be a more remembered hit, but here we are. The crying guitar in "Cheer Down" can only be one guitar player, the legendary George Harrison. The song is pure Harrison and should be as appreciated as his bigger hits.

"Nobody's Fool" - Caddyshack II

Kenny Loggins' songs on the Caddyshack soundtrack are beloved, but don't discount his banger from the Caddyshack II soundtrack, "Nobody's Fool." It's by far the best part of the sequel.

When I ranked all five Karate Kid movies, I put the original at number one because, you know, I like to give the people what they want. Even though The Karate Kid Part II and III each have their fans, and The Next Karate Kid…is a film that exists, I know that everybody loves the original.

Inversely, I also know that pretty much nobody thinks the 2010 The Karate Kid, starring Jaden Smith, is the best movie in the franchise. But, do you want to know a little secret that the above headline kind of already spoiled? I think it’s the best.

And, with the upcoming Karate Kid Legends (which looked awesome at CinemaCon) bridging the gap between the old Karate Kid, and the more recent one, I thought that now was as good a time as any to sing the 2010 movie’s praises.

I Actually Like Jaden Smith's Character Better Than Ralph Macchio's

We once ranked the most vicious villains of The Karate Kid franchise, and many of the characters that you might expect made the list, such as John Kreese, Johnny Lawrence, and Terry Silver.

However, while I’m not completely on board with the whole “Daniel LaRusso is the REAL villain theory” that’s been floating around the internet for awhile, what I will say is that Daniel isn’t the most likeable protagonist. For example, in The Karate Kid Part II, he asks mentor,Mr. Miyagi why he doesn’t just kill John Kreese when given the chance. I’ll repeat that. Daniel asks his mentor, who is a man of peace, why he doesn’t KILL another human being.

So, yeah. I’m not sure if Daniel has the best motives when it comes to the fine art of karate. That said, do you know what character doesn’t have murderous intent? Dre Parker, played by Castle headpiece-wearing aficionado Jaden Smith. You see, Dre, just like Daniel, finds himself being a stranger in a strange land (But this time, in China rather than California). And, like Daniel, Dre finds himself in trouble because he likes a girl.

That said, Dre's worst behavior in the movie involves throwing dirty water on some punks, and convincing the girl he likes to play hooky from school for one day. He doesn’t throw the first punch when facing his bully, nor does he seem like the kind of person who can't accept that people can change in the future.

In truth, Dre seems like the kind of kid who avoids seeking out trouble, but is willing to stand his ground if it finds him, and I really like that about him. I'm not sure if I can say the same for Daniel-san, however.

To Be Really Honest, I Also Prefer Jackie Chan As A Mentor Over Pat Morita

Jackie Chan is a legend. Everybody knows that. In fact, I grew up watching all of the best Jackie Chan movies when I was little, and I share a lot of those movies with my own children. Like I said, the man's a legend.

So, it's been interesting to watch one of the greatest action heroes of all time transition into becoming the wise old man character.

And, no offense to Pat Morita, as he carried all four of those Karate Kid movies, but I just don’t see him as being the kind of guy who could kick everybody’s butt in a room if he had the opportunity. But Jackie Chan? Well, I’ve seen him do it. In other movies, sure, but that’s how I know him.

Plus, I just like Jackie Chan's performance as Mr. Han better than Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. Both Miyagi and Han have a dark past, and both of them act as father figures to Daniel and Dre, respectively.

However, I just have more of a connection with Jackie Chan, given my history watching so many of his movies. It's almost like, similar to Dre, I grew up with Jackie Chan as well, so I just like him better. It's a personal thing, I know, but this is a personal article.

The Stakes Also Feel Higher In The 2010 Film

I kind of brought this up with the first entry on why I prefer Dre over Daniel, but Daniel seems like he causes a lot of his own problems. Yes, he shouldn’t be bullied by the members of Cobra Kai, but he should also kind of mind his own business, especially when moving to a new area.

Daniel is also a teenager, and even turns 18 in the movie. So, in a lot of ways, I feel like Daniel could possibly make better decisions, or at least know not to spray water at Johnny as payback. Because in a lot of ways, I kind of don’t feel bad when Daniel gets the snot beaten out of him in the first movie. He kind of deserves it.

I don’t feel that way about Dre though. For one thing, Dre is only 12, so I’m more okay with him making bad decisions (like throwing dirty water on his bully). I also feel like Dre has more to deal with in his life, what with moving to a different continent, and the fact that his mentor, Mr. Han has a lot of trauma, as exhibited by the part where he’s wrecking the car that he killed his wife and child in, and that’s a lot for a 12-year-old to witness.

Finally, I think the tournament itself seems more important for Dre, even though the set-up is similar to the original The Karate Kid. Dre, being a foreigner, really only has this opportunity to find happiness in China, whereas I think Daniel would get by, even if he lost the tournament and continued to get bullied (I mean, he got a car, right? He could drive away from his troubles).

So, in every way, I just think the stakes are higher for Dre, and I like that about the 2010 film. I prefer it, even.

I Also Like The China Setting

I’ve never been to China, and I don’t see myself ever going there, unfortunately. So, that’s where movies come in (Inversely, the Chinese audience seems to like our movies, too…though, some of the movies they like might be questionable). Since I won’t travel there, I enjoy seeing characters go there, and that’s where 2010’s The Karate Kid takes place–Right in Beijing, China.

This is a great setting, because again, Dre is a kid out of his element. He originally lived in Detroit, Michigan, but once the auto industry went belly up, his mother had to move them.

And, I love this element about the film. In the original movie, Daniel moved from Newark (Whoop whoop. New Jersey, representing!) to Los Angeles, California. But, I’m sorry. As somebody who has been to both Newark and Los Angeles, I don’t feel anything is exotic about either location. Daniel moving there changes the locale, sure, but not in a way like Detroit does to China.

In fact, this adds to a lot of the conflict in 2010’s The Karate Kid. Because while yes, The Karate Kid Part II takes place in Japan, Daniel is with Mr. Miyagi. But, Dre is all alone in China, for the most part, and trying to navigate this new setting while his mother’s at work really adds to the tension.

In that way, I think China is the most interesting setting this series has ever had. But, that also adds to another reason why this is my favorite “The Karate Kid” movie.

Finally, And Perhaps Most Controversially, I Prefer Kung Fu To Karate

I put “The Karate Kid” in quotes before because it’s a complete misnomer, as this movie is not about karate, which is Japanese in origin (Which is why Part II takes place in Okinawa). Instead, it’s about kung fu, which is from China.

In fact, 2010’s The Karate Kid wasn’t even titled that in China. Instead, it was titled, Kung Fu Dream, which makes sense, since the 2010 movie was only called The Karate Kid in America since people already know the title, and it loosely followed the same events from the first film.

But, I much prefer kung fu to karate. No disrespect to Japan (I mean, I LOVE Japan…and Godzilla), but I’ve always found karate to be kind of boring. In fact, I even find it boring in the original Karate Kid movies, as the actual fighting has always been the least interesting part to me about those first four films.

However, the combat in the 2010 film is awesome. I love all of the fluid movements and martial arts that take place, and that alone makes this movie superior in my eyes, since I genuinely enjoy watching the fight scenes. I think they’re all great.

I think I've waxed on enough here, but what do you think? Does anyone else out there also love the 2010 film as much as I do? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Coaches inspire so many of us, even fictional coaches (or fictionalized versions of real coaches like Herb Brooks in Miracle). The coaches on this list make us want to believe, like Ted Lasso, or fight for every inch on the field like Tony D'Amato. We want to do our best because we want us to be the best. So without wasting any more time on this, let's get into the most inspiring coaches we can think of from movies and television.

Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." What else really needs to be said about Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) from Friday Night Lights? He's the kind of guy that doesn't need to get you to run through a wall with intimidation, he just wants everyone to work their hardest together, as a team. He's what every high school coach should be, when far too many aren't.

Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks)

Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) might not have wanted to be on the bench at first, but like any great coach, he's as inspired by his players and they by him. You don't always need to be the best to get the best out of your team, and when you are as excited as they are, the world is your oyster, just like Coach Bombay in The Mighty Ducks.

Hayden Fox (Coach)

Hayden Fox (Craig T. Nelson) on Coach didn't have a knack for hiring brilliant assistant coaches, but he must have been able to inspire his players because he moved from a struggling college team to a successful one, and then onto the pros.

Herman Boone (Remember The Titans)

Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington in Remember The Titans, but based on a real person, was put into an impossible position as the first Black coach of a high school football team in a school's history. On top of that, he was replacing a popular white coach. But he made it work. He won with his players and he won his way.

Mr. Miagi (The Karate Kid)

You might not think of Mr. Miagi (Pat Morita) when it comes to coaches, as most people think of coaches of teams. Mr. Miagi is so much more than simply a sports coach to Daniel (Ralph Macchio). He not only makes him a great fighter, he makes him a great person. Daniel's entire life is informed by what he learned from Mr. Miagi.

Herb Brooks (Miracle)

Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell in Miracle) was the kind of coach who inspired his team by making himself the villain. When he took the job as the coach of the US Hockey Team before the 1980 Olympics, he knew that the disparate groups of players needed to come together. He succeeded by getting them to bond in their collective hatred of him. It's a hard line to walk, Brooks did it brilliantly.

Tony D'Amato (Any Given Sunday)

If for no other reason, Tony D'Amato in Any Given Sunday is on this list for that amazing speech he gives: "On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin' difference between winning and losing! Between livin' and dyin'!"

Richard Williams (King Richard)

While Will Smith's Oscar-winning performance in as Richard Williams in King Richard was overshadowed by his infamous slap during the ceremony, it's still an amazing bit of acting. Williams went against the grain in every way to raise two champion daughters with Venus and Serena and it's all up on the screen.

Lou Brown (Major League)

The manager of the Indians in Major League is Lou Brown, a washed-up tire salesman who is coaxed into coaching the team. Once he gets to the club though, he knows exactly what buttons to push for each player. It's not about rah-rah speeches, it's about connecting with every player in a different way.

Mickey Goldmill (Rocky)

Without Mickey (Burgess Meredith), Rocky never makes it to the end of the fight in Rocky. From his training to his tough love to his inspiration during the fight, Mick is everything to Rocky. One of the best boxing trainers in film history, if not the best.

Ted Lasso (Ted Lasso)

Is there any doubt that Ted Lasso would be on this list? He may be out of his depth with the Xs and Os of football (or soccer), but he is so good at inspiring his players that it doesn't really matter. He can rely on his assistants for the nitty gritty, he'll take the high road and get everyone to play as hard for him as any coach ever.

Morris Buttermaker (The Bad News Bears)

Things don't start all that great for Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) in The Bad News Bears, but by the end of the movie, he's not only coached up his team of misfits, but he gets them to do things the right way. He may be a drunk, but he's our drunk.

Norman Dale (Hoosiers)

It's really hard to believe that the late Gene Hackman didn't win an Oscar for Hoosiers where he played Coach Norman Dale. There are so many moments that stick with you from his coaching style, but it's really summed up when he measures the height of the net and the free throw line in the giant arena, and shows it's the same as their little gym back home. Such a unique way to calm down his team.

Molly McGrath (Wildcats)

Girl Power! Wildcats is a movie that flies under the radar, even when discussing Goldie Hawn's amazing career. It's far from a perfect movie, but as a coach, she is spectacular. How often do you see a female coach succeed, especially in a sport like football? It's not common, that's for sure.

Johnny Lawrence (Cobra Kai)

At the beginning of Cobra Kai, no one would have guessed that Johnny Lawrence would turn into an inspiring coach. There is literally nothing inspiring about him. In the end he turned into an amazing coach.

Reggie Dunlop (Slap Shot)

There is only one player-coach on this list: Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) in Slap Shot. On the surface, he's not the most inspiring character, but like other coaches on this list, he knows exactly how to read each player and what he needs to do to get them to put forward their best foot - or skate, as the case may be.

Ernie "Coach" Pantusso (Cheers)

We don't know how good Coach from Cheers was because we only know him as a bartender. But he must have been inspiring because he inspired Sam Malone (Ted Danson) to hire him at the bar.

Annie Savoy (Bull Durham)

At first, you might think of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) as a coach, but that's exactly what she is. She does a better job inspiring the Bulls than their manager does, that's for sure. She works with the two most important players on the team and gets them both to exceed their own expectations.

Jimmy Dugan (A League Of Their Own)

Some other coaches on this list were just as inspired by the players as the players were by them. Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) is more inspired by his team than they are by him, but in the end, it's the combination of both that puts the Peaches over the top and gets them to that last out.

George Knox (Angels In The Outfield)

As a coach, you have to know when to pick your moments, and George Knox (Danny Glover) is great at Angels In The Outfield. He has a lot to deal with on the team and he knows just when to unload and inspire.

Patches O'Houlihan (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story)

Just when they needed him most, Patches O'Houlihan was there for the Average Joes. At least, in spirit he was there. Dying may not be the best way to inspire a team, but it worked, so for that he's on the list.

Gary Gaines (Friday Night Lights)

Before Coach Taylor took over in the TV show Friday Night Lights, Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) was the coach in the movie that inspired the show. He's a different kind of motivator, but he feels the pain in all his players and empathizes in a way that completely inspired everyone who played for him.

Jack Lengyel (We Are Marshall)

We Are Marshall is one of the most inspiring movies in a long time because the story it is based on is just so tragic. The movie isn't perfect, but Matthew McConaughey nails it as Coach Jack Lengyel, a man with the impossible task of completely rebuilding a football program after it is destroyed by a plane crash.

Ken Carter (Coach Carter)

Samuel L. Jackson inspires people in almost every role he plays. Playing a coach based on the real Ken Carter in Coach Carter, he is as inspiring as ever. The real Carter (as shown in the movie) made the impossible decision to suspend his all-star basketball team for their poor academic performance. Sometimes it's about inspiring kids to be better people, not just better players.

Stanley Sugerman (Hustle)

Adam Sandler takes a lot of heat for a lot of his movies for being silly and juvenile, but then every once in a while he puts in a performance like he does as a basketball scout and coach in Hustle. He is inspiring because he never gives up, no matter what is thrown at him, and his players (or player in this case) respond the same way.

Irv Blitzer (Cool Runnings)

Like the other movies on this list, Cool Runnings is based on a true story. However, it's a lot looser than the others, as much of the movie isn't historically accurate. Irv Blitzer (John Candy) deserves to be on this list because he was so inspiring in the movie, no matter his motives. He believed in the team.

Pop Fisher (The Natural)

Pop Fisher isn't always about being the loudest or the most gregarious coach, but all you really need from Wilford Brimley in The Natural is his knowing look and his infectiousness. He's a great manager and the kind of manager the Knights needed in the moment. That's all you can really ask for when you are as good as the players on that team.

Jimmy McGinty (The Replacements)

Gene Hackman played so many amazing roles over his incredible career, it's hard to remember each one, and one that often gets overlooked is as Coach Jimmy McGinty in The Replacements. Few coaches on this list had a harder job than McGinty, trying to coach up a bunch of washed-out players, and yet he knew exactly what he needed to do to make it all work

Chester Lee (Ladybugs)

Ladybugs isn't Rodney Dangerfield's best movie and it doesn't have any of his funniest one-liners, but still, Chester was an inspiring coach. Sure, he cheated to get there at first, but he redeems himself by the end.

Bud Kilmer (Varsity Blues)

Before Friday Night Lights, there was Varsity Blues. Okay, that they aren't the same, they aren't on the same level, and Coach Bud Kilmer is such a nut that he inspires all his high school players, just all in the wrong way. He's actually embarrassing, but it works and they win.

Ken Reeves (The White Shadow)

It's fair to criticize White Shadow as being the quintessential example of a "white savior" story, but coach Ken Reeves is still incredibly inspiring.

Jock Delaney (The Fish Saved Pittsburgh)

Jock Delaney isn't the reason that the team wins in The Fish Saved Pittsburgh, that would be Moses Guthrie, but Jock is still important and let's Moses be Moses.

Movies have been prominently featuring video games going all the way back to the dawn of the gaming industry in the 1970s. Movies like Tron and The Last Starfighter made them central to the plot, while others like Swingers and The Avengers found ways to create some great moments around. Our list of movies with great video game moments has both.

Tron

Tron has become one of the most enduring franchises of the last half century, despite only having limited released. It was one of the first movies to truly incorporate video games and gaming directing into the plot. Not only does the protagonist (Jeff Bridges) own an arcade and play games himself, his avatar plays inside the Master Control

The Princess Bride

You might not think of this fairy tale as a video game movie, but you have to remember that first scene. As the grandson, played by Fred Savage, recovers in bed, home sick from school, he's playing a baseball video. At least until his grandfather shows up with a magical book called The Princess Bride. .

John Wick

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) isn't the kind of guy who would spend a lot of time playing video games, but those rich idiots who he is after are certainly the types that would pay more attention to a first-person shooter game than the shooter who is out to get them and get them Wick does.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Everything cool in Fast Times At Ridgemont High happens at the mall, including the arcade. There isn't a movie that is more quintessential to the '80s high school life than the Amy Heckerling-directed classic. That includes a few scenes in the mall's arcade, including the last shot in the movie declaring the end of the movie.

The Last Starfighter

For a lot of kids in the 1980s, The Last Starfighter represented a dream that maybe there is more to being great at video games than just getting to put your initials on the home screen. Maybe, just maybe, you might get chosen to be an intergalactic pilot. It's why the movie is so fondly remembered by any kid who grew up playing Galaga.

Boyz N The Hood

Even movies about the untold violence on the streets in South Central LA have found a way to work video games in, as they are truly ubiquitous. Take, for example, the more ominous tone of kids playing Duck Hunt on Nintendo with a very real-looking video game gun. It's hard to watch after knowing how things end and viewers are hyper-aware of that gun, toy or not.

Ready Player One

There is no doubt that Ready Player One has to be on this list. Of course, the whole world it creates is basically a giant game. Plus, games from the past, from the early days of home consoles and arcades play a big part in the quest everyone on earth is undertaking in the movie and serve to drive the plot at numerous times.

WarGames

Global Thermal Nuclear War is, in theory, a game in WarGames. Not only does the game serve as a central plot point, but the world is saved by playing any other video game based on tic-tac-toe. Oh, and there is a scene early in the movie where David (Matthew Broderick) is playing Space Invaders and it doesn't get more classic than that.

The Avengers

"That man is playing Galaga," has to be one of Tony Stark's best lines in the entire MCU. It comes in The Avengers as the team is assembling and getting ready to save the world, yet some people on the crew of the invisible flying base clearly have enough time on their hands for a quick game of a classic game.

Swingers

For anyone who played endless amounts of NHL hockey on Sega in the '90s, there is no more realistic or funnier scene than the one in Swingers when Sue (Patrick Van Horn) and Trent (Vince Vaughn) come to blows over a game before they go out for the night. It's pretty much exactly how that game was played for years.

The Karate Kid

Video games don't play a huge role in The Karate Kid, but they are important. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Ali (Elizabeth Shue) really start flirting and she blows him while playing one in an arcade when their relationship starts to blossom.

Back to the Future Part II

One of the most memorable scenes in Back to the Future Part II comes when Marty (Micheal J. Fox) looks behind him while in the future to see an arcade game called Wild Gunman. When he tries to impress a couple of kids by being a "crack shot," the kids basically laugh the game off as a game for babies, because you have to use your hands. Honestly, it's not that far off from how things would turn out.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

it's funny, even in the early '90s, arcades, which were already almost obsoete, were still used to represent what "bad kids" did, like a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlough) in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. John and his buddy are hanging out at the arcade, getting into trouble, when the Terminator locates them for the first time.

Maximum Overdrive

You can't make a movie about the machine's coming "alive" without having a harrowing scene involving some arcade games. As bad as Maximum Overdrive is, it is filled with memorable scenes like the one when the games attack a character played by a young Giancarlo Esposito.

Jaws

Video games have been popping up in movies since way back in 1976 when kids are seen playing a game called "Killer Shark" at beach arcade on Amity Island.

Mallrats

Another classic home console moment from a '90s movie comes in the Kevin Smith-directed Mallrats. Brody is a shiftless layabout and his girlfriend, played by the late Shannen Doherty, is sick of it. Her feelings are completely justified when the first thing he does is pick up with his paused game from the night before. Granted, he was excited about his big lead in the hockey game, which many will understand.

Dawn Of The Dead

In the early days of arcades, pinball was a big part of the appeal. It's a pinball machine in an arcade that makes the biggest impression in one of the best horror movies of all time, Dawn Of The Dead from 1978.

Superbad

Video game scenes in movies often reflect a pretty accurate moments in real life. Like the scene in Superbad when Seth (Jonah Hill) is stressing about a party and Evan (Michael Sera) couldn't care less as he is distracted by his game. That sums up a lot of people's nights (and friendships) in high school.

Airplane!

No movie packs in more jokes per minute than Airplane! One of those jokes, includes two air traffic controllers playing a basketball video game when they should be landing planes. It's a funny joke, but a terrifying thought, right?

The Wrestler

The Wrestler is an amazing movie about a washed up pro wrestler (Mickey Rourke) who finds some version of a family, at least briefly and bonds with Pam (Marisa Tomei) and her son. In a heartwarming moment, he plays a wrestling video game against Pam's son.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

To be fair, the video game moment in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is fleeting but memorable. Principle Rooney (Jeffery Jones), on his quest to find Ferris (Matthew Broderick) encounters a person who he thinks is Ferris playing an arcade game. Of course, it's not Ferris, and in return for his mistake, Rooney gets a straw full of soda to the face.

Shaun Of The Dead

There is nothing quite like roommates playing video games together to make someone nostalgic for...well... having a roommate. For millions of people, it's a rite of passage to blow off work or school and spend the day going toe-to-toe in a video game battle.

Scott Pilgrim V. The World

Games like Dance Dance Revolution were all the rage in 2010, when Scott Pilgrim V. The World was released worldwide. Of course, a game like Dance Dance Revolution would be included in the movie, in one of the scenes before everything goes sideways for the protagonist. It's a sweet scene that really endears the audience to Scott (Michael Cera).

Zombieland

It turns out that Michael Cera plays a lot of characters who love video games. They aren't the main focus of any of his movies, but still, in movies like Zombieland, he's often seen playing them. In Zombieland, it's World of Warcraft.

Grosse Pointe Blank

"First-person shooter" takes on a new meaning in Grosse Pointe Blank when the clerk at the convenience store that was once Martin Blank's house is oblivious to the actual shooting going on behind him as he listens to metal and shoots enemies in the game. Finally, he has to be pulled from the store by Martin (John Cusack) moments before it explodes. Anyone who has played games knows how they can be that engrossing.

The Wizard

The Wizard, starring Fred Savage is... not a great movie, and it reeks of corporatism (it was basically a big commercial for Nintendo), but we couldn't make this list without it. It was a time when Nintendo had completely redefined the video game market with their hit console, the NES. It makes total sense that the hype would lead to a movie and completely predictable that it would be a bad movie.

Lost In Translation

Japanese arcades are completely awesome. It's a culture that did last in America but has been going strong in Japan since the beginning. As such, it's a wonder addition to Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation as part of what makes the cultures so different and fascinating to Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson).

Never Say Never Again

It's true, even James Bond was part of the 1980s video game fad. Well, sort of. Bond (Sean Connery) plays a wild video game with real-life consequences in Never Say Never Again, which is why we say "sort of," because the movie, though not the worst Bond movie, is definitely not Bond canon and not one of the best Connery-Era Bond films.

Superman III

When ranking the Superman movies, Superman III is usually at or near the bottom of the list. It's a bad movie, but it does have a hilarious Superman video game that we all wished we could play when we were kids. It's really the only good part of a movie that even Richard Pryor couldn't make funny or fun.

The Thing

Some of Kurt Russell's best lines in his movies come from The Thing, and he also has a moment or two as he tries to save himself from destructive boredom by playing an early version of computer chess. Chess has long been a staple game going back to the dawn of the first home computers, so it worked well in the time period.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Like some other scenes on this list, the scene between Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd playing Mortal Kombat Deception is pretty much exactly how video game arguments went at the time, completely with the slurs we would never use today (and shouldn't have been using back in the day, but were).

Joysticks

We're really only including this silly, raunchy B-movie because it was kind of the first movie to truly be about the first video game fad of the late 1970s, though it came out just as the fad was imploding with the Video Game Crash of 1983. Even the movie's timing was bad, but still, it's all about games, so it has to be here on this list.

Everyone loves a good underdog story and Hollywood history is filled with them. Surprisingly, the underdog doesn't always win in sports movies, despite the trope. Of course, there are plenty of great movies where the underdog does win, like the wonderful sports movies on this list.

Hoosiers

There is no way to make this list without including possibly the most classic underdog story in film history, and one of the best sports movies ever, Hoosiers. The Gene Hackman-led movie about a small-town high school that takes home the Indiana state championship is an all-time great, and, of course, based on a true story.

Miracle

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team was never supposed to have a chance, especially against the big, bad Soviet Union, whose team was made up entirely of what amounted to professional players. The rag-tag group of college kids shocked the world when, led by the legendary coach Herb Brooks, beat the Soviets and eventually captured the gold medal. Miracle tells the story in amazing detail, with Kurt Russell as Brooks.

Invictus

Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as legendary South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar tells the incredible story of the underdog Springboks (South African's national team) in its amazing journey to winning the 1995 World Cup in their home country. What makes it an underdog story is that the whole tournament is played as the country is coming out of the apartheid era and bringing the country together seemed an impossible task, but it's something the Springboks helped do.

The Replacements

When the players of a pro football team go on strike, the league replaces them with "scabs" including a washed-up quarterback played by Keanu Reeves. Despite the odds, the team scrambles to win enough of their remaining games to qualify for the playoffs just as the strike ends and they go back to their previous lives.

Dodgeball

Okay, it's not the most serious sport in the world, but in the movie Dodgeball, it's taken very seriously. With Peter (Vince Vaughn) on the verge of losing his gym to the bank, he must bring together the misfit group of gym members to try and win the championship and enough money to save the gym, and of course, they do.

Breaking Away

There aren't enough movies about professional bicycling, are there? Breaking Away is a classic example of one. In it, a group of "townies" in a college town come together to compete against some of the best college cyclists in the country in the "Little 500" at the University of Indiana. The race is, frankly, ridiculously unrealistic, but that doesn't matter, as our hero, Dave, overcomes injury and fatigue to win the whole thing.

Rocky II

You knew there was no way we were going to leave off the most famous underdog movie of all time, right? Well, we couldn't include the original Rocky, because the underdog actually loses. However, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) does return and triumph in Rocky II!

Slap Shot

There is one movie that every hockey fan would put at the top of the list for underdog stories, not to mention probably the best movie about the sport of all time. Of course, we're talking about Slap Shot starring Paul Newman. The hilarious movie about a team of complete screw-ups and misfits is among the best sports movies ever made.

Wildcats

One of Goldie Hawn's more underrated movies is a classic underdog story. In Wildcats, Hawn plays a football coach who isn't taken seriously because she's a woman. When she is offered the job at an underfunded inner-city school, she jumps at it. Even though everyone expects her and the ragtag team to fail, she and they beat all the odds and take down the rich kids from the suburbs.

The Boys In The Boat

2023's The Boys In The Boat wasn't a hit with critics or moviegoers, but it's actually a pretty decent movie about the true story of the University of Washington's rowing team who shocked everyone in the rowing world when they qualified for - and won - the Olympics in 1936.

The Game of Their Lives

The United States has never been a powerhouse in the world of international soccer (or football). Still, in the 1950 World Cup, a group of amateur players, mostly from "The Hill" neighborhood of St. Louis, managed an upset of one of the great soccer nations, England, 1-0. The Game of Their Lives is all about those players and that team.

The Mighty Ducks

Of course we have to have The Mighty Ducks on this list! Not only is a great example of the underdog winning in so many ways, it's just a stone-cold classic for anyone who grew up watching over and over. It launched a mini-franchise, but none of the movies every really lived up to the original.

Remember The Titans

Remember the Titans tells the incredible true story about the integration of a high school football team in 1971. Denzel Washington plays the newly-named coach and immediately faces a backlash due to his race. The white players clash with the Black players, but through his hard work and persistence, Washington's team overcomes it all to win.

Tha Karate Kid

Everyone knows the story of The Karate Kid, especially now with the huge success of Cobra Kai. At the heart of the story is a true underdog, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who moves across the country with his mother only to get bullied at his new high school. With the help of a mysterious handyman (Pat Morita), he learns how to fight back and despite an entire squad of goons trying to sweep his leg and injure him at the big karate tournament, he overcomes it all with one great crane kick.

Necessary Roughness

Necessary Roughness is a mostly forgotten movie from the early '90s about a college team on a rough slide who are brought together by a tough-but-fair coach (Héctor Elizondo) who brings back an aging quarterback (Scott Bakula) and a female kicker (Kathy Ireland). Of course, they win the last game on a last-second trick play.

We Are Marshall

The tragedy of the Marshall football team plane crash inspired We Are Marshall about the coaches and players who are left to pick up the pieces of a shattered community and football program. Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengyel, the coach brought in to lead the impossible task. Together with his players, they bring the team back and succeed by just competing the very next season.

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is to basketball what Slap Shot is to hockey. It's a ridiculously over-the-top send-up of the sport featuring a hapless professional team from Pittsburgh doing everything it can, on the court and off, to win. Of course, they do, in the end.

McFarland, USA

In the spirit of many Disney movies, McFarland, USA is an underdog tale that is based on a true story. Football coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) loses his job as a football coach and is forced to take a job at an underprivileged mostly Latino school. He soon learns that the kids are talented runners and under his coaching, they go all the way to the state championship.

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is one of the great - and somewhat underappreciated - boxing movies. Russell Crowe plays James J. Braddock, a pro boxer who shocked the world when he defeated Max Baer for the heavyweight championship in 1935. For the rest of his career, he was known by the nickname "Cinderella Man" due to the unlikely victory.

The Longest Yard

There are a couple of versions of The Longest Yard, but we recommend the first starring Burt Reynolds, of course. If you haven't seen either movie, they are essentially the same plot where a group of prisoners take on a group of guards in the dirtiest football game you'll ever see.

Happy Gilmore

Happy Gilmore might not know proper golf etiquette, as he shows over and over in the movie with the same title, but he does know how to win. This Adam Sandler classic is one of the all-time great golf and sports movies and a movie where the underdog - Happy - wins the tournament and the girl.

Teen Wolf

With "The Wolf," the Beavers are definitely not the underdogs. Without the wolf with Scott (Michael J. Fox) playing as just himself, they are the underdogs. It's that simple. And in the final game, the championship game, the Beavers answer the call as a team, and without the wolf.

The Natural

Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) wasn't an underdog at first, he was a monster of a pitcher. Then it all came crashing down after he was mysteriously shot. After that, he was never the same. Until he gets a second chance as a power hitter and he helps the New York Knights win the pennant.

Major League

In a case of art imitating real life, the Cleveland Indians, who hadn't been a playoff team for decades when Major League was released in 1989. The group of misfits in the movie was brought together by the team's "showgirl" owner with the intent purpose of losing so she could move them to Miami. Of course, the team thwarts her plans in the end and they make it to the playoffs. In the sequel, we find out they didn't win, but for the purpose of this list (and everything else), we're ignoring that.

Seabiscuit

At a time when horse racing was one of the most popular sports in the United States, an underdog horse named Seabiscuit captured the attention of sports fans all over the country. The movie tells the incredible story of the amazing horse and it grabbed the attention of movie fans across the world.

Escape To Victory

Escape To Victory, like The Longest Yard is a story of prisoners assembling to try to beat a more powerful opponent. The big difference is that the prisoners were Allied POWs in World War II and the more powerful opponent was a professional team from Germany. In one of the best examples of a pro athlete doing some acting, even the great Pele had a role in the film. Not only do the prisoners win the match, but they also use the opportunity to escape.

Next Goal Wins

It's fair to say that Next Goal Wins is not the best movie on this list, but it is a super fun, feel-good story about an underdog soccer team from American Samoa who are finally able to come together to win a game—just one game. But they were so bad that one victory made all the difference.

The Hunger Games

Argue all you want over whether The Hunger Games is a sports movie, but it takes a lot of athletic ability to win them, so yeah, they are. Period. Obviously, anyone from District 12 is going to be an underdog, it's incredibly rare for anyone from that far from the Capitol to win. When Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) both win, it's the ultimate underdog win.

Air Bud

Let's just get this out of the way right away, Air Bud is a dumb movie with a dumb plot. BUT - there is a whole generation of movie fans who grew up loving it and any time a team needs a beloved family pet to join the team to win a basketball game counts as an underdog story. The dog leads them to victory, of course.

Rollerball

1975's Rollerball starring James Caan is one of the best cult flicks from its era and one of the best of Caan's career. There is a lot more to it than a simple underdog story, as the social commentary is hardly subtle. At its heart though, it's a team (and a man) overcoming the odds to win.

Invincible

2006's Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg as the real-life Vince Papale. It's not about a team of underdogs like most examples on this list, but it's about how one man can work hard to achieve a dream well after most people have written him off. It's easily one of Wahlberg's best movies, even if it's not one that most people think of right away.

Angels In The Outfield

Angels In The Outfield is a movie that you definitely had to grow up to love. It's a silly movie about a kid who wishes for his favorite MLB team to finally win something. They finally do so with some heavenly help. So it still counts as an underdog story, right?

The following is going to get into spoilers for the ongoing final season of Cobra Kai, so you might want to stop reading if you haven’t caught up on the Karate Kid spinoff show, available with a Netflix subscription.

We knew going in to the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai that the show would be broken up into three segments. Currently, we’re able to watch parts one and two, consisting of 10 episodes that have brought the Miyagi-Do fighters to Barcelona, where they are competing in the global Sekai Taikai tournament. This means that they are facing old foes in Cobra Kai, and new ones in The Iron Dragons. At the same time, there are plenty of personal issues for the kids – and the adults – to work through.

Behind the scenes, Cobra Kai did right by one of its legends. Ralph Macchio, who has been playing Daniel LaRusso since day one of The Karate Kid franchise, stepped behind the camera for Episode 3 of Cobra Kai Season 6, and it gave him a great opportunity to pay tribute to the legends who came before him. While interviewing Macchio for his work on Season 6, I asked him about directing, and the influences of the original The Karate Kid director John G. Avildsen (who also helmed Rocky with Sylvester Stallone). And Macchio informed CinemaBlend:

It’s sweet to hear that Ralph Macchio continues to carry the influence of the storytelling giants that came before him as he brings the story of Cobra Kai to a close. What started as a clever satirization of the original The Karate Kid has grown into a show that a whole new generation has come to appreciate, changing the lives of the young actors cast to star in the show, and also setting the stage for more stories in the Karate Kid universe.

Next summer, an upcoming 2025 movie is going to pair Ralph Macchio with Jackie Chan, who toplined a successful Karate Kid remake, for a story that’s expected to modernize the mythology of the franchise. And, the Cobra Kai showrunners have talked at length about figuring out how to explore the backstory of Mr. Miyagi in a way that honors the work done by Pat Morita. Something tells me that even though Cobra Kai is drawing to an end, the stories told in the world of The Karate Kid are just beginning.

With New York Comic-Con 2024 now in the rear view, some of the fun and games promised on the schedule of upcoming 2025 movies is about to become even more intense. Whether you’re a fan of the Karate Kid franchise or not, it’s not hard to already call Karate Kid: Legends as one of the most anticipated events of next year’s film canon.

Which coincidentally links into my own story with the franchise started with one of the best ‘80s movies, or rather my lack of such background. You see, I’ve never watched The Karate Kid, but after seeing the first trailer for Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan’s epic team-up at NYCC, I’m seriously rethinking that choice. Come and take this journey of the mind with me as we wait for the Karate Kid: Legends trailer to debut to the public together.

Yes, I’ve Never Seen The Karate Kid Movies (Or Cobra Kai)

I know that merely reading the headline for this story you’re probably wondering how an ‘80s baby could even say they haven’t encountered the story of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). To be fair, I know of the series and the basic concept, and I can recognize a lot of the baseline references. Trust me, if you say “Sweep the leg!” or “Wax on, wax off,” I’ll know what you’re talking about.

So why haven’t I taken the path to catching up with the exploits that have led to what we know about The Karate Kid 6, aka Karate Kid: Legends? The only explanation I can offer is that it just never seemed like my thing. I mean, I haven’t purposely avoided the movies, or even the well-regarded Netflix legacy-quel Cobra Kai. In fact, I've actually shown interest in that continuation series as it continues to take its extended final bow.

Which kind of brings this circle back around to the beginning, because in order to watch William Zabka's life lessons as a reformed martial arts bad boy, I need to watch his origin story, don't I? It's another case of having to do homework in order to be current for class. Thankfully, The Karate Kid legacy isn't as extensive as, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At the same time, I really haven’t been inspired to jump in, and that’s even with Daniel San being a child from the state of New Jersey like myself. That brings me to last week’s Sony Pictures panel at New York Comic-Con. I expected, and enjoyed, the Venom: The Last Dance clip they showed us, and I even have some newfound enthusiasm for Kraven the Hunter.

However, the biggest surprise was when moderator Josh Horowitz announced that Karate Kid: Legends was going to debut its trailer in front of the crowd at the Empire Stage. After that handful of minutes, I found myself seriously rethinking my lack of experience in this fictional universe, as the footage was that good.

Why Karate Kid Legends’ Trailer Changed My Mind

How much could one trailer really steer a person into jumping into an entire cinematic franchise? Well, if the people behind that first look have done their job, it can be quite effective. Just ask anyone who watched the trailer for The Monkey , which does indeed look like it could be the funniest Stephen King movie ever.

Watching Karate Kid: Legends’ cast at work in this premiere footage, the basics of the story were laid out. Ben Wang’s Li Fong is the protagonist established as being the series’ next young lead in need of guidance of the ways of karate. For reasons not entirely fleshed out yet, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan, reprising his role from The Karate Kid reimagining) tells Daniel LaRusso that this the new Karate Kid is as important to him as Daniel was to Mr. Miyagi.

Cut to a blitz of moments from Ben’s training and snippets of fight-based set pieces with Daniel San ready for action. Tying it all together is an ending that has Daniel summing up this new alliance of senseis in an appropriately profound way:

This is clearly a teaser, right down to the “Next Year” tease that comes through in the title cards. But in the little bit of Karate Kid: Legends I’ve seen, I think the more serious nature of the series has been sold in a way that finally hit me where I live. Even I, a novice, know that Li Fong is about to have the two best karate teachers in movie history, and it's inspiring to watch

It’s funny that this should happen, as most people would think that they’d move away from sagas such as this. Over time, franchises that were big in the past tend to be scrutinized a bit more when viewed through a modern lens. Also, it doesn't help that The Karate Kid Part III landed itself on our list of ‘80s movies that actually suck.

But even that distinction is easily brushed aside, as Cobra Kai and Karate Kid: Legends have done quite a bit to show the world that what could have been considered a nostalgic delight is as current as ever. That's especially when the early marketing is showing up with looks as fresh as this first teaser poster:

It’s probably a good thing that I have an active Netflix subscription, as not only are all four Karate Kid movies currently streaming on that platform, but so are all current episodes of Cobra Kai. As for that teaser trailer, I sadly can't share that with you at the moment, as it hasn't been released to the public. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Venom: The Last Dance starts to put this beauty into the wild this weekend, so keep your eyes open.

With Karate Kid: Legends opening on May 30, 2025, one would think that I’d have quite a bit of time to catch up. Of course, that depends on how Cobra Kai’s Season 6 Part 2 trailer hits me, as the latest batch of episodes are slated to hit on November 15th, and that advanced look just might be what makes me dedicate a little more time in the here and now to the Karate Kid world. For anyone that's still judging me, ask yourself one question: what major blockbuster franchise blind spots do you have hiding on your watchlist?

Movies can inspire you in many different ways. They can spark new and creative ideas. They can change the way that you perceive the world. They can alter your emotional outlook. And, they can even potentially change you physically. After all, there are a number of films in Hollywood history that one can look to for motivation to get in shape.

To prove the latter point, we’ve put together this special feature. Feel like you need to start treating yourself better and improve your well-being? Try giving any of these films a watch and see if they can’t get you excising more and eating better.

Brittany Runs A Marathon

Of all the movies mentioned in this feature, Brittany Runs A Marathon probably embodies the larger spirit of the piece better than anything else. Jillian Bell’s Brittany Forgler is an exceptionally relatable protagonist who comes to recognize that taking better care of herself is a path that can lead to her living a happier life.

Captain America: The First Avenger

No, Chris Evans was never as scrawny as Steve Rogers is at the start of Captain America: The First Avenger, and yes, the Super Soldier Serum is kind of the ultimate cheat to getting in ridiculously great shape… but what you should be motivated by is the spirit of the titular hero and how he ends up expressing his inner goodness on the outside.

Rocky IV

There is surely at least one gym in the world at this moment that has Rocky IV playing on a television screen to motivate patrons – and with good reason. For one thing, it doesn’t have the downer ending with Rocky Balboa losing at the end, but more significantly, it has some of the best training montages in the entire Rocky franchise (and that includes the work of both Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren in the Cold War-era showdown).

Creed III

Ryan Coogler’s Creed would also be a good fit for this feature, but I’ve selected the Michael B. Jordan-directed installment of the boxing series instead – primarily because of the plotline that sees Adonis Creed have to come out of retirement for a revenge match against his childhood friend. He has deeper and greater adversity to face in Creed III than in the first movie, arguably making it more motivational.

Batman Begins

The vast majority of people don’t have the resources of Bruce Wayne to travel to the Himalayan mountains and get trained by a secret society of elite warriors… but just think about what you could accomplish if you exerted even a fraction of the effort of the Dark Knight! If a spoiled punk can travel halfway around the world to get ripped so that he can save the soul of his city, you can wake up an hour earlier every morning to do a jog around your neighborhood.

G.I. Jane

Putting aside unfortunate legacy aspects like a Razzie Award and a memorably bad Oscar joke, Ridley Scott’s G.I. Jane is a movie that sees Demi Moore morph into a warrior. She doesn’t just shave her head; she is put through rigorous training that sees her transform into an intimidating figure.

Rudy

Movies don’t really get much more motivational than David Anspaugh’s Rudy – a film based on the true story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger’s efforts to play football at the University of Notre Dame. It’s one of the all-time great underdog movies, and if you ever need something to remind yourself of the power of human will, it’s an ideal title to recall.

42

As depicted by Chadwick Boseman in writer/director Brian Helgeland’s 42, Jackie Robinson is one of the all-time great examples of emotional fortitude, as what he went through breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball took incredible strength. Not to be ignored in that fact’s shadow, however, is that Robinson was also an exceptionally gifted athlete, and his awesome athletic skills on the diamond are well illustrated in the 2013 biopic.

Bleed For This

Based on the true story of former world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza, Bleed For This unfurls an astonishing comeback story that sees its protagonist break his neck in a car accident and actually recover to the point where he is able to restart his career as a pugilist. Witnessing what he’s able to overcome would motivate anyone to get into better shape.

Fight Club

This article is in no way advocating that anybody should try and get in shape by joining an underground bareknuckle boxing club. That being said, it’s hard to watch David Fincher’s Fight Club, compare one’s own body to Brad Pitt’s, and not instantly wish that you had the insane muscles that he had going on in the 1999 cult classic.

Scream

Here’s a reality check for you: if you’re ever being pursued by a serial killer, they aren’t just going to amble along as they chase you, a la Michael Myers in the Halloween movies. Instead, they are going to be moving toward you at a full sprint like Ghostface in Scream. You’re not going to survive long if you don’t have any endurance – so let that thought get you to spend a bit of time on a treadmill a couple of days a week.

28 Days Later

If a zombie apocalypse breaks out, there are no guarantees that the brain-eating monsters will be shambling along like those in George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead. There is an equal chance that they will be rampaging around at full tilt like those infected with the Rage Virus in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later… and if that’s the case, you need to be ready to outrun them.

Furious 7

I’m going to be honest: while there are many muscle-bound heroes in the Fast & Furious franchise, James Wan’s Furious 7 gets the special recognition on this list simply because of the scene where Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs opts to remove the cast on his broken left arm by simply flexing his awe-inspiring muscles. I think we  can all say that we wish we could do that.

T2: Judgement Day

You want to talk about finding motivation to work out? Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor is a poster child for the concept in James Cameron’s T2: Judgement Day. She knows that the artificial intelligence-caused apocalypse is coming, and she needs to protect her kid, so what does she do? She gets crazy buff – even while locked up in a mental institution. You don’t have to have the same motivation as Sarah, but you can use her journey to help you find your own big reason to get in shape.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

Prior to joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Pratt was best known as the silly, chubby guy from Parks and Recreation, but he transformed himself when he got the role of Star-Lord in James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, and we have not looked at him the same way since then. Obviously most people aren’t going to be able to achieve what he accomplished, but seeing what he was able to do can at least push you to attempt a percentage.

Deadpool & Wolverine

There’s a joke around the middle of Deadpool & Wolverine that Hugh Jackman is wearing his full yellow costume because he isn’t in his prime fighting form… but that idea is wholly dismissed by the time the film gets to its third act climax and Jackman finally loses his shirt. Jackman may be over 50 years old now, but you can still probably grate cheese on his chest.

Enter The Dragon

The vast majority of us don’t require the dangerous martial arts skills of Bruce Lee in our everyday lives, but when you watch what the man is able to simply physically accomplish in the action scenes in Enter The Dragon, it does at the very least make you wonder about just how awesome your own body could potentially be.

Run Lola Run

You know what’s funny about life? On a random day, your significant other might call you and tell you that they will be killed unless you can sprint around your neighborhood in under 20 minutes collecting a scary amount of money that you don’t have legal access to. Ok, I am admittedly describing the plot of Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run, but among other things, the film is a cinematic reminder that your life might one day require you to demonstrate some extreme physicality. Ask yourself: are you ready for that day?

Eternals

Chloe Zhao’s Eternals makes it on to this list for a reason you can probably guess: the transformation of Kumail Nanjiani. The actor seriously committed to altering his physique for his role as Kingo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’s admirable.

The Whale

Taking care of your physical well-being is an important part of everyday life, and if you let things slip too far in that regard, there can be serious consequences. This is disturbingly illustrated in Brendan Fraser’s controversial turn in Darren Aronofksy’s The Whale, as the film is a depiction of extreme darkness at the end of that path.

Southpaw

I could have included Doug Liman’s Road House on this list for similar reasons as Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw, but the boxing movie beat the Patrick Swayze remake to release by nearly a decade, so I’m giving it the highlight. It’s not a particularly good film (in truth, it’s pretty generic), but it’s impossible to watch it and not be impressed by the results of the training star Jake Gyllenhaal went through in preparation for the role.

300

I’m not sure I need to explain why Zack Snyder’s 300 is on this list. The Spartan lifestyle should never be advocated, but just about everyone in the film is crazy ripped and represent fitness goals.

Thor

Being an Asgardian, Thor probably didn’t have to really work for the muscles that Chris Hemsworth possesses in MCU’s first God of Thunder movie – but if you’re ever going to be both worthy of possessing Mjolnir and properly use it, you should get up off your couch right now and start planning out tomorrow as Arm Day.

Forrest Gump

I’m not sure that there is any doctor on Earth who would recommend that anyone run back and forth across the continental United States, a la Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump in Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump… but the film does make one wonder if one could personally accomplish what the character achieves. You don’t have to start with a plan for a 6,000 mile jog, but you can start by going four miles in a day and see how you feel after.

Eddie The Eagle

Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie The Eagle is a silly and fun movie about one of the worst Olympic competitors in history – English ski jumper Michael David Edwards – but above all else, it’s a story about perseverance and not letting naysayers stand in the way of you and your goals. If you’re determined to take better care of yourself and get in better shape, Eddie The Eagle is actually a fantastic person to emulate.

The Karate Kid

With enough focus, training, and determination, people can achieve incredible things, and that’s the essence of Daniel LaRusso’s story in John G. Avildsen’s 1984 classic The Karate Kid. It also obviously helps to have a great support system, so let this movie inspire you to go out and find your personal Mr. Miyagi.

Cool Runnings

It’s not difficult to pick up on the core moral at the heart of Jon Turteltaub’s Cool Runnings – based on the true story of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. While people might dismiss you or even laugh at you, if you believe in yourself enough, you can achieve legendary things. This can not only be applied to taking care of yourself and getting in better shape, but in all aspects of life.

Chariots Of Fire

Truth be told, you probably don’t even need to watch all of Chariots Of Fire to be motivated by it. Just listening to the iconic instrumental theme from the film written and recorded by Vangelis should be enough to get you out of the door and running (preferably on a local beach).

Run Fatboy Run

To be totally honest, David Schwimmer’s Run Fatboy Run is a film that shares a lot in common with Brittany Runs A Marathon and is not as good – but it is a movie that can be said to have its moments, and it still provides the audience with a nice touch of inspiration. The movie was released the same year as Hot Fuzz and sees star Simon Pegg play an emotionally weak man who tries to prove himself to his ex by training for and running a marathon.

Police Story

Jackie Chan’s legacy is as a true maximum effort performer. The man (often literally) throws himself into his movies, and seeing what he pushes himself to do is inspiring. Police Story is one of many titles in his filmography where he pulls off feats that utterly drop your jaw, and if he can push himself like that, why can’t you do something similar to drop a few pounds?

The Fighter

In the case of David O. Russell’s The Fighter, you’re definitely going to want to focus on the story of Mark Wahlberg’s Micky Ward instead of the dark tale of Christian Bale’s "Dicky" Eklund. It’s an excellent sports film about battling back against adversity and it has a strong message about working hard to achieve your ultimate goals.

Million Dollar Baby

With Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby, you may only want to watch about two-thirds of the film if you’re simply going for workout motivation, as the end of the movie isn’t going to do you any favors in that department. That aside, Hilary Swank morphs into a force playing Mary Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald in the Oscar-winning boxing film, and she makes for a positive spirit to channel as you get into your own routine.

Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more of our film-centric features, and for a look at all of the titles heading to theaters and streaming in the coming months, check out our 2024 movie release calendar.

Film fans often flock to see the locations where their favorite movies were made, like the ones on this list. Whether it's a place crucial to the plot of a movie, like the prison in The Shawshank Redemption, or a seemingly minor spot like the burger place in Dazed & Confused, these 32 locations have become iconic for their use on film. 

Hook & Ladder Company 8 - Ghostbusters

The coolest thing about Hook & Ladder Company 8, located on North Moore Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City is that the firehouse, which is still an active station, has incorporated the Ghostbuster's logo into its crest. The building is not run down at all, as seen in the movie, and at almost any time of day, you'll see fans of the movie taking selfies. 

Quick Stop Groceries - Clerks

Kevin Smith famously made Clerks on a minuscule budget. One way he cut costs was to film overnight in his actual place of employment, the Quick Stop Groceries convenience store in Leonardo, NJ. The store is still in business, all these years later and you can be sure they play up the fact that the movie was filmed there. 

King's Cross Station - The Harry Potter Series

King's Cross Station is one of a few train stations in London, and while it's always been a well-known station, its fame leaped to another level with the Harry Potter series. You see, it's there, on platform 9 3/4, that Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts students catch their train to school. Of course, there isn't really a platform 9 3/4, but there is a photo op for fans at the real station now.  

West 167th Street Stairs - Joker

In the Highbridge neighborhood of The Bronx is an unassuming staircase connecting Shakespeare Ave. and Anderson Ave. There are similar stairs in New York City, but none are as famous as the West 167th Street Stairs, where Joaquin Phoenix famously danced as the titular character in Joker. 

Haystack Rock - The Goonies

The Haystack Rock formation off the coast of Cannon Beach in Oregon has been a famous geological spot for decades. For movie fans, it's immediately recognizable from The Goonies as the beach where the kids emerge after finding One-Eyed Willie's pirate ship. It's been used in other movies as well, like Twilight and Point Break. 

Top Notch Burgers - Dazed & Confused

Dazed & Confused does such an incredible job putting the audience right in the middle of the '70s, it's become one of the most beloved cult classics of all time. One major reason it just oozes 1970s teen car culture is the Top Notch Burgers that the characters cruise through. It's a real restaurant in Austin, Texas, where the movie was set and filmed. 

Fox Plaza - Die Hard

2121 Avenue of the Stars, which is most well known by its former name, Fox Plaza, is most famous for being the building where Hans Gruber and his band of merry men commit their robbery in Die Hard. The building, in Los Angeles, was brand new when it was used for the movie in 1988. Eagle-eyed viewers might also recognize it as one of the collapsing buildings at the end of Fight Club. 

South Seas Apartment Complex - The Karate Kid

The South Seas Apartment Complex in The Karate Kid is a pretty typical apartment building in the LA area. It is a real place, with that name, just like in the movie. It's located in Reseda, but it's actually pretty nice, nothing like it looks in the classic '80s movie.

The Philadelphia Museum Of Art - Rocky

There are a lot of really famous sites to see in Philadelphia. Constitution Hall, The Liberty Bell, Pat's and Geno's cheesesteak stands, and, of course, the steps that lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They were made most famous by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky when the titular character runs up them and celebrates at the top as "Gonna Fly Now" plays triumphantly. 

Georgetown Stairs - The Exorcist

The Exorcist is one of the scariest movies ever made and one of the eeriest things about it are the steep steps just outside the MacNeil household. They are used a few times in the movie, and it's good when they appear. The real stairs are located in the same neighborhood of Washington DC, Georgetown, where the movie is set, at Prospect St and 36th St NW. 

Seaside, FL - The Truman Show

The fictional town where The Truman Show takes place is both fictional for the movie, and fictional in the movie, as it's really just a soundstage where the TV show is filmed, unbeknownst to Truman (Jim Carrey). It was filmed in a real town, however. Seaside, FL looks pretty much exactly as it does in the movie and the house where Truman lives in the movie is where Congressman Matt Gaetz grew up. How's that for an odd coincidence? 

Katz's Deli - When Harry Met Sally

Katz's Deli, on Houston St. in Manhattan, has long been one of the most famous delis in New York City, but it reached new heights of fame after the legendary scene in When Harry Met Sally after Sally (Meg Ryan) does her famous performance of her faking it in bed. 

Chippewa Square Bus Stop - Forrest Gump

The Baby Boomer fever-dream hit movie Forrest Gump takes place over decades, but it's all told by Forrest (Tom Hanks) from one location, a bench at the Chippewa Square bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. It's where the character sits chatting with different people as he tells them his life story, which for some reason is like a box of chocolates. 

Fox Theatre, St. Louis - Escape From New York

If you ever wondered what city could stand in for a dystopian New York City that has been turned into an island prison, it was late '70s St. Louis, MO. The movie was filmed all over the city, including the Fox Theater, located on Grand Ave. The theater at the time was in disrepair and in desperate need of a renovation. Thankfully it got one and today is in much better shape than it was in the movie. 

Timberline Lodge - The Shining

It may be one of the most famous locations on this list - Timberline Lodge, which is the hotel that stands in for The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. The lodge, Mt. Hood, WA, is still open today and draws not only skiers and outdoor enthusiasts, but fans of the horror classic. 

Hôtel Sidi Driss - Star Wars

The Hôtel Sidi Driss in Matmata, Tunisia is one of the most unique hotels in the world, and so it's fitting it would serve as a home on a planet way out of this world. Movie audiences will immediately recognize it as the home of Luke Skywalker and his aunt and uncle at the beginning of the first Star Wars movie. If you're a fan, and you're in the neighborhood, the hotel is still open and taking reservations. 

7B Horseshoe Bar- The Godfather Part II

It goes by many different names. 7B and Horseshoe Bar are the two most people call it. It's still open, right at the corner of 7th Street and Ave. B in Manhattan. It's been there for years and has been used in a few film productions, but none more famous than in The Godfather Part II. It's where the botched assassination of Frank Pentangeli took place. 

Ohio State Reformatory - The Shawshank Redemption

One of the best movies of the '90s has to be The Shawshank Redemption. While the film is set in Maine, the home state of the book's author Stephen King, it was filmed in the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. It had closed as a prison just a few years before they filmed it, so that certainly helps bring some authenticity to the movie. 

Bosse Field - A League Of Their Own

With some of the best moments in a baseball movie ever, A League Of Their Own has endured for years. So has the minor league baseball field where it was filmed, Bosse Field in Evansville, IN. Though it's a minor league park, it's still the third oldest baseball stadium in the country, behind Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and it retains all the charm it has in the movie. 

Mountain Lake Lodge - Dirty Dancing

In the 1960s, when Dirty Dancing was set, inclusive vacation spots like the Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia dotted the American countryside. Most have long closed, but the Mountain Lake Lodge has survived and you can still visit and stay there, just like Baby and her family did in the movie. The actual cabin where the Housemans stayed is even available for rent. 

1 Wall Street Court - John Wick

Most of New York City - Manhattan at least - is a grid. But there are a few spots where the grid breaks down and creates odd-shaped blocks, leading to oddly shaped buildings. 1 Wall Street Court is one of those buildings, which makes it the perfect exterior for the mysterious Continental Hotel in the John Wick series where hitmen and criminals can enjoy a drink and a good night's sleep without one eye open looking for enemies. 

The Best Little Chapel - The Hangover

Las Vegas is famous for a lot of reasons, including all the tiny wedding chapels all over town. One famous chapel isn't actually a chapel, though. There are a lot of famous locations in The Hangover, most notably Caesar's Palace (Caesar didn't actually live there). One place you'll have a hard time finding unless you know where to look is The Best Wedding Chapel, as it's really just a youth hostel on Las Vegas Blvd. that was dressed up to look like a wedding chapel. Still, you can see the parking lot and all the hilarious signs behind the location as you quote all your favorite lines from The Hangover.

Matamata, New Zealand - Lord Of The Rings

This is a unique entry on this list as it's now famous for what the Lord of the Rings series did for the town. It's where The Shire was built and much of the set remains today as a tourist attraction for the millions of fans of the movies. It really does feel like you're stepping into the movies. 

Christmas Story House - A Christmas Story

"Ah, there it is. My house, and good old Cleveland Street," is how A Christmas Story begins. The house is almost a character all itself, with the sketchy furnace and the leg lamp, etc... The real house is in the City of Cleveland, but it's at 3159 W 11th St, not on Cleveland St. It's also worth noting that while most of it was filmed in Cleveland, it's set in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana.

The Dakota Building - Rosemary's Baby

The Dakota, at 72nd and Central Park West in New York, is one of the most famous apartment buildings in the world, and one reason for that is that it's the setting for the terrifying Roman Polanski film, Rosemary's Baby. It's the perfect building to set the film, with his is dark neo-gothic architecture and large, lavish apartments. The Dakota is also infamous for being where John Lennon was shot and killed in 1980, while he lived there. 

Forks, WA - Twilight

For fans of the Twilight series, the town of Forks, Washington is the homeland. Both the books and the movies are set in a small town in a remote part of the state west of Seattle. It's now a tourist hot spot, though most of the movie was filmed in locations other than Forks. 

El Coyote - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

El Coyote is a legendary Mexican restaurant in LA that dates back to the 1930s. It's also where Sharon Tate and her friends ate their final meal on August 9th, 1969 before they were murdered by the Manson Family. For his movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino filmed the scene of the friends eating not only in the same restaurant but in the very same booth where they sat all those decades ago. 

Lighthouse Café - La La Land

The Lighthouse Café is a great jazz spot that sits in Hermosa Beach, California near LA. It was the location for one of the most famous scenes that movie critics often call a "love letter to Los Angeles," La La Land. 

Drayton House - Saltburn

The English countryside is filled with amazing, ornate homes that are often used for filming, sometimes they are the location for TV shows, like Downton Abbey, and other times it's for movies like Saltburn. For the latter, the makers of the film used the stately Drayton House in Lowick, Northamptonshire.

Kualoa Ranch - Jurassic Park

Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It makes sense it would be the setting for quite a few TV shows and movies, including Lost,  Magnum P.I., Pearl Harbor, and maybe the most famous movie filmed there, 1993's Jurassic Park. 

The Tasty - Good Will Hunting

Sadly, this is a location you can no longer visit, as it closed a few years ago. For decades, however, The Tasty Diner in Harvard Square was a late-night favorite for drunk college students from all over Boston. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck made sure it found its way into their movie about Boston, Good Will Hunting. 

Görlitz Department Store - Grand Budapest Hotel

The exterior of the titular Grand Budapest Hotel might have been a model, but the interior and lobby were actually a beautiful - and vacant - department store in Görlitz, Germany. Sadly, while the building is still standing, it is still unused. 

The creators of the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai – which is heading into its sixth and final season – have been respectful of the legacy of the original films… while also expanding on the mythology and taking it places fans probably never thought possible. The show has introduced so many new characters who have become as important to the overall story as the founding, core characters of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The show quickly brought back chief antagonist John Kreese (Martin Kove) to drop his hammer on the duo. But the one character they could not bring back was Mr. Miyagi, played by the inimitable Pat Morita.

After portraying Mr. Miyagi in multiple Karate Kid feature films over the years, Pat Morita died in 2005 and has cast a gentle shadow over the entirety of Cobra Kai. The series constantly dwells on Miyagi’s influence on Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), with the New Jersey native frequently fighting to maintain Miyagi’s core values in the dojo as he trains the next generation of karate students in the Valley. And even though Cobra Kai has brought back previous cast members like Elisabeth Shue, Thomas Ian Griffith, and Yuji Okumoto, there hasn’t been any effort to replicate Morita. 

That doesn’t mean that Nariyoshi Miyagi, the character, is completely off the board, though. 

There’s a right way to bring back Mr. Miyagi

Recently, CinemaBlend got the opportunity to travel to Georgia and visit the set of Cobra Kai during filming on the sixth and final season. And during that visit, we spoke with series co-creator Josh Heald about their plans for Cobra Kai Season 6, and where they might want the characters to go after the series wraps. But I was genuinely surprised to learn that they had considered how to bring Mr. Miyagi back into the creative umbrella of Cobra Kai storytelling, with Heald explaining to us:

I’m not sure that anyone in Hollywood thinks about The Karate Kid and its legacy more than Josh Heald and his fellow Cobra Kai showrunners. They have proven over the years that they hold all of the original Karate Kid movies in high esteem, and would never do anything to tarnish the memories of someone as special as the late Pat Morita. 

But they believe – and I tend to agree – that you could tell a story from Miyagi’s earlier days, and cast a different actor to play the part. It would have to be separate from the events of The Karate Kid, and probably even The Karate Kid: Part 2… which explored Miyagi’s history on the Japanese island of Okinawa. We have seen other franchises that have recast younger versions of classic movie characters. I think that Karate Kid fans would be willing to follow Miyagi through a new story, with a new actor. 

At the same time, there are ways that are unacceptable, and the Cobra Kai team knows this. 

The wrong way to try and bring Miyagi back

The biggest issue with trying to tell more stories focused on Mr. Miyagi is that he’s so closely associated with Pat Morita, Karate Kid fans would consider it a disservice to use CG or any type of modern camera trickery to make it seem like Morita was contributing in any way. That could be grotesque. Which means there are specific moments As Josh Heald went on to explain to us: 

And in that sense, I totally agree. Franchises that have used CG to bring back popular characters – I’m looking at you, Star Wars – have run into issues by trying to replicate new versions of a classic character who is still very fresh in our memory. We know that’s not Carrie Fisher in Rogue One, and it’s jarring.

So it’s encouraging to hear from the Cobra Kai creatives that they know it’d be too hard to try and tell a Miyagi story set in the time period that’s very near and dear to our hearts. You can’t explore more with Miyagi in any timeframe connected to The Karate Kid or its sequels. That would require Pat Morita at a very specific age. And since you can’t have that, don’t even try. 

But with Cobra Kai coming to an end, I’m genuinely curious where the showrunners want to go with the series. By all accounts, the Cobra Kai story is going to end. But there are ways for these storytellers to continue, and just hearing the fact that they discussed more stories with Mr. Miyagi is fascinating. We’ll see what stems from it in the years to come. 

Look for Cobra Kai to begin its final season on Netflix beginning on July 18.

For as long as I can remember, The Karate Kid has been part of my movie-going memories. The original film, released in 1984, was one of the first films that I can remember seeing in a theater. I have been invested in the saga of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) ever since, following him to Okinawa, through the various All-Valley Tournaments, and finally to Netflix, where Cobra Kai has expanded the Karate Kid universe. Ironically, Macchio now plans to bring Daniel LaRusso back to theaters for a new Karate Kid movie that will team the actor with Jackie Chan, star of the 2010 remake that also included Jaden Smith. But how will Macchio’s involvement in Cobra Kai lead to the story of the new Karate Kid movie?

As of right now, The Karate Kid 6 (which is what we have been calling it) is set to arrive in theaters on May 30, 2025, which means that it likely will arrive after the conclusion of Cobra Kai Season 6. The final Cobra Kai season is going to be divided up into three chunks, the first of which arrives on July 18. So it makes sense that the final season of Cobra Kai would set up the next story in Daniel LaRusso’s journey. But that’s not the case. While traveling to the Georgia set of Cobra Kai to speak with the show’s creator, I specifically asked them how this final season will establish the movie. And co-creator Josh Heald told me:

That’s interesting to me. And on a certain level, it makes sense. If you are going to bring a new Karate Kid movie into theaters, you might not want to create a scenario where audiences who – for whatever reason – didn’t stay up to date on Cobra Kai might feel isolated. The cast has no bleed-over from the Netflix series. Let Cobra Kai be its own thing. And that “thing” very much happens to be the evolution of Johnny Lawrence from the kid who got beat at the All-Valley to an honorable sensei, a good father, and a cherished husband. 

So, it looks like you will only have to have passing knowledge of The Karate Kid series to plug back into the world  when The Karate Kid 6 (or whatever it ends up being named) reaches theaters in May 2025. Until that happens, plan a trip to the movies for one of the many upcoming 2024 films that are on the calendar. 

Ralph Macchio has starred and appeared in various movies and TV shows over the years, from The Outsiders and Crossroads to Ugly Betty and The Deuce. Of course, the veteran actor remains most synonymous with the Karate Kid franchise. The star seems to embrace that connection and, even today, he remains a vital part of the reignited IP. With that, Macchio just marked the 40th anniversary of the original film with a sweet post. And said message also signified him wrapping on Cobra Kai as well as the franchise’s upcoming sixth movie, which features Jackie Chan.

The 62-year-old actor got nostalgic when he took to his Instagram account early Saturday morning. He shared a brief caption in which he marked the day on which his hit movie opened in theaters years ago and also expressed excitement about what lies ahead for him and the franchise. The post also included a photo of the actor, which was taken by his Cobra Kai co-star, Xolo Maridueña. You can check it out down below:

It’s honestly wild to think that it’s been four decades since moviegoers were introduced to Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. What’s amazing, though, is that the franchise is still going strong after all these years. Not too many franchises have the kind of staying power that the series of martial arts teen movies have. Aside from that, it’s wonderful that Ralph Macchio still has such affection for the franchise that turned him into a household name. Also, like so many others, I’m excited to see what the future holds for this franchise in the coming year.

The sixth Karate Kid movie is among the major highlights for the franchise that’s on the horizon, and it should be an interesting production, to say the least. Plot details are unknown at this time, but what has been confirmed is that it’ll see Ralph Macchio reprise his role of Daniel. And joining him will be Jackie Chan, who will once again play the role of Mr. Han – a role he originated in the 2010 reboot. Joining the two are Ming-Na Wen, Joshua Jackson, Ben Wang, Shaunette Renée Wilson and Wyatt Oleff. The film is sure to further build on the continuity that’s been established thus far, and I’m honestly hoping to see a sparring session between LaRusso and Han.

In addition to the film, there’s also the upcoming sixth and final season of Cobra Kai, which is set to kick off (no pun intended) in July. Netflix subscribers like myself have been eagerly anticipating the return of the TV offshoot. The send-off season will be split up into three parts, with the second arriving in November and the third arriving sometime in 2025. A number of storylines are expected to be tied up, including the matter of the Sekai Taikai tournament, which will likely see Johnny and Daniel’s dojo facing off with Sensei Kim Da-eun’s (and possibly John Kreese’s) students.

So, needless to say, there’s definitely a lot to be excited about for this franchise as a whole in the coming year. It’s still important, however, not to overlook what’s come before. One of my personal fondest memories is watching the original 1984 film with my father and sister as a kid. Its legacy is certainly alive and well, and one would think that Ralph Macchio, other franchise alums and even fans will continue to support the series as time goes on. Here’s hoping that the series further thrives in the years to come and that people continue to watch the Karate Kid movies. Also, let’s hope that the final season of the Netflix series and the upcoming film manage to meet expectations.

Karate Kid is set to open in theaters on May 30 as part of the 2025 movie schedule. If you’d like to watch the original movies in the saga, you can rent or buy them on Amazon Prime. And, of course, the first five seasons of Cobra Kai are available to stream right now.

Will Smith remains very active on social media, constantly sharing updates with fans on his personal and professional activities. Something he’s also known for is sending well wishes to friends, family and colleagues on their birthdays. For instance, Smith shouted out Martin Lawrence – his longtime Bad Boys co-star – on his special day last year. And, this weekend, the veteran actor took a little time out to celebrate the b-day of the one and only Jackie Chan, who he worked with on 2010’s The Karate Kid. To celebrate Chan’s special day, Smith penned a very sweet message as part of a nostalgic post. 

The Hong Kong-born actor turns 70 today, April 7, and he seems to be relishing it. My assumption on that front comes from a sweet post he shared on Instagram, which features some tender sentiments and a number of photos from his past productions. Of course, the Karate Kid reboot is also one of the many entries in his filmography, and Will Smith (who was a producer on the flick) called back to it while honoring the Drunken Master icon. Smith shared several behind-the-scenes images from the film and dropped the following thoughts in the accompany caption: 

The coming-of-age kung-fu flick, which is available to stream with a Prime Video subscription, sees Jaden Smith play a 12-year-old, who moves to Beijing with his mother. While there, he draws the ire of some local martial arts students and eventually finds a mentor (and sensei) in a handyman played by the Shanghai Noon alum. The two leads had great chemistry and, based on Will’s tribute, it sounds like the pair developed a strong bond off camera. There have been instances when colleagues forge surrogate families and, if this lovely post is any indication, that was the case with this particular film.

If you’re like me, then it’s probably hard to believe that Jackie Chan has reached the big 7-0. But, of course, the seemingly ageless actor and martial artist gets older just as the rest of us do. To reach such an age is a true blessing, and it honestly warms my heart that the actor has reached such a milestone. And that’s especially true when I consider all of the massive (and somewhat dangerous) stunts Chan has performed over the years while entertaining the masses. 

Don’t think that the actor is going to be slowing down anytime soon, though, as he still has work ahead of him. Most notably, he’s starring in a new Karate Kid movie that will not only see him reprise his role as Mr. Han but will also feature Ralph Macchio in the role of Daniel LaRusso. That may not be the only other high-profile gig that the Police Story veteran may tackle over the next few years. Chris Tucker still wants to reunite with him for Rush Hour 4, and there’s always the possibility that the long-awaited sequel could finally come to fruition.

Yet, with everything he has going on, I’m just hopeful that the seasoned actor does take some time to enjoy his b-day. You only turn 70 once, and he certainly deserves some downtime and the chance to relish the start of this new year of life. At the same time, I hope that others join Will Smith in sending him some love throughout the remainder of the day. 

Those looking to celebrate Jackie Chan can seek out and stream some of his most notable films across various streaming platforms. Also, read up on some crazy facts about Chan that’ll give you a bit more insight into his life and career.

It’s still early days in the 2024 movie schedule, so there’s plenty of time for movies like the latest Karate Kid project to shape up. What we know about The Karate Kid 6 has the movie on track for a December release date, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s respective pieces of the franchise seeming to merge into a new cinematic spectacle. With the series recently finding its young lead in a Disney vet, another Mouse House actor has climbed aboard from The Mandalorian’s cast, as this cast continues to get seriously stacked.

The Karate Kid 6’s Cast Welcomes Ming-Na Wen

Not too long after The Karate Kid legacy-quel cast American Born Chinese star Ben Wang as its lead, Variety now reports that Ming-Na Wen is one of the latest additions. A Disney Legend who’s spanned several of the huge properties the studio deals in, Wen is probably best known for her role as Fennec Shand in the Star Wars universe. 

Additionally, Ms. Wen was also a fixture on the Marvel television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the voice of the animated protagonist for 1998’s Mulan. As one would expect, there are no character details accompanying the casting of Ming-Na Wen. So if there was ever someone to place your bets on being connected in some way to Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi, she might be your best wager.

Even More Additions To The Karate Kid Legacy-quel Cast Have Been Announced

While we still don’t have any major details on the plot at hand, including whether or not Cobra Kai’s universe will be included, we are starting to learn more about some of the characters that will be present. In another update from THR, The Karate Kid 6 was announced to have welcomed Dr. Death vet Joshua Jackson and Cruel Summer star Sadie Stanley into its growing cast as well. 

Jackson and Stanley will be playing father and daughter in this supposedly East Coast-based adventure. What’s more, Sadie’s character is being reported as the romantic lead for Ben Wang’s new Karate Kid protagonist. All of a sudden, fans are probably thinking about pop songs about fighting for someone's honor, and in this specific instance, that's reasonable. 

As we make our way towards the release of The Karate Kid 6, we’ll probably see a title change and some more impressive cast members boarding this legacy-quel in the works. We can probably expect the secretive nature of this project to persist for a while, even after announcing this latest wave of casting. 

However, you can brush up on your Karate Kid lore, as some of the classic installments reside in the same streaming home as the 2010 reboot. Which is to say if you have access to Starz, or a Prime Video subscription with the appropriate add-on, you’ll be ready to sweep the leg in the comfort of your own home. 

Some may have already forgotten that the 2024 movie release schedule does indeed have a new Karate Kid film slated to be released. While that picture isn't slated to be released until December, the merging of Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan’s storylines in Sony’s famed cinematic IP has been watched with great interest. And now this mysterious project has landed what it needed most: our next Karate Kid; which I’m now hyped about, thanks to the casting of a promising Disney vet. 

According to reporting coming from THR, actor Ben Wang will be playing our unnamed mystery lead in the latest Karate Kid continuation. Wang was recently seen in the Disney+ subscription driver American Born Chinese, and in addition to having that credit on his resume, the young man apparently wowed the powers that be with an amazing audition reel. 

Director Jonathan Entwistle, whose credits include gigs directing Netflix series like I’m Not Okay with This, as well as Peter Rabbit writer Rob Lieber, are also attached to the project. Also, as of this moment, the potential story at large is still a mystery. However, among the details offered from the source report above, it seems that this new Karate Kid movie has a new setting. 

Apparently, somewhere on the East Coast will be where Ben Wang’s protagonist hangs his hat, and whomever his teacher may be will be waiting for him there. Wherever this new Karate Kid film takes place, let's hope this new setting isn't too far from any of Cobra Kai's graduating characters; as we still have no clue how/if the Netflix hit series will tie into this next, next, next kid's tale.

Which naturally leads to the major question about Cobra Kai Season 6 our own Mick Joest has been asking, as well as a slew of other concerns that rise from this film's intriguing story. Chiefly among those concerns is how the story of the in-production final season of creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg's series will connect in the new and developing Karate Kid cinematic universe. 

For the moment, everything seems to add up to the conclusion that the latest chapter in the Karate Kid legacy looks to be in good hands. That would seem especially true thanks to Ben Wang’s casting, as he also possesses skills in multiple forms of Martial Arts and fluency in Mandarin. 

No matter what happens, at the heart of it all is Ben Wang, who will fight for honor, the glory of love, or whatever values this next chapter has to offer. What we know about The Karate Kid 6, or whatever your preferred title for this film should be, is that it's currently in training. As it should be, as in order to make its current release date of December 13, 2024, a lot of work still lies ahead. 

Every major sport has its own movie. Some of the most popular spectator sports – baseball, football, basketball, and soccer – have multiple films that use competition as the backdrop. But which films constitute the best sports movies ever made? There are so many factors at play. Is it an underdog sports story, about loveable losers who overcome the odds to achieve greatness? Or is it a story about the greatest to ever play a game, and an analysis of what drove them to be elite?

As we debated over the best sports movies ever made, CinemaBlend staffers came to realize that it’s not always about the sport itself, but more about the characters in which we have invested. Especially if they happen to be played by Kevin Costner, who’s like Hollywood’s unofficial mascot of terrific sports movies. That dude is the Patron Saint of sports films. He has excellent sports flicks that didn’t even make this list! That’s how good he is. 

So what did make the list? A healthy mix of recognized classics, some newer films that take unconventional approaches to their athletic subjects, and Foxcatcher. Man, that’s a weird movie. Great! But weird. 

25. Love & Basketball

When filmmakers mix sports and romance, the results can vary, but Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball is an example of how to do it right. The 2000 movie tracks the relationship and playing careers of friends-turned-lovers Quincy McCall and Monica Wright, played by Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan, respectively. Thanks to Prince-Bythewood’s keen direction, the two characters’ stories are multifaceted and compelling. Lathan and Epps also more than shine in their role as do the supporting cast members.

What’s most exceptional is Gina Prince-Bythewood’s exploration of modern-day romance. The fact that the African American experience is the lens through which she does that is also refreshing. As a whole, the film is an engaging drama that depicts love and sports in a way that anyone can relate to.

24. Tin Cup

Kevin Costner has made a lot of sports movies. Some are more popular than Tin Cup, but none are able to find the same loveable tone. His lead character, Roy McAvoy, has charm for days, and it’s a delight watching him chase his destiny, not because he wants to fulfill his potential but because he’s horny and spiteful. 

Costner’s scenes opposite Rene Russo are a particular delight, and the movie deserves special credit for having one of the most unconventional and yet oddly perfect endings in sports movie history. Sometimes it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about creating a moment, and no one will ever forget Roy’s.

23. Rudy

Even people who aren’t very interested in sports can relate to the true story behind Rudy — all it takes is having a dream like Daniel E. “Rudy” Ruettiger did. Sean Astin (former The Goonies cast member and future Lord of the Rings movies star) plays the title role, a teenage student who is determined to beat the odds and achieve his life-long goal of making it into Notre Dame and playing on the college’s famed football team, despite being half the size of most of the players. 

Hoosier director David Anspaugh helms this inspirational, crowd-pleasing biopic that is easily one of the greatest underdog sports stories that cinema has ever seen.

22. Bring It On

When I tell you, “Brrr, it’s cold in here,” you better reply, “There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere.” Or else we can’t be friends. Very few of us went into Kirsten Dunst’s cheerleading feature Bring It On expecting to see the next beloved cult comedy classic. But a witty script, tons of spunky teenage attitude, and a killer dance soundtrack turned Bring It On into a beloved hit. It basically was Spirit Fingers, in cinematic form.

Movies like Bring It On succeed because everyone on board – from director Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) to leading ladies Dunst, Gabrielle Union, and Eliza Dushku – know exactly the type of movie they are making. They don’t play the material too seriously. They bring bubbly fun to an entertaining script. And they made an infectious teenage comedy that rose up during the time of the American Pie franchise (and all its idiotic clones), then proved to have the staying power of an instant classic.

21. Goon

Doug Glatt can throw a punch – that much is made clear early on in Goon (written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, and directed by Michael Dowse). It’s a skill that lands him a spot on a minor league hockey team, despite his lack of actual hockey-playing abilities. But Goon is about so much more than an enforcer who’s ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Doug Glatt may not be the smartest guy in the room, or the best hockey player on the ice, but he has a giant heart and it’s on display from beginning to end in this charming, funny and at times, exciting hockey movie. 

While we can easily celebrate Goon for being one of the better sports comedies out there, there’s also the great chemistry between Seann William Scott’s character and his love interest, Eva (Alison Pill), and the underrated supporting cast, which includes Baruchel, as well as Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy, Kim Coates and Marc-André Grondin.

20. Jerry Maguire

Time to show this list the money! Tom Cruise has had a number of spectacular roles over the course of his career, though none may be as rich, complicated, flawed, but rewarding as sports agent Jerry Maguire, who undergoes a crisis of conscience and tries to reinvent himself… with one boisterous client (Cuba Gooding Jr., who won an Oscar for his performance). 

Jerry Maguire is Cameron Crowe at his finest, mixing powerful life lessons about family, emotional support, and loyalty in a tight comedic package. The film also leans into a winning love story between Jerry and his single-mom assistant, played by an adorable Renee Zellweger. We’re kind of saying that Jerry Maguire “completes” this list. But also, this list had us at hello.

19. The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid may be a massive film property now, but one can’t forget that the whole saga traces its roots back to the original 1984 film. John G. Avildsen’s martial arts drama introduced the world to Daniel LaRusso and his witty and wise mentor, Mr. Miyagi. While it may be conventional in many respects, the movie is incredibly endearing and paints a picture of an unexpected yet warm friendship. Not only that, but the fight sequences are also well-choreographed and engaging.

One of the standout elements of Karate Kid, though, is the pitch-perfect performance from Pat Morita, who earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as Miyagi. It also made young Ralph Macchio into a household name (and the object of various teen girls’ affections). If you’ve yet to see this seminal ‘80s film, then you should do yourself a favor and give it a watch.

18. Cinderella Man

The real-life comeback story of boxer James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) was an inspiration to those who followed it as it played out during the Great Depression. So leave it to director Ron Howard to take that story and turn it into a rousing motion picture like 2005’s Cinderella Man. 

Crowe’s leading portrayal of Braddock mixes his trademark physicality and ferocity with a tenderness that shows just how much was riding on his fortunes in the ring. With a tour de force supporting role from Paul Giamatti, you can be sure that you’ll get as wrapped up in this movie as you would any captivating story of hope.

17. Creed

Arguably, the best Rocky movie since the original is not so much a continuation of the Italian Stallion’s own story, but a new chapter focusing on the aspirations of a young boxer to whom Sylvester Stallone’s character discovers he has a personal connection.

In his second collaboration with acclaimed Fruitvale Station and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan gives a stunning, star-making performance as Adonis Johnson — the love child of Rocky’s late rival-turned-mentor and friend, Apollo Creed — who enlists his “uncle’s” help to train him for a shot at the big time. Earning rave reviews, impressive box office returns, and spawning two sequels (including the Jordan-directed Creed III), Creed is an inspiring story of a man who chooses to fight not for the glory, but for his own sense of self-worth.

16. Million Dollar Baby

Stop me if you have heard this one before: A crusty old boxing trainer (Clint Eastwood) who’s just about ready to hang up his whistle encounters a scrappy young fighter (Hilary Swank) who just might have the right stuff to carry both of them to the top of their sport. 

That premise alone might be cliched and hokey, but Eastoowd hides a devastating left hook in Million Dollar Baby that, when it lands, turns this film’s narrative on its head, and coaxes magnificent performances by Eastwood, Swank, and Morgan Freeman. Some argue that the back half of Million Dollar Baby overdoes things. But I think the subtle composition both on screen and behind the camera marks some of the strongest work of Eastwood’s illustrious career. 

15. Hoosiers

Hoosiers hits every conceivable trope in the “underdog sports movie” playbook. A small team of basketball players with no chance gets a brand new unorthodox head coach who upsets the way things have always been. There’s even a “slow clap” moment. 

Maybe these cliches were less cliched in 1986, but even with a modern eye, Hoosiers still overcomes all of it. It’s all done so well that it’s essentially impossible to not fall in love with the movie. The characters, lead by Gene Hackman’s coach Dale, and his assistant coach, the town drunk played by Dennis Hopper, are what make Hoosiers unique and special. Every character is well-developed, making them easy to empathize with and root for, even if you know exactly what’s going to happen.

14. Major League

Major League is the kitchen sink of sports movies, and it’s a Cleveland-based miracle that it works as beautifully as it does. The film features a star-studded ensemble — featuring Charlie Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, Tom Berenger and more greats — where nearly everyone who has more than 3 lines boasts a measurable character arc. It hinges on a fairly dramatic theme of an underdog squad rising up from the dregs and reaching all-star status, while also serving as a hilarious comedy that borders on spoofery. Not to mention a romantic storyline or two, along with a “bosses vs. underlings” conflict, and the sports version of office politics. 

There’s no reason for this movie (or its only slightly less enjoyable sequel) to be this perfect, especially with “Wild Thing” as its musical hook. But by the power of Bob Uecker, Major League will be a classic forever, even if the same can't be said for the team’s mascot.

13. Hustle

Adam Sandler’s at a phase in his career right now where he can pretty much do anything he wants. Which is probably part of why he’s been so loyal to Netflix, delivering many hits to the streaming studio’s library through films like Hustle. 

Director Jeremiah Zagar’s story of a scout (Sandler) who’s trying to nurture a burgeoning talent (Juancho Hernangómez) that he spotted in his travels is so full of heart and determination that even for a movie focused on the scouting aspect, Hustle stands as a feel good inspirational sports flick. And the Sandman’s performance in this film is also one of the best he’s ever delivered.

12. Foxcatcher

Moneyball director Bennett MIller returns to the list for another dramatic narrative that’s set against sports as a backdrop – in this case, the world of olympic wrestling – but focused on so much more than the competition. 

Steve Carell sheds his funnyman tics to portray John Du Pont, an eccentric multi-millionaire who opens up his training facility to olympic hopeful Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum). Miller once again digs deep into the dark obsessions that can be found in most sports communities, while simultaneously shining a light on the harrowing lengths people will go to taste success, in any form. See it for the performances, even though the oppressive tone can be a challenge.

11. Ford v. Ferrari

With two stellar performances from Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Ford v. Ferrari isn’t just the story of an epic auto race, but the story of how two unlikely men made it all happen in the first place. The challenge the characters face ultimately isn’t the racing contest at all. It’s the struggle to even get there that is the most compelling. 

The racing scenes in Ford v. Ferrari are beautifully directed by James Mangold, and the Oscars for Editing and Sound Mixing were well deserved. But it’s the performances and the chemistry, shared between Damon and Bale that elevates Ford v. Ferrari to something special. They’re having so much fun on screen together that their passion bleeds into the audience. 

10. The Big Lebowski

The one sports movie with White Russians as a favored drink, The Big Lebowski isn’t really about sports in the way that others films are, but Jeff Daniels’ Dude wouldn’t be The Dude without bowling, man. The game and its setting are as critical to the Coen brothers’ story and its characters as baseball is to The Natural, or as basketball is to Hoop Dreams, and those didn’t even feature John Tuturro sensually licking bowling balls occasionally. 

One could pretend another sport could serve as a substitute, but then The Big Lebowski wouldn’t contain the unintuitively soothing sounds of bowling balls rolling across wood and pins being smashed into. If scenes happened in loud football stands or super-quiet golf crowds, how would we ever hear John Goodman’s Walter hollering at Donny? Nah, bowling is perfect… just as The Big Lebowski is perfect. But that’s just, like, my opinion, man.

9. The Hustler

In 1987, Paul Newman finally won the elusive Best Actor Oscar for The Color of Money, the sequel to the movie that he arguably should have won the Academy Award for first – 1961’s The Hustler. The original movie sees Newman as young, hotshot pool player Fast Eddie Felson, a hustler, making his living taking people’s money. But after he is soundly defeated by the great Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), Eddie goes on a journey that reveals to him the true value of winning… and losing.

The Hustler is full of brilliant performances, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and Gleason would all see Oscar nominations alongside Newman, and for good reason. Fast Eddie Felson’s character arc, and each character’s role in it, is beautifully heartbreaking. The Hustler isn’t about whether Fast Eddie wins or loses the game of pool at the end. It’s not a movie about working hard to be the best at your sport of choice, and winning in the end. The Hustler asks the audience to question the definitions of terms like winner and loser. The sport is just the metaphor. Life is the drama.

8. Remember the Titans

There was a time when Walt Disney Pictures seemed to dominate the world of sports biopics. That reign began thanks to director Boaz Yakin’s Remember the Titans. Recalling the true story of T. C. Williams High School’s football season under the watch of head coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), the movie is as known for early appearances by future stars Hayden Panetierre and Ryan Gosling as it was just how good of a football film it’s still remembered to be. 

The best sports movies draw crowds in with stories that are worth watching, and this tale of overcoming racial boundaries celebrates the camaraderie of football with a huge debt of respect. Even if you’re not a sporting person, it’s hard not to fall into the expert storytelling and killer soundtrack Remember the Titans has to offer. However, the central performances of Denzel Washington and Will Patton, roping in a bunch of young talent worthy of standing on the field with them, is the truly successful team effort.

7. The Sandlot

The Sandlot isn’t about winning games, as much as it’s about bragging rights. It isn’t about losing as much as it’s about not getting in trouble. It’s about growing up and how, for millions of kids, adolescence is commingled with playing sports, even if that’s just in a rundown baseball field during summer vacation.

We love to measure success in wins and losses, but in childhood, those wins and losses aren’t always measured in runs scored. Sometimes a win is making friends, watching the fireworks or talking trash to some scumbag rich kids. Sometimes it’s catching your first flyball or concocting a really inappropriate scheme to kiss the much older lifeguard. The Sandlot just gets it. It gets how sports sometimes feel like everything to a fifth grader but also, sometimes feel like nothing if it’s too hot or there are girls around or you need to learn what a Smore is. 

6. A League of Their Own

The best thing about A League Of Their Own isn’t just that its loveable characters are women with realistic personalities, it’s that they’re also realistic baseball players. All of the little touches feel so authentic. A lesser movie would tell us Kit is a bad hitter. A League Of Their Own tells us she can’t lay off the high ones. A lesser movie would tell us Evelyn is a bad outfielder. This one shows her missing the cutoff woman. 

Much of that credit should go to director Penny Marshall, who oh so carefully walks the first base line between comedy and authenticity. Instead of betraying reality for bigger laughs or bigger emotional highs and lows, she consistently makes little choices that make the film more relatable — like Jimmy Dugan getting mad at himself, not because he can’t hit a pitching machine but because he’s hitting too many ground balls to short. That grounded realism helps us invest in the characters more, and it makes the film’s bigger moments like the war telegram and the home plate collision that much more impactful. 

5. The Fighter

In 2010, David O. Russell gave the world one of the best boxing movies of all time and a tremendous exploration of family dynamics with his Academy Award-winning biopic, The Fighter. On the surface, the movie is about Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his quest to make a name for himself in the ring and escape the shadow and tarnished legacy of his half-brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), but dig deeper and you have a family-centric drama about past trauma, resentment, and intense in-fighting; all of which are combined to create an intense, emotional, and rich experience.

And while Micky, and Wahlberg for that matter, gets overshadowed by the larger-than-life personalities of his half-brother, and their mother, Alice Eklund-Ward (Melissa Leo), it almost feels as if that’s the point of the movie. Yeah, Bale and Leo both won Oscars for their outstanding performances, and rightfully so, but Wahlberg’s take on the underdog boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts, is this unlikely hero, one who’ll do anything he can to bring glory to his hometown and his family.

4. Field of Dreams

“If you build it, he will come” is a line that will forever live in movie history. Those seven words in the opening minutes of Field of Dreams set Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella on a path that defies logic, reason, and reality, while also helping the hippie-turned-farmer ease the pain of his childhood hero, just not the one he expected in the beginning. Unlike a lot of other great baseball movies over the years, this 1989 sports classic has less to do with the fundamentals of the game (though those are important) and more to do with the passion and love for the game, its history, and the redemptive quality of the sport.

Similar to the opening of the movie featuring an iconic line, Field of Dreams also closes with a quote that fills my eyes with tears just thinking about it: “Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?” Watching the resentment, pain, and decades of not being able to say the right words shared by Ray and his father wash away in an instant is never not a powerful moment, one that leads me to call my dad to talk more times than not.

3. Moneyball

The best baseball movie ever made isn’t completely about the action on the diamond, but more dedicated to the moves that happen behind the scenes to build a possible contender. Brad Pitt gives one of his greatest performances as the steadfast general manager Billy Beane, the inventor of moneyball who shattered decades-old baseball practices to introduce a system heavily influenced by metrics. 

Baseball has not been the same since Beane and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) revamped the Oakland A’s to match their revolutionary system. And neither have sports movies, which now have a new bar of quality to meet, one that’s set by Aaron Sorkin as a screenwriter and Bennett Miller as a director. Look for winning supporting turns in Moneyball from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Robin Wright in this dramatic masterpiece.   

2. Uncut Gems

The number one rule of gambling is never to chase your losses. Uncut Gems is a stressful depiction of what happens if you do. Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner begs, borrows, steals and mortgages both his family’s and his own future repeatedly on low percentage parlays, fake watches and the title uncut gem in increasingly desperate efforts to stay ahead of creditors. It’s an absolute nightmare to watch as a viewer, but it’s also, in a weird way, a lot like watching a sporting event you’re really emotionally invested in. 

And thanks to Sandler’s career best performance, it’s so easy to emotionally invest in Howard. He’s an absolute scumbag, a cheater with a gambling addiction and zero impulse control, but despite his rank horribleness, there’s still something about him you want to root for. He’s the horrible team so many of us were groomed into rooting for as children, and even though we all know it’s gonna end poorly, there’s still that hope somewhere inside, it might be different this time. 

1. Rocky

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone became one of the biggest names in Hollywood and launched what would later become one of the premier sports-drama franchises the world has ever known with Rocky. More toned down and grounded than the movies that would follow in the years and decades to come, this iconic boxing movie introduced audiences to Rocky Balboa (Stallone), a down-on-his-luck and struggling fighter who’s given a shot at Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and his championship belt.

Gritty, heartfelt, and inspirational, this beloved underdog story has inspired millions over the years with its touching and unforgettable drama about never giving up and always knowing your own worth, even when others don’t see it. There are boxing movies, and then there is Rocky. There are sports movies, and then there is Rocky. This Best Picture winner takes the best of sports movies and drama films and combines those elements to create a masterpiece that beautifully explores the heart and soul of a fighter.

Over the last five years, the Karate Kid franchise has thrived thanks to Cobra Kai, the TV show that originally started out as a YouTube Red/YouTube Premium offering, and has been exclusive to Netflix subscribers since Season 3. However, remember that in 2010, a remake/reboot of the original Karate Kid movie was released starring Jackie Chan, but we never followed up on that corner of the franchise. Well, that’s now changed, as it’s been announced that these two corners will come together in the upcoming Karate Kid movie, but what does this mean for Cobra Kai?

Let’s get what we know for sure out of the way first. Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio are set to respectively reprise Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso in this 2024 movie release from Sony Pictures that has previously been described as “the return of the original Karate Kid franchise.” Jonathan Entwistle is directing the feature, Rob Lieberman is writing the script and Karen Rosenfelt is producing. Chan and Macchio also got together to announce a global casting search for who will play the young title protagonist in the new Karate Kid movie, as seen below (more details can be found at the Karate Kid casting website):

So that’s the big secret behind this movie: 2010’s The Karate Kid resides in the same universe as the original film series rather than in a separate continuity. Now I can’t wait to see how Daniel reacts when he learns that Mr. Han’s training techniques are awfully similar to the ones used by his late master, Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. Shortly after this new Karate Kid movie was announced, Macchio said he had no information to share about the project, and by the following November, he still had a lot of questions about what this next Karate Kid chapter would entail. A year later, now we know he worked out a deal to star opposite Jackie Chan in this next movie, and according to THR, their paths will cross as part of the story chronicling a teen from China on the East Coast “who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor.”

It’s nice to have a clearer picture about what to expect from the new Karate Kid movie, but what does all this mean for Cobra Kai? Well, in the time since the movie was announced, the Netflix show was renewed for Season 6, but this will also be the final batch of episodes. So whether another Karate Kid movie was happening or not, the Cobra Kai saga was going to be wrapping up. 

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Cobra Kai’s final episodes will somehow lay the groundwork for this cinematic tale. If that’s the case, hopefully it’s not done in too cliffhanger-y a way, as no doubt the show’s fans would still live Cobra Kai’s ending to feel conclusive enough rather than simply as a tease for what’s coming to theaters. Furthermore, are Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio the only familiar Karate Kid franchise faces who will appear in this movie? Could people like William Zabka, Jaden Smith and even Hilary Swank show up too?

It may be a while until these questions and more are answered, but for now, just remember that the new Karate Kid movie opens on December 13, 2024, the same date that The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim comes out. You should also look over everything we know about Cobra Kai Season 6 so far.

I have always been firm believer in the phrase, “A hero is only as good as his or her villain.” I also believe that some of the best movies of the 1980s are home to some of the greatest heroic characters in cinematic history. By that logic, the antagonists from that decade would have would also have to be pretty top notch, to say the least.

Well, the 30 great ‘80s movie villains below certainly make a great case for that bold claim. Take a look at the heinous jerks, power-hungry criminals, and coldblooded killers from the unforgettable decade, below.

Ace Merrill (Stand By Me)

Part of the reason why 1986’s Stand By Me — Rob Reiner’s adaptation of the coming-of-age novella, The Body — is one of the most beloved Stephen King movies is that its darker moments never rely on a supernatural threat. That was handled perfectly enough by Kiefer Sutherland’s performance as Ace Merrill, who is remembered today as one the quintessential examples of how unmercifully sadistic a childhood bully can be.

Audrey II (Little Shop Of Horrors)

A 1960 B-movie by Roger Corman inspired a hit Broadway show that director Frank Oz made into one of the greatest musical horror comedy movies — 1986’s Little Shop of Horrors, in which Rick Moranis’ Seymour Krelborn comes across a weeeiiiirrrrd plant that soon becomes a sensation. 

The catch: Audrey II (named after his co-worker and crush, played by Ellen Greene) is really a “mean, green mother from outer space” with an insatiable craving for human flesh and an even meaner singing voice (courtesy of The Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs) that could consume the entire world if it grows large enough.

Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)

Before playing one of the greatest ‘80s movies heroes (and becoming the best live-action Batman actor in the process), Michael Keaton first collaborated with Tim Burton in the title role of the spooky 1988 classic, Beetlejuice. The future Academy Award nominee actually had a lot of influence in the creation of the kooky, conniving bio-exorcist — from his rapid-fire speech pattern, bizarre wardrobe choices, and moldy skin — making him a villain hard to dislike and even harder to forget, despite only 17 minutes of screen time.

Biff Tannen (Back To The Future)

Making Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) troublesome adventures in the time travel movie classic, Back to the Future, and its sequels even more difficult is Biff Tannen — easily the best-known role of comedian Tom Wilson. Initially a typical, ‘50s-era high school bully, by Part II, he evolves into a dynamic antagonist of various sides who, in an alternate 1985, becomes a powerful, ruthlessly corrupt business tycoon with the unwitting help of his older self.

Chet Donnelly (Weird Science)

Has cinema ever shown us a more fearsome example of how horrible older siblings can be than the late Bill Paxton as Chet Donnelly from 1985’s Weird Science? From little things like stealing breakfast from his brother, Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), to shoving a shotgun in Gary’s (Anthony Micheal Hall) face, the dull-brained, militaristic terror is easily the biggest jerk from John Hughes’ movies and his comeuppance at the end — Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) turns him into some frog-like blob — is less than he really deserves.

Christine (Christine)

It is every teenager’s dream to have their own car, but when Keith Gordon’s Arnie gets his own set of wheels in John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine from 1983, it proves to be a nightmare… for everyone else in his life. The titular, red Plymouth Fury (named after George Romero’s ex-wife) turns out to have a mind of her own, the ability to heal herself of any damage, and grows so protective of her driver that she will do anything to keep him all to herself. 

Chucky (Child's Play)

Anyone who suffers from an irrational fear of dolls must have felt a refreshing sense of validation upon the 1988 release of one of the best scary doll movies, Child’s Play, in which a single mother (Catherine Hicks) discovers a friendly-looking gift for her young son (Alex Vincent) is possessed by the soul of a nasty serial killer. Academy Award nominee and deeply underrated actor, Brad Dourif, gives a memorably menacing performance as the voice of Charles “Chucky” Lee Ray that is key to why the franchise still continues to this day with Syfy’s hit Chucky TV show.

Darth Sidious (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi)

If this was a list of villains from the best ‘70s movies, we would have given praise to the original Star Wars movie’s Darth Vader, but when it comes to classics from this decade, the most fearsome foe from George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away is his boss, Darth Sidious. Otherwise known as Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord (whom Ian McDiarmid first appeared as in 1983’s Return of the Jedi) may appear old and decrepit, but behind those yellow eyes is a mighty, nigh unstoppable force of deadly, tyrannical manipulation — not to mention, the lightning that emits from his fingertips is pretty devastating. 

The Duke (Escape From New York)

One of the first and most iconic acting roles by Isaac Hayes (the Academy Award-winning composer of the iconic movie theme song from Shaft) is a really bad mother— shut your mouth — known as The Duke from John Carpenter’s dystopian 1981 cult thriller, Escape from New York. The ruthless criminal, who has established himself as the most powerful inmate in the maximum prison that once was Manhattan, sees the accidental arrival of the President (Donald Pleasance) as his ticket to freedom and compromises the anti-heroic Snake Plissken’s (a badass Kurt Russell) rescue mission by barbaric means.

Gozer (Ghostbusters)

The moment that really confirms 1984’s Ghostbusters as a classic horror-comedy movie (with emphasis on the horror) is certainly not when Slimer first appears, but in the final act when the crew must take on the demonic Gozer (Slavitza Jovan, but later played by Olivia Wilde in Ghostbusters: Afterlife). The terrifying, omnipotent “prehistoric bitch” takes way more than a proton pack to defeat, but at least has enough respect for its human adversaries to give them the choice of what will be bring forth their planet’s destruction, resulting in the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s attack on New York.

The Gremlins (Gremlins)

Many can relate to the idea of giving your child a seemingly cute and cuddly pet that turns out to be a terror, which producer Steven Spielberg, writer Chris Columbus, and director Joe Dante exaggerated to a nightmarish levels in the Christmas horror movie classic, 1984’s Gremlins. If only the Mogwai’s three rules were followed, it could not have given rise to the titular, green, grinning, goblin-like creatures that give Billy’s (Zach Galligan) small town a horrifying holiday.

Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)

Growing up, parents always said not to be afraid of bad dreams because they cannot hurt you, but what if that was not the case and staying awake was the only solution? Such is the concept of writer and director Wes Craven’s 1984 supernatural slasher favorite, A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which Robert Englund gives his most iconic performance as Freddy Krueger — a grotesque boogeyman with the power to slay people with his razor-clawed glove from within their subconscious.

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

You would never believe that the late Alan Rickman had never been in a movie before giving his stunning, seminal performance in 1988’s Die Hard cast as Hans Gruber. The bloodthirsty, but admirably sophisticated, German thief is a polar opposite to Bruce Willis’ reluctant, blue collar hero, John McClane, making him the perfect adversary for, arguably, the greatest action movie ever made and one of the genre’s finest villains.

Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)

While the original from 1976 is a classic Best Picture Oscar winner, the fourth installment of the Rocky movies from 1985 might be the most iconic in the Sylvester Stallone-led boxing movie franchise. A good chunk of credit should be given to Dolph Lundgren as the cold, hulking, Russian rival athlete, Ivan Drago, who takes competition deathly seriously, based on his signature catchphrase, “I must break you,” and his absolute lack of remorse for incidentally killing Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the ring. 

Jack Torrance (The Shining)

One of the reasons why Stephen King did not care for The Shining (to put it lightly) was the casting of Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, as he believed it would let on his eventual descent into madness from the moment we first see him. However, the Academy Award winner’s bombastically unhinged performance was one of the top reasons why Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation is so beloved to this day and why the good dad gone bad is, arguably, the best Stephen King movie villain yet. 

Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th Sequels)

In 1980’s original installment of the Friday the 13th movies, the killer stalking Camp Crystal Lake was a vengeful mother named Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), who would easily go down in history as one of the greatest female horror villains of all time. Yet, the one who would go down as one of the most iconic horror movie villains in general and became the (hockey-masked) face of the subsequent franchise was her son, Jason Voorhees, who started off slicing teens with his machete to avenge his mother, but did not really need much of a motivation as the series went on.

Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid)

In the ‘80s, one of the go-to actors to play the designated superficial, bullish jock in a coming-of-age movie was William “Billy” Zabka and earning him that reputation was his role as Johnny Lawrence in 1984’s The Karate Kid. Years later, the character — introduced in the classic movie as Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) brutal martial arts rival — would be seen in a whole new light when Zabka reprised the role in the Cobra Kai cast on the YouTube original series that became a Netflix exclusive.

The Joker (Batman)

There have been many different, unique portrayals of The Joker — the top dog of Batman’s rogues gallery — with some favoring Mark Hamill’s enduring animated iteration or Heath Ledger’s unpredictably manic, Oscar-winning interpretation in 2008’s The Dark Knight. However, when 1989’s Batman came out, it seemed like nothing would be able to surpass Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier — a Gotham gangster whose chemical accident turns him into a Clown Prince of Crime with an ingenious balance of cartoonish lunacy and chilling wickedness.

Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

There are many reasons why modern audiences struggle to call Robert Zemeckis’ astonishing blend of live-action and animation, 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a great movie for kids, definitively. One of the most pressing is the way Christopher Lloyd fully channels his bad side — and abstains from blinking his eyes — as the ominous Judge Doom, who only gets much, much scarier when we discover his true identity.

Khan Noonien Singh (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan)

Ricardo Montalban first appeared as a genetically engineered Augment known as Khan — or, as William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk pronounces it, “KHAAAAAAAAAN!” — in an episode of the original Star Trek series in 1967. However, his grand return to the role as the titular antagonist of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of the most legendary performances in the franchise’s history and key as to why the 1982 sequel is still widely considered the best Star Trek movie to date.

Lord Humungus (The Road Warrior)

George Miller’s Mad Max movies have had their fair share of great villains, from Toecutter in the 1979 original to Immortan Joe in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road — both of whom were played by Hugh Keays-Byrne. When the franchise fully entered its influential, dystopian-era stage with 1981’s The Road Warrior, Mel Gibson’s anti-hero was tasked with taking on the Marauders’ hulking leader, Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), who kind of looks like if Jason Voorhees was a medieval exotic dancer, but is nonetheless a memorably imposing figure off post-apocalyptic tyranny.

Mama Fratelli (The Goonies)

The deadly traps that the thrill-seeking youngsters from the Goonies cast encounter while searching for buried treasure are scary enough, but if there is anything more terrifying in director Richard Donner’s 1985 cult classic, it’s the matriarch of the menacing Fratelli family. Given her reputation for playing particularly “grouchy” characters, to say that Academy Award nominee Anne Ramsey gives one of her most intimidating performances as a woman trying to beat a group of children to the site of hidden loot is really saying something.

Mola Ram (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)

Harrison Ford’s intrepid fortune hunter, Indiana Jones, has made enemies with many dastardly personalities, but I do not believe a single one of them comes close to being as haunting as Amrish Puri as Mola Ram. What better proof is there than the terrifying scene from 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the Thuggee cult leader reaches into a man’s chest, pulls out his still-beating heart, and lowers him into a fiery pit as a sacrifice to his ruthless deity. 

Mother Alien (Aliens)

In the franchises’ decades-long history, the Alien movies have shown us various breeds of the Xenomorph — each one horrifying, but also undeniably picturesque, in its own way — but the one that might take the cake, however, is the (literal) mother of them all. Then again, we cannot blame this queen for her main goal in James Cameron’s 1986 sequel, Aliens, which is to protect her children from Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, who is on her own mission to rescue the young, orphaned Newt (Carrie Henn).

The Predator (Predator)

The Xenomorph may be cinema’s definitive depiction of extra-terrestrial evil, but the most badass of them all would have to be the titular creature played by the late Kevin Peter Hall in director John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi hit, which is still the best of the Predator movies in most people’s eyes. As Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch would demonstrate in the third act of the testosterone-fueled, jungle-set action thriller, it does not take brawn, but brains to defeat the hulking beast, who admirably maintains a code of honor when hunting his prey.

Principal Richard Vernon (The Breakfast Club)

I pray for anyone who ever felt like their principal relished in making his students’ lives miserable when they were in high school, because that would mean that they actually knew someone like Richard Vernon. 

Paul Gleason, an actor who seemed to relish playing unlikable characters with brilliant focus, may have hit his peak in that regard in 1985 with his performance in John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club cast as a nearly sadistic principal with no sense of respect or concern for his youthful peers. I hope the custodian, Carl (John Kapelos), managed to talk some sense into him and save him from being a dangerous embarrassment to the public school system.

Rene Beloq (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Out of all of the memorable Indiana Jones movie villains, my pick for the all-time best would be Rene Beloq, played by Paul Freeman in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. As a fellow fortune-hunter, the charismatic Frenchman is a perfect match for Harrison Ford’s hero — having a similar goal, but going about it in a more despicable manner by partnering with the Nazis and being willing to kill and manipulate to get his hands on any great fortune.

Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

There really is not a “good guy” in director Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking — yet commercial unsuccessful — adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? from 1982, considering how there is nothing admirable about Rick Deckard’s (Harrison Ford) occupation in “retiring” Replicants from a moral standpoint. Furthermore, as an artificial being who wants nothing more but to live longer and freely, I think that Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty is actually one of Blade Runner’s more sympathetic characters, which is what makes him such a unique example of antagonism.

The Terminator (The Terminator)

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most iconic characters would come to be known as a great hero in the early ‘90s with the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but that is a far cry from his original depiction in 1984. The titular antagonist of James Cameron’s breakthrough, The Terminator, may look like an ordinary (yet extraordinarily ripped) man, but is really a futuristic machine that does not negotiate, feel any emotion, and refuses to cease until his target — Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the unwitting mother of a dystopian war hero — is dead.

The Thing (The Thing)

Imagine not being able to trust if someone you know personally is really who they say they are or if they are a shapeshifting, otherworldly creature in disguise. That is the concept of, arguably, the best of John Carpenter’s movies, 1982’s The Thing, which more faithful adapts John W. Campbell  Jr.’s horror novella “Who Goes There?” into a master class in suspense in which its alien antagonist pits an Arctic research crew against each other, challenging them figure out who is still human.

For anyone who wants to get in the business of playing bad people on the silver screen, they should consider ‘80s movie villains their heroes.

The nerds versus the jocks. The geeks vs. cool kids. It’s a tale as old as time, but especially since the 1980s. At least on film. Nerd culture may be winning today, but it wasn’t always that way, so here are some of the best movies where the geeks defeat the bullies.

The Nerds Beat The Jocks - Revenge Of The Nerds

Revenge of the Nerds has a LOT of problematic parts to it, but the core theme of the movie remains universal. The underdog nerds get picked on by the football-playing jocks so much that there is nothing left to do but beat them, and beat them at their own game. Sure, it takes the help of some of their national fraternity brothers, and it can easily be argued that much of what the nerds do in the college olympics is straight-up cheating. But hey, at least they use their brains to outwit the jocks' brawn. No one can say Booger cheated in the belching contest, though. 

Daniel Ruins Johnny’s Life - The Karate Kid

Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid is a quiet East Coast kid who is forced to move to LA where he has a hard time fitting in. In a moment of anger, he lashes out at the popular kid in school, Johnny Lawrence, which makes him a target for some vicious bullying by Johnny and his fellow Cobra Kais. It’s Daniel, of course, who gets the last laugh when he takes Johnny down at the Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship, which, we’d later learn in Cobra Kai, completely ruins Johnny’s life. Which seems a little unfair of the Karate Kid movies, but nothing a few Coors can’t fix. 

Clifford Breaks Moody’s Nose - My Bodyguard

If you’ve never seen My Bodyguard, you’re not alone. If you’re of a certain generation, though, it was one of those movies that was on cable all the time in the mid-'80s, so you might not remember it well, but you remember it. The plot is pretty basic: a wimpy kid, played by Chris Makepeace, gets bullied by a greaser-type (Matt Dillion) and he enlists the biggest outcast in the school (Adam Baldwin) to help settle the score. It takes a while and some ups and downs, but finally, the wimp shows he doesn’t need the outcast and takes out the greaser with one solid punch. 

Cecile And Annette Expose Kathryn - Cruel Intentions

It’s hard to think of Reese Witherspoon as some kind of underdog, but that’s what her character, Annette, is compared to the alpha female at an elite private school played brilliantly by Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions. Together with Cecile (Selma Blair), an even quieter teenager at the school, they get revenge on the manipulative Kathryn by exposing all her dirty secrets and sexual exploits, not to mention her copious cocaine use. The final scene in the movie is one that should be in the canon of great moments on film as The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” plays and Kathryn is embarrassed beyond belief. It’s incredibly satisfying.  

Jerry Earns The Bully’s Respect - Three O’Clock High

If there were a Mt. Rushmore of geeks beating bullies, Three O’Clock High would be on it. The movie is so rewatchable because it’s so relatable, yet fanciful. The tension that builds as the clock gets closer and closer to H-Hour – 3 p.m. – is so anxiety-inducing, that you have to keep watching, even when you know how it’s going to end. Starring Casey Siemaszko as Jerry, the geek, and Richard Tyson as Buddy the bully, the movie takes us through all the highs and lows as Jerry tries desperately to get out of the fight he’s been forced into by Buddy. Tick Tock, Jerry. 

Ralph Wails On Scut - A Christmas Story

Another classic moment in great bully defeats is in, of course, A Christmas Story. Scut Farkas (Zack Ward) has been harassing Ralphie (Peter Billingsly) and his buddies forever. Every day on their walk to school, they must run the gauntlet past Scut and his toadie, Grover. Finally, one day Ralphie snaps and amid a flurry of obscenities, smacks Scut around for what seems like way too long to cause just a bloody nose, but it works, and Ralphie finally rids himself of the harassment forever. As we learned in A Christmas Story Christmas, he also won Scut's respect. 

Chet Gets What He Deserves - Weird Science

One of the great bullies of the ‘80s was Chet in Weird Science. In a lot of ways, he’s the ultimate prototype of the big brother bully, constantly picking on Wyatt, played by Ilan Mitchell-Smith. Chet, played by the late, great Bill Paxon, pretty much doesn’t like anything about Wyatt and is never afraid to let him know it, or give him a towel to cover his women’s underwear. Finally, Lisa (Kelly LaBrock), the woman Wyatt and Gary (Anthony Micheal Hall) created, has had enough and turns Chet into a weird toad-like, fly-eating thing. It’s karmic justice for sure. 

The Freshman Dump Paint On O’Bannion - Dazed And Confused

Dazed and Confused has a lot of characters that you’d want to hang out with in high school and one that you wouldn’t. Fred O’Bannion (Ben Affleck) failed his senior year and it seems he only had two goals for his “super senior” year, play football and haze freshman. After taking out some anger on Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins), Mitch and his buddies hatch a plan. They lure O’Bannion out of the Emporium and just as he’s about to wail on a couple of freshmen with his infamous paddle, the others satisfyingly dump a bucket of paint on him. It’s the last time we’d see O’Bannion in the movie, and you have to wonder what became of his night. 

George Saves Lorraine - Back To The Future 

One of the greatest geek getting back at the bully moments on film happens by accident. You see, it’s supposed to be Marty (Micheal J. Fox) in the car with Lorraine (Lea Thompson) outside the dance in Back To The Future, not Biff (Thomas F. Wilson). When George (Crispin Glover) opens the car door, he recoils in fear, as this is NOT how things were supposed to go. After taking a few punches, George girds his strength and takes Biff down. Audiences rejoice, Lorraine falls in love with the right person, and Marty’s siblings start reappearing on his photo (after George and Lorraine finally kiss, of course). 

The Kids Fight Back - Heavyweights

Heavyweights is a great, underrated summer camp movie. The camp for overweight kids has a new owner, Tony (Ben Stiller), who is a nightmare of a director that terrorizes the kids at the camp they previously loved under the old ownership. Finally, the kids snap, and enact revenge in a way only summer camp kids can. 

With a plan right out of Home Alone the kids trick Tony into getting trapped in a hole while on a hike and build a holding cell for their tormentor using a bug zapper to electrify it. Tony eventually escapes and knocks himself out trying to fight a camper’s father. The camp is saved from his dictatorship, and we learn not to put Twinkies on our pizza. 

Cinderella Saves A Slipper - Cinderella

There is no bigger classic in this genre than good old Cinderella. The Disney film may have come out almost 75 years ago, but it still resonates with kids today because everyone can relate to her. Cinderella loses one glass slipper at the ball, leading Prince Charming to declare he'll marry the woman whose foot fits. Even when her evil stepmother and witchy stepsisters do all they can to stop her from trying it on, she has the other slipper, which she'd hidden, and it fits, of course. So, they all lived happily ever after! Except for the bullies, naturally. 

Lana Gets Coned - The Princess Diaries

Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore) is a prototype of the popular cheerleader bully. She torments and harasses Mia (Anne Hathaway) mercilessly until one day Lana goes too far. As Mia and her friend, Jeremiah, sit and chat, Lana lays into both of them. Mia, who has found some confidence after learning she's royalty, calmly walks up to Lana, compliments her cheerleading outfit, and smears an entire ice cream cone on it. The other students erupt in cheer, chanting "Lana got coned!" and Mia wins the day, while later winning at life as the princess of Genovia. It's something the two stars still joke about today. 

Bastian Chases Away The Bullies - The NeverEnding Story

The bullies play a pretty small, but extremely crucial role, in The NeverEnding Story. You might not even remember that the three kids who bully Bastian (Barret Oliver) are even in the movie, but without them, we wouldn't have the beginning of the story. The reason Bastian discovers the bookstore and the book that leads to his amazing adventure is because he's hiding from the three little twerps. Bastian gets his revenge at the end, when he rides Falkor into New York City and chases the bullies into the dumpster where they first tossed him. 

There may always be bullies, unfortunately, but as long as there are people to stand up to them, the world will be a better place. Let's all take a lesson from our heroes here and, if you're the geek, always stand up for yourself. But, if you're the bully...well...take your just desserts and learn from your mistakes. 

From a down-and-out boxer in Philadelphia to an undersized high school basketball team in rural Indiana, great underdog stories in sports movies can be found in many places. It’s not just boxing and basketball; every sport has inspired amazing stories of the little guy overcoming adversity and winning it all. Here’s our list of the 22 best underdog stories in sports films. 

Rocky Wins The Cold War - Rocky IV

Rocky Balboa is the ultimate underdog and while my first inclination was to just put the original Rocky on this list, it’s missing one thing – a victory. He was just as big an underdog in that ultimate Cold War film: Rocky IV. After the robotic Soviet, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), literally kills Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the ring, it’s up to Sylvester Stallone’s character to save the world from communism, and he almost died in the process. Let freedom ring. 

USA Wins The Hockey Gold Medal - Miracle

The USA hockey team defeating the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics might rank as the biggest upset in sports history, and unlike Rocky’s victory, this one happened in real life. The movie about it, Miracle, starring Kurt Russell as legendary coach Herb Brooks, inspires all the same dramatic emotions as the game did and gets us all to believe in miracles. 

Daniel LaRusso Wins The Title - The Karate Kid

With a little help from Mr. Miagi (Pat Morita), Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) wins the Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship tournament against all odds (and with an injured leg), defeating one of cinema’s most infamous bullies, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). It was such a big win, an entire franchise was launched, and almost 40 years later, we still can’t get enough of it.  

Kit Beats Dottie - A League Of Their Own

A sibling rivalry reaches a boil in A League Of Their Own after Kit (Lori Petty) is traded to a different team than her sister, Dottie (Geena Davis), in the All-American Girls Baseball League. It sets up the climactic scene of the movie, where the sisters play against each other in the World Series. It looks like Dottie is going to get the best of Kit again when she drives in a run to take the lead in Game 7. Kit gets a chance to bat in the 9th and scorches a ball to the outfield. As she rounds third, the ball comes into Dottie at the plate and Kit levels her, knocking the ball out of her hand and winning the series for the Belles

Jess Succeeds Against All Odds - Bend It Like Beckham

In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess (Parminder Nagra) faces a hostile family unhappy with her choice to play soccer, which they see as something a girl shouldn’t do. Eventually, as angry as her father is, he sneaks in to watch her play and is devastated by the racial slurs she endures and realizes what it all means to her. After winning the final match of the season, Jess gets a scholarship to college in the U.S. and more importantly, respect from her family. 

Rudy Makes The Team - Rudy

Rudy is one of the most iconic underdog movies of all time. Based on the true story of Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin), it follows the longshot walk-on at Notre Dame’s quest to make one of the most prestigious college football teams in the country. There is some dispute over how it all went down in real life, as ND quarterback Joe Montana explained to Dan Patrick, but on film, it's one of the best sports movies we've ever seen, with the unlikely underdog defying all odds to succeed. 

Roy Hobbs’ Home Runs Wins The Game - The Natural

A thrilling sports movie is The Natural, starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, a baseball slugger who never really got the opportunity to become an all-time great after he is shot by a stalker (Barbara Hershey). Many years later, the forgotten Hobbs gets signed to the struggling New York Knights. In one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, Hobbs comes to bat in the bottom of the ninth and hits a home run that shatters the lights, wins the game, and clinches the pennant. 

High School Wimp Makes The Football Team - Lucas

The titular Lucas, played by the late Corey Haim, is a high school “loser” who is constantly tormented by bullies on the football team. Even worse for him is that he’s got a crush on Maggie, a new girl in town who befriends him, but later draws his ire as she falls in with the popular crowd. In a desperate attempt to woo her, Lucas joins the football team. He's bullied by his so-called teammates until, finally, he’s hit so hard in his first game that he winds up in the hospital. It earns the respect of his teammates and he receives a varsity letter. 

Misfits Win The Dodgeball Title - Dodgeball

In the mid-'00s, dodgeball was kind of like pickleball is today. You can thank the comedy, Dodgeball, starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Sure, the plot is a little cliché, pitting the unathletic “Average Joes” against the Globo Gym jocks, but the jokes make up for it. In the climactic finale, Vaughn's character takes the bold strategy of blindfolding himself while going against Stiller’s character in a sudden death face-off for the championship. Vaughn dodges one ball and plants another in Stiller’s face. The Joes win and the prize money saves the gym. 

The Ducks Beat The Hawks - The Mighty Ducks

The Mighty Ducks is the ultimate underdog story. It’s The Bad News Bears of hockey with one major difference, the Ducks win the end. The plot sees an underfunded team of misfits coached by the head misfit (Emilio Estevez), triumph over the too-well-funded powerhouse in a kids hockey league. In the championship, the Ducks win on a penalty shot, but the important thing is the lessons we all learn along the way. 

Big Mike Oher Succeeds - The Blind Side

Based on the true story of Mike Oher (Quinton Aaron), who went on to play for the Baltimore Ravens, The Blind Side follows Oher’s journey from high school to college while guided by his adoptive mother (Sandra Bullock). He had an incredibly tough childhood and it takes the effort of a village, led by Bullock's character, to get his grades and confidence up, and see him through to college. 

Hickory High Wins State - Hoosiers

You knew we couldn’t get through this list without Hoosiers. Another movie based loosely on a true story, it's become the ultimate tale of the underdog winning it all and maybe the best basketball movie of all time. Led by coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), the undersized Hickory High School beats South Bend on a buzzer-beater to win the title. 

Richard Williams Raises Champions - King Richard

King Richard vividly shows how difficult it was for a family from Compton to become the GOATS in a sport usually reserved for country clubs and the elite. Will Smith, who plays the Williams sisters’ father, Richard, was so great in the role he won an Oscar, and his performance is one for ages. 

The Titans Go Undefeated - Remember The Titans

Remember The Titans, starring Denzel Washington as real-life high school football coach Herman Boone, tells the story of Boone’s task to integrate the football team at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. He's chosen over the popular white coach, which makes things that much harder in a culture resisting integration. In the end, Boone wins over the school and the town. The Titans win it all, and, in the words of President Richard Nixon at the time, “saved the city of Alexandria.”

Jackie Robinson Integrates Baseball - 42

Speaking of integration, there is no bigger story in sports than Jackie Robinson becoming the first Black player in the Major Leagues in 1947. 42 tells the inspiring story of both Robinson (the late Chadwick Boseman), and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) doing what was thought to be impossible: integrating the national pastime. Despite the horrible reception Robinson received from fans and even teammates, he diligently goes about his business and proves his worth as a player and as a man, becoming an American hero in the process. 

Ford Beats Powerhouse Ferrari - Ford V Ferrari

Is it possible for one of the largest companies in the world to really be an underdog? Well, when you are going against the great Ferrari, you’re almost guaranteed that position. Such is the case for the Ford racing team, led by Matt Damon as the legendary car designer Carroll Shelby, and Christian Bale as driver Ken Miles. Together, they take on the most prestigious and successful racing team of all time, Ferrari, at the iconic La Mans endurance race and win. 

South Africa Wins The Rugby World Cup - Invictus

For years, South Africa was a pariah in the international community due to the racist policy of apartheid. Shunned from all sporting events for decades, it emerged from the apartheid system in the early 1990s with the election of Nelson Mandela as president. Only two men, according to the film, believed in South Africa at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela (Morgan Freeman), and team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon). The Springboks, inspired by an adoring nation, take the title, by defeating the intimidating All-Blacks, New Zealand’s legendary national team.  

The Chiefs Win The Championship - Slap Shot

Slap Shot is the anti-hero of underdog movies and has become the ultimate hockey cult classic. Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlap, who decides to go a different direction with the minor league hockey team he plays for and coaches. Years of unsuccessful seasons convince him to get violent. Very violent. And it works, eventually turning around the team to win the championship.

The Indians Win The Division - Major League

The Indians in Major League are kind of anti-hero underdogs, too. This team of inexperienced/aging misfits was put together by a ruthless owner hell-bent on moving them to Miami from Cleveland, and they suck in the beginning. Soon, though, they reel off win after win as they find their stride. When star player Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) fakes out the Yankees by bunting after "calling his shot" the team wins the last game of the season and goes on to the playoffs. 

Scott Howard Wins The Game As Himself - Teen Wolf

It's the classic tale of a boy who becomes a wolf, making him the best athlete and coolest guy in school. Eventually, that boy becomes disillusioned by being half man/half beast, and in the end, wins the big game as himself. It's become one of the truly classic '80s teen comedies – and a franchise that has been somewhat controversial lately. Michael J. Fox plays the high school kid-turned-wolfman. As the wolf, he leads his team to the championship, before deciding he needs to win it as himself. He does, and also gets the girl, because that's the way all werewolf stories should end, right? Poor Jacob. 

We never get tired of the underdog. At any given sporting event in the world, if a spectator doesn't have a favorite, they will inevitably root for the underdog. It's because of wonderful stories like these that we all have it in our hearts to see the little guy win in the end. 

The 1970s and ‘80s birthed some incredibly cool movie characters, many of which have since become iconic within popular culture. Luke Skywalker, Michael Myers, Indiana Jones and the Terminator are just a few of the resulting cinematic figures that are now revered by movielovers. Of course, within that group of titans is also Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa from 1976’s Rocky and Daniel LaRusso of The Karate Kid – one of 1984’s hit movies. Balboa and LaRusso were well known for their combat skills, and some fans may wonder who might’ve won had they crossed paths and gotten into a scrap. Well, Daniel actor Ralph Macchio and his co-star, William Zabka, have fun takes on that.

Both of the beloved characters are certainly formidable in their own right. I mean, Balboa has the eye of the tiger, and he was saddled with some tough opponents throughout the Rocky franchise. Then again, Daniel has been in some serious fights himself, emerging victorious with powerful moves like the crane kick and drum technique. It should also be noted that the Karate Kid villains he’s bested are pretty vicious as well. 

So with all of that in mind, you can’t help but be curious about where Ralph Macchio and William Zabka stand. They headlined a panel at Fan Expo Dallas this past weekend that CinemaBlend attended and, during it, they were asked for answers. Macchio recalled how he’d been pitched a crossover film between the two hit franchises back in the day. (That project didn't happen because director John G. Avildsen thought it was a "forced" idea.) From there, he delivered some thoughts that may surprise fans:  

I can honestly understand his view. Just thinking about it, Daniel has the finesse, while Rocky has the sheer strength, which he used to defeat the likes of Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. It sounds like the actor’s thinking also stems from a bit of admiration for the “Italian Stallion,” and you can’t blame him. While not perfect, Balboa is as noble as he is physically imposing. After being asked to weigh in, William Zabka – who played Johnny Lawrence in the classic karate movie – poked a bit of fun at his character’s longtime frenemy before delivering his opinion:  

Not only do the two actors think Daniel wouldn’t win, but they also seem to believe it would be a quick fight. That humorously seemed to comfort one of the acting vets: 

Ralph Macchio: It'd be over in the first round
William Zabka: It would have ended the way the movie should have ended. Just kidding. Wow, it's getting really dark in here.

It’s great that the veteran actors seem to share a warm sense of camaraderie, but you can’t help but chuckle when they lovingly rib each other. The fact that they also have such keen thoughts on this fictional battle is also cool. It may not be possible now, but the thought of Balboa taking on LaRusso is just so juicy. (However, a bout between Rocky and Rambo may be a bit closer.) 

Regardless of who the better fighter is though, fans will surely continue to love the characters. That enduring popularity is also why fans were so excited to see Rocky and Daniel return more recently in the Creed franchise and Cobra Kai, respectively. It’s somewhat sad that the movie Ralph Macchio was pitched didn’t come to fruition. Still, like him and William Zabka, we can definitely hold on to any theories we may have. 

You can stream the first five Rocky movies using a Netflix subscription, which will also get you access to the first five seasons of Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, the sixth installment of the boxing saga is available to Prime Video subscribers, while the Karate Kid trilogy is streaming with AMC+. 

I love karate. 

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a singular statement. I grew up watching a lot of fighting movies, specifically all those fun Bruce Lee films with my dad. But, you want to know what I never watched growing up? The Karate Kid movies. Granted, I have seen the first two, a long time ago, but I hadn’t seen the others, so I decided to do a whole movie-watching marathon, from Ralph Macchio to Hilary Swank and Jaden Smith taking on the lead roles. 

And, let me just say that I have a lot of thoughts. Too many, but we’re going to get into some here. In honor of Cobra Kai and how much I have loved it for years, here is what I thought of the Karate Kid movies. 

The First One Is Certainly The Best

I mean, this surely can’t be that much of a surprise. The original The Karate Kid is most certainly the best out of every single one of these films, by a mile. There’s just something about watching Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita in those iconic scenes. There really is nothing like it. 

I always forget how big of a star Macchio was back in the eighties, since he was in so many big films at the time, from The Outsiders to Crossroads, and then later on when he was in other big films like My Cousin Vinny. But, there’s just something about his time in the first film that feels so raw.

He really is just a kid trying to get by and stand up to his bullies in a more powerful way. I do appreciate how later on, the film series tries to expand the world a little more, but I always love a good underdog story and this movie is the epitome of that. You can’t get better than The Karate Kid. 

But I Actually Really Like The Second One, Too

While I do think the first film is the best in the franchise, I have to admit — The Karate Kid Part II is also a lot of fun, more than I thought it was going to be. 

The fight scenes felt a little generic and repetitive of the first film, which isn't unusual, but I did like the change in scenery, even more so now. Granted, I’m a huge fan of Japanese culture, from the food and the best anime, to its movies and everything else, so it’s not that surprising that I just happened to enjoy the one Karate Kid movie that traveled to Japan and showed off its beautiful countryside. 

Even so, it’s something I wanted to address. I also really liked Macchio in this movie as well. Daniel LaRusso still felt like that kid who was just trying to prove himself, and it was something that I didn’t realize I was going to miss in later installments of the series. 

Part 3 Is Pretty Bad – But I Enjoy The Bonsai Store

Yeah, The Karate Kid Part III is pretty bad. I won’t lie. 

There isn’t much that saves this film. I do think that Terry Silver is an excellent villain, and now that I watched the third movie, I understand the significance of why he was brought back in the Netflix series, Cobra Kai, years later as a huge antagonist. At the same time, he also feels a little too animated and sadistic in the third film. 

Cobra Kai gave him more room to grow and show the many layers behind the way his mind works, and I just don’t think this film gave him the justice nor the time that he truly deserved.

And, honestly, Daniel doesn’t even feel like Daniel LaRusso in this film, at all. It upsets me. It feels like he’s grown cocky and isn’t that same kid that we all grew up liking and relating to becaue he was the underdog. He just sort of feels like any normal protagonist now with a bit of an attitude. It also doesn't help that he ends up getting swayed by the enemy half-way through the film. 

The one upside about this movie is that I do like Mr. Miyagi’s bonsai shop – so much so that my boyfriend and I went out and picked up our own bonsais to take care of. They’ve been going strong for several months now. We named them Mr. Miyagi and LaRusso. 

Other than that, there’s nothing really fun about this film. I’m glad Cobra Kai learned some lessons about how to be a decent sequel after so many years.

The Next Karate Kid Is Nice To Change Up The Gender – But It’s Just Not Good

Ugh, the fourth film. Kill me. 

Okay, time to be a normal critic here – the fourth film didn’t do it for me. Trust me, I really appreciate the change in gender for the main kid. As a young girl who loved fighting movies, it was interesting to see someone of my gender take on the role, especially one as talented as Hilary Swank. It was also enjoyable to see Pat Morita back in the role as Mr. Miyagi. 

But, for the love of God, this movie felt so boring. 

It wasn’t even just the fact that the film didn’t have Ralph Macchio in it. Besides Swank’s performance, there’s nothing I like. The story is average at best, the fight scenes extremely minimal, and the acting is abysmal besides Swank and Morita. Just an overall bad experience. I would much rather recommend the third part of the original Karate Kid franchise over this one. 

Surprisingly, Jaden Smith And Jackie Chan Were A Decent Pair To Reboot The Franchise

You know what? I’m going to say it – the 2010 reboot of The Karate Kid was not bad. Yes, I know, it’s not the same without Morita, who passed away in 2005, or without Macchio, but it was a worthy installment, even if what they're using in the movie is Kung Fu and not Karate.

You have another fighting legend – Jackie Chan – at the helm as the new master, and Jaden Smith honestly gave a decent performance when he was young. They had some excellent fight scenes and I actually really liked that the movie took place in a completely different country other than America – it reminded me of the second film, which I already spoke my praises for here. 

I genuinely think that the 2010 version is a great movie – and one that, if kids don’t want to watch an '80s film for whatever reason, would be a great way to introduce them to the franchise.

However, I’m Still Glad That Cobra Kai Is The Official Sequel Years Later

Even so, despite the fact that I do like the 2010 version, I am happy that Cobra Kai is considered the official sequel and actual reboot of the franchise years later. 

It still astounds me that the popular Netflix television series was able to bring back multiple original cast members from the films, and make them deeper characters while creating a whole new cast of original characters that I truly do care deeply about. With five seasons, the show is a clear winner. 

What really makes the show the best sequel in years is that it keeps the heart of the original movie, but also expands on that with excellent storylines, well-crafted villains, and most importantly,  awesome competitive fights. Kreese has honestly become one of my favorite TV antagonists over the last few years, and it’s because this show is just that good.

While there’s apparently going to be a new Karate Kid movie, it’s not going to have any connection to this franchise, which is a shame. It was truly a joy to check out all these films in order for the first time – and I would do it all over. (Except The Next Karate Kid. Never touching that again.) 

Ralph Macchio knows a little something about being on the outside of a movie based on The Karate Kid. In fact, the actor wrote about that exact experience in his latest memoir, specifically how he responded to the news when producer Will Smith was behind The Karate Kid remake from 2010. Now he’s faced with that dilemma again, as Sony announced a new movie in The Karate Kid franchise, and he still has a lot of questions about the upcoming feature. 

Back when The Karate Kid remake happened, Will and his son and star Jaden Smith took time to reach out to Ralph Macchio, and the actor went into the movie with an open mind. This time around, a new Karate Kid movie is happening while Macchio is the current star of Cobra Kai, and there are no apparent ties between this upcoming movie and the Netflix series. I asked Ralph Macchio in a recent interview tied to his book Waxing On: The Karate Kid And Me if that makes him see this situation a little differently than the last time a Karate Kid movie happened, and he gave me his honest thoughts: 

Ralph Macchio heard in advance that Sony was planning another Karate Kid movie, but based on what he told us, he doesn’t know much beyond that. Furthermore, it appears the production has not reached out to him to discuss an appearance or any other role he could have in its development. 

It’s certainly a strange situation, especially if the intention is to make a movie entirely disconnected to Cobra Kai. With that said, Ralph Macchio offered some perspective on the situation for any fans upset with the situation, and noted that The Karate Kid is capable in living on in many different ways:  

Ralph Macchio wouldn’t have believed he’d be doing Cobra Kai decades ago, and look at the hit it turned out to be. It definitely proved the Karate Kid franchise still has legs in 2022, so perhaps everyone should keep an open mind to what this upcoming movie may be and where it leads. After all, it seems like Cobra Kai will stick around all the same, though we are still waiting on the official confirmation of Season 6. Who knows, maybe this will be the Karate Kid project that Hilary Swank finally gets an invite to? If not, Macchio also told us if there’s a chance to bring her into Cobra Kai, he’d imagine the showrunners will jump on the opportunity. 

As we wait for more updates on the next Karate Kid movie, be sure to stream Cobra Kai with a Netflix subscription. It’s certainly worth checking out if there are any fans of the original movies out there who still haven’t given it a chance, but after five seasons, I’d be dying to meet whoever is still depriving themselves of this great series. 

The success of Cobra Kai is proof that audiences are still interested in The Karate Kid story, and invested in the characters introduced in the original movies. While anyone with a Netflix subscription can now catch up on what's going on with Daniel LaRusso and most of his past adversaries in the present day, there's one key character the Netflix series won't feature for new adventures. Mr. Miyagi can't appear in new scenes of Cobra Kai, but could a prequel series happen? CinemaBlend asked actor Ralph Macchio about just that, and he had some thoughts. 

I had a chance to speak to Ralph Macchio about the release of his latest book, Waxing On: The Karate Kid And Me, where he speaks at length about his friendship with Mr. Miyagi actor, Pat Morita. As such, I asked him about the idea of a prequel that followed Mr. Miyagi, and if that was something he'd like to see made should Cobra Kai lead to spinoffs: 

Ralph Macchio made an interesting connection there between Johnny Lawrence and Mr. Miyagi that should be the pitch for this series. Mr. Miyagi is known and celebrated as Daniel LaRusso's mentor, but there's a part of his story that the movies touch on that remains unexplored in Cobra Kai. Many fans remember the funny teachings of the sensei, but perhaps fewer think about the man who put his life back together after his wife died during childbirth in a Japanese internment camp. 

There is certainly a story to tell when it comes to Mr. Miyagi, but whether or not someone will get the chance to tell it remains to be seen. Ralph Macchio shared with CinemaBlend what he knew about the current chances of a series happening, and what Pat Morita (who had to audition several times to get his now-iconic role) would've thought of it: 

A Mr. Miyagi prequel wouldn't exactly expand on the material added to the franchise via Cobra Kai, but it would be a new avenue for the Miyagiverse to expand further. In the meantime, it appears that the franchise is healthy enough, even though Season 6 of Cobra Kai still has yet to be confirmed. 

It's also worth noting that while a Mr. Miyagi prequel sounds like a great idea for Netflix to pursue, there are other characters from The Karate Kid who fans still haven't seen. Hilary Swank is still waiting on her call to join the fun, though Ralph Macchio hinted to CinemaBlend that the Cobra Kai team wouldn't hesitate to reach out if an opportunity came up down the line. We'll just have to wait and see if that, as well as a Miyagi prequel, gain any steam in the coming months.

Stream Cobra Kai Seasons 1 through 5 right now on Netflix, and see why so many people are down with The Karate Kid revival. The movies are available on the platform as well, which should let anyone who only watched the shows know just how awesome Mr. Miyagi was, and why he deserves his own prequel series. 

Ralph Macchio was known for starring in the 1984 martial arts film The Karate Kid where a New Jersey teen learns from his Okinawan native handyman how to defend himself against bullies using karate. The hit Netflix series Cobra Kai continues to honor the ‘80s films as the story grows. But after criticism came that The Karate Kid is too white, Ralph Macchio believes the 80’s classic was actually “ahead of its time.”

In The Karate Kid, the main characters of the movie are all white with the only diversity being in Pat Morita’s iconic character Mr. Miyagi. After responding to recent criticism that the teen 80’s film is too white and doesn’t delve enough into the Japanese cultural aspects, Ralph Macchio told Stellar Magazine (via Fox News) that the movie was “ahead of its time” for being a mainstream film that spoke about Japanese internment camps. 

While it may seem strange that a movie with its central focus on the teachings of a Japanese-oriented martial arts practice has the majority of white people practicing it, all 5 Karate Kid movies find a way to fit into Japanese customs (with the exception of 2010’s The Karate Kid as it took place in China). Like Macchio stated, the first Karate Kid movie mentioned how Mr. Miyagi received the Medal of Honor while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment during World War II where his wife and son died in childbirth while in the Manzanar internment camp. The second movie actually had Mr. Miyagi and Daniel go to Okinawa after hearing that his father is dying. 

The Karate Kid movies also spoke about the importance of bonsai trees and spiritual practices while practicing karate. Even The Next Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi takes Julie to a Buddhist monastery to inspire spiritual guidance in her. Cobra Kai also tries to honor Mr. Miyagi’s teachings throughout the show and had Daniel returning to Okinawa in season three. So even if white people are the central characters, they are still honoring Japan as the birthplace of karate which is important compared to completely ignoring that fact.

Pat Morita really was the perfect man to play Mr. Miyagi. While he brought out comedy into the role, he also was a strong force in the fighting scenes and the emotional ones. Can you believe he had to audition for The Karate Kid five times? Morita once recalled that they didn’t even consider his name to play the role of an immigrant who fought against the Japanese and lost his wife and son in an internment camp. His biggest credit at the time was his recurring comedic role as Arnold in Happy Days. But luckily after the final audition, producer Jerry Weintraub realized he would have made a big mistake if he had never cast Morita. After all, Macchio stated to Stellar Magazine he believed his big scene telling Daniel about his emotional past was what led to his Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

The Karate Kid really was “ahead of its time” like Ralph Macchio said for incorporating Japanese customs in a mainstream movie during the ‘80s. The movies helped introduce these themes and were carried on to its Netflix spinoff series. You can watch Ralph Macchio in Cobra Kai on your Netflix subscription as well as read his memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me on bookshelves now. 

In the nearly thirty years after Ralph Macchio starred as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid movies and hung up the role, the actor apparently was no stranger to ideas being thrown his way about his return to the character before agreeing to the right idea in Cobra Kai. In Macchio’s new book, the actor has detailed some memorable pitches thrown his way over the years, including a Rocky vs. Karate Kid crossover. 

As Ralph Macchio’s memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid And Me hits bookshelves, we’ve learned about some of the contents of the book, via Entertainment Weekly. In one excerpt from the new release, Macchio shared that in the late ‘90s, particularly a lot of ideas about reviving Karate Kid came to his desk at a time when he “wasn’t willing to listen.” However, one in particular he finds difficult to forget. In his words in Waxing On: 

Macchio called this pitch “one of my favorites.” Here’s how it went: 

Yeah… that’s a real idea that might have happened if Ralph Macchio and Karate Kid director John Avildsen agreed to it, but they both turned down it down. Macchio continued to explain his experience with the pitch, saying this: 

It’s true, this would have been unbelievably forced if it actually happened, especially because we’re talking about world heavyweight championships in Rocky vs. local karate All-Valley championships. They are different animals and they should remain as such. Luckily, both franchises have since found their own avenues past their main stories. Rocky has done so with the Creed movies, including the upcoming Creed III, and Karate Kid with five seasons of Cobra Kai, which arestreaming with a Netflix subscription. 

The idea that finally caught Ralph Macchio's attention and led to a major comeback for the franchise was Cobra Kai, which follows William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence 30 years after losing to Daniel LaRusso, struggling to hold a job when he saves a teen kid and agrees to teach him the ropes of karate. While the show initially was a niche series on YouTube Red in 2018, since the series was acquired by Netflix, it has become a major hit, recently airing its fifth season and delivering more storylines in another season for us to ask questions about next. 

At the same time, it was recently announced that Sony Pictures is developing another Karate Kid movie, set to come out on June 7, 2024. For the time being, Ralph Macchio doesn’t know if he’ll be part of this mysterious Karate Kid movie. Either way, it’s doubtful it’ll be Rocky vs. Karate Kid. 

Although a remake of The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan was released in 2010, the original incarnation of the franchise hasn’t had a theatrical presence since 1994’s The Next Karate Kid. However, that universe has been getting a lot of attention in recent years through Cobra Kai, the show that originally premiered on YouTube and is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. The entirety of Cobra Kai Season 5 dropped on September 9, and while there’s no official word yet on if Season 6 is happening, it’s been announced that a new Karate Kid movie is on the way.

Sony Pictures announced this news as part of some studio scheduling updates, with the new Karate Kid movie slated to arrive on June 7, 2024. The only other piece of information revealed about the project is that it’s “the return of the original Karate Kid franchise,” indicating that rather than being another remake/reboot, this will be set in the same continuity as the original Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai. That June 7 date previously belonged to an Untitled Sony/Marvel Universe flick, which has now been moved to July 12.

Considering how well Cobra Kai has been holding down the proverbial fort on the original Karate Kid universe since it premiered in 2018, it’s interesting that Sony has decided to keep this saga going on two fronts by delivering a new Karate Kid movie to the masses. So what exactly does this mean? Is this upcoming movie a direct continuation of Cobra Kai, perhaps acting as the concluding chapter to the saga of Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence? Or is this next Karate Kid movie meant to launch a spinoff saga centered on new characters while Cobra Kai continues on Netflix?

The latter approach could be the better course of action with enticing moviegoers who haven’t been keeping up with Cobra Kai or haven’t even seen any of the prior Karate Kid movies. However, there are enough Karate Kid/Cobra Kai fans out there that would surely come out in droves to their theaters if this ends up being connected to the main saga. For now, Sony Pictures is keeping tight-lipped on what precisely this feature entails, but rest assured CinemaBlend will keep you apprised on updates concerning the project.

In the meantime, for those of you behind on Cobra Kai, catch up to speed on all five seasons now and stay tuned on any news about Season 6. You can also scan through our 2022 movies schedule and 2023 movies schedule to plan your cinematic entertainment viewing accordingly.

Major spoilers for the Season 5 finale of Netflix’s Cobra Kai lie ahead, so read at your own risk!

Another season of Cobra Kai has come and gone, and this one was certainly one for the books. Not only did Season 5 expand on the stories of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and their students, but it also furthered the journey of villainous sensei and businessman Terry Silver. Thomas Ian Griffith gave a masterful performance as the grinning antagonist, and the actor seems to have enjoyed how the season played out. On that note, he shared some thoughts about the finale’s cool callback to The Karate Kid Part III. 

Cobra Kai Season 5 ended with a wild, karate-filled night, which saw the teens and adults of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang make their final stand against Terry Silver and the titular dojo. The game-changing episode culminated in a fight between Daniel and Silver, which saw the former come out on top. And LaRusso finished things with his iconic crane kick, a move that Silver shrugged off in Part III years ago. Thomas Ian Griffith was pleased with the moment and recently weighed in on its significance:

Many fans would probably agree with the actor’s take on the pitch-perfect callback. Watching Daniel finally take down the man who manipulated him was emotionally satisfying enough, but the character’s use of the crane kick made it even more impactful. Of course, some may be wondering why Silver wasn’t able to dodge the move, given that it’s not exactly subtle. Well, Thomas Ian Griffith also shared his take on that while speaking with Uproxx:

Honestly, when you’re watching a show as entertaining as this, sometimes you just have to give in and throw that kind of thinking out the window. I suppose some will watch and ask, “Wait, shouldn’t Terry have seen that coming?” As for me, at that moment, I just went “Whoa, Daniel just crane-kicked Silver into a glass Cobra Kai emblem!”

The events of the franchise’s third theatrical installment have loomed large over the past two seasons of Netflix’s sports soap opera. Season 5 really kicked things up (no pun intended) a notch by reintroducing Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes and Robyn Lively’s Jessica Andrews. The 1989 film was panned by critics and general audiences, but fans have appreciated seeing the likes of Mike, Jessica and Silver. Thanks to the show, even Ralph Macchio views Part III a bit differently now. 

That’s definitely a testament to the efforts of the show’s creators – Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. As Schlossberg previously explained, their goal is to honor Karate Kid lore even as the show expands, and the crane kick moment is a firm example of that. The producers will probably continue to deliver such moments as the show progresses and, hopefully, maybe another one or two can still include Thomas Ian Griffith’s delightfully devilish villain. 

All five seasons of Cobra Kai are now streaming, so grab a Netflix subscription if you haven’t already. And if you’re so inclined, check out CinemaBlend’s ranking of the most vicious Karate Kid villains to see where Terry Silver stands.

Big spoilers for Season 5 of Cobra Kai down below!!

Cobra Kai Season 5 has finally dropped on Netflix with ten episodes of nonstop action and drama. Further continuing on the legacy of the Karate Kid series, Cobra Kai Season 5 continued to bring the amazing fights, that classic '80s nostalgia that we all love, and further continuing the story and expanding these characters day in and day out. It’s certainly one of the best shows to watch on Netflix.

But with such an action packed finale filled with the amazing Cobra Kai cast, fans might be wondering exactly what happened with this ending and what it means for the rest of the series going forward. Where are our characters going to end up? And is you-know-who really free and out to cause trouble again? Let’s dive into the Cobra Kai Season 5 ending. 

The Power Of Family Saves The Day 

A big plot-point of Season 5 of Cobra Kai is that Johnny and Carmen were gifted with something unexpected: the news that a baby was on the way. This caused Johnny to have a major upgrade in terms of making his life a little more put-together so he could be a proper family man this time around. 

However, as the season is wrapping up, he gets drunk with Chozen and Daniel, he and Chozen decide to run off with Mike Barnes (who had hijacked their limo in the previous episode) to fight against Terry Silver on his own home turf. This turns out to be a huge mistake, as Silver (who basically knows where they are at all times) had all of his senseis there at the same time. 

Two separate fights are happening at the same time: Silver vs. Chozen, and Johnny and Mike vs. the senseis. Silver ends up winning the fight against Chozen, slicing his back open and rendering him too injured to continue, even if Chozen at one point did have the upper hand. 

Silver ends up leaving the house after he told his new partner (and new character) Kim Da-Eun to deal with the break in at the Cobra Kai dojo that he could see on his security cameras. During that, the rest of the senseis attempt to stop Johnny and Mike. At one point, it seems that Mike has been knocked unconscious and Johnny is all on his own. All seems hopeless, but then the ultrasound photo from his doctor’s visit with Carmen falls out of his pocket. 

He sees the picture and it’s like a switch goes off in his head that gives him the strength to take out at least four of the remaining six senseis. When it looks like he might get seriously hurt by the last two, Mike comes in, ready to battle now, and takes the last two out with Johnny’s help. 

Silver Finally Gets Taken Down 

After two seasons of pure chaos and somehow always knowing where everyone is, Terry Silver, the real-villain all along, has been taken down at Cobra Kai during the Season 5 finale. After that intense fight scene between the students of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Fang (their unofficial name from Stingray), the kids are successful in releasing the footage of Silver admitting to Tory (played by Peyton List) that he had bribed the officials at the All-Valley championship. 

Once the kids see this, Silver arrives, and he attempts to persuade them that this is just the world they live in and that what he did isn’t different from everything else, but the Cobra Kai students don’t buy it. Then, we see one last fight between Daniel and Silver, where Daniel recalls Terry's own lessons to him all those years ago and uses them against Terry. 

After that, we see that the cops have arrived (called by Daniel’s wife), and that Silver is being taken away. Whether this is the last we see of Silver is unknown, but it’s nice to know that his reign of terror is done, at least for now. In an interview with Gizmodo, Jon Hurwitz teased that Terry might come back if his lawyers are able to pull some strings.

Kreese Breaks Free 

The Season 5 finale of Cobra Kai ended with a crazy twist. Kreese, who looked to be fatally wounded after what appeared to be an attack in prison in the beginning of the episode, is revealed to be alive and was indeed faking his own death with Jell-O in order to gain access to the medical facilities.

It’s there that we see Kreese take out the guards, steal the clothing of the doctor, and use the access key he took from his therapist to get out of the building. The last moments of the episode show Kreese leaving the prison, stepping near a cop car.

To be honest, I didn’t think Kreese was dead for a second, but it was so cool to see how everything he’s done thus far, from the mention of Jell-O with his prison-mates to his therapy sessions, was all a plan for his escape. What this means for the future, I’m not sure. Actor Martin Kove, who plays Kreese, spoke with TV Line about his portrayal of the character in this series, and how he can’t wait to see how it all wraps up...

What's Ahead For Cobra Kai, Eagle-Fang And Miyagi-Do?

The biggest question we all have, I’m sure, after the Season 5 finale of Cobra Kai is what the heck is going to happen to all three dojos? 

Cobra Kai is sort of left behind right now because their master sensei has been arrested for his crimes – and who knows when he’s going to get out? But with his video made live online, I’m not sure if kids are going to be willing to join on to something like that so easily. 

One option that could happen is maybe Kim could take over, but we don’t know yet entirely where she is going to fit into the story going forward.

Eagle-Fang and Miyagi-Do – also known as Miyagi-Fang as mentioned before – could probably start back up again if Silver stays in jail without the threat of people coming after them, and with their spot in the upcoming world championship that was confirmed in Episode 8, it’s hard to believe they’re going to stop karate anytime soon. 

Sam and Miguel seem to have healed their wounds and are back together, as did Tory and Robbie, so the couples are all together. It only makes me wonder what a new school year – and a new competition – might lead to. 

And all of this is under the larger question – how is Kreese going to play into all of this since he has broken out of prison? Truly, the questions are endless. 

While there hasn’t been an official Season 6 confirmed yet for Cobra Kai, with how popular this show is and how much is left unanswered, I can only imagine we won’t be waiting long to hear about the next part of this show. But for now, I’ll just re-watch some of these amazing fights and be in awe for how badass everyone looked during those fights. 

The wait has been difficult, but Season 5 of Cobra Kai is just around the corner! The fourth season was pretty explosive, to say the least, and left viewers with a myriad of questions. While there’s still plenty that fans don’t know, the newly released trailer for the fifth season sheds a bit of light on the state of things. Quite frankly, there are a number of exciting moments to marvel at in this new footage. We now have a look at Terry Silver’s new karate regime at the titular dojo, Chozen’s role in helping Miyagi-Do Karate and so much more. 

The trailer, which runs well over two minutes, certainly brings the level of intensity that one has come to expect from the sports dramedy. At the end of Cobra Kai Season 4, Terry Silver stood victorious, as his dojo defeated Miyago-Do at the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Of course, viewers later learned that he rigged the competition by bribing a referee. Nevertheless, Thomas Ian Griffith’s smiling Silver (who has changed in some ways), is now looking to expand his business empire by opening dojos all over the valley. 

And as the trailer shows, Silver is indeed building a chain and doing it without fellow sensei John Kreese, who he framed for assault last season. He’s brought in fresh blood as a result, and the trailer puts heavy emphasis on new character Kim Da-Eun. Played by Alicia Hannah-Kim, Da-Eun is a Korean sensei who helps to expand Terry’s brand and, based on this footage, she has some serious moves and her own team of instructors. I think it goes without saying that she spells trouble for Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.

Miyagi-Do has a new member of its own, though. Following his awesome return in Season 3, Chozen came back into the fray at the tail end of the fourth season. And he seems bent on helping Daniel take down Terry Silver. The former Karate Kid Part II villain referred to himself as “gasoline” in a previous Season 5 teaser and, now, it certainly looks like he’s going to bring the heat. What’s most exciting here is that it looks like he and Johnny are going to be spending a significant amount of time together – and will even team up in a fight. I’m curious as to what the initial interactions between LaRusso’s two former foes will look like. 

One of the other notable elements in the Cobra Kai Season 5 trailer is the growing tension between Miguel Diaz and Johnny’s son, Robby Keene. After feeling like he was being pushed away by his sensei and surrogate father last season, Miguel left to go find his biological papa. Whether or not he does remains to be seen, but it’s clear that this season, he and Robby are going to have at least one tense fight. The footage also teases more tension between Anthony LaRusso and Kenny Payne as well as Tori Nichol’s further training. And of course, how can I not mention John Kreese duking it out with fellow inmates in the pen?

Not to sound ungrateful, but one person we didn’t see is Sean Kaman’s Mike Barnes, another major Karate Kid character returning in Season 5. It’s likely that the showrunners want to keep his role as close to the vest as possible. It’s understandable and actually makes me even more eager to learn what’s become of Daniel’s other former rival. But that aside, this trailer definitely gives fans a lot to chew on and, if we go on this alone, this could be the acclaimed show’s best season to date.

Cobra Kai Season 5 premieres on September 9th as part of the 2022 TV schedule, so be sure you have a Netflix subscription by then so that you can check it out.

As Netflix subscribers  continue to rave about the quality and fun of Cobra Kai, now is a good time to remind the world, The Karate Kid franchise still holds up. This is thanks in part to The Karate Kid's villains, who gave Mr. Miyagi and his pupils all sorts of hell across four films.

The following is a ranking of the most vicious villains of the Miyagi-verse, which is every Karate Kid movie in which Pat Morita played Mr. Miyagi. From least to greatest, these guys are judged on their level of viciousness, their motives, and just how far they'd go in their efforts to terrorize Daniel LaRusso. Let's dive in, and remember some of the franchise’s greatest baddies as we prepare for Cobra Kai Season 5 and wonder how this list may change with its arrival.

9. Sato Toguchi

Sato Toguchi starts as a villain in The Karate Kid II, but in truth, he's not really a villain at all. Most of The Karate Kid villains' perceived aggression is more of misunderstanding, and towards the end of the movie, Sato is more an ally than anything. It's also worth noting that in Cobra Kai, Chozen credited his uncle with ultimately saving his life and helped him find redemption after his humiliating actions when he was younger. Sato Toguchi is a cool character, but considering he couldn't even stay a villain the length of a movie, deserving of nothing more than the bottom spot on the list.

8. The Original Cobra Kai Kids

As far as Karate Kid villains are concerned, you can't deny Johnny Lawrence's Cobra Kai posse deserves mention. With that said, it's not like any of them acted independently or without Kreese or Johnny's instruction. They were just followers brutalizing one individual kid in a majority of their actions. That's not exactly vicious, and one would argue it's also kind of cowardly. At least when the current Cobra Kai kids attack, they take on a group of Miyagi-Do students! These guys are soft for not trying to take on Daniel solo and should be ranked as such.

7. Colonel Dugan

The Karate Kid is loaded with adults who shouldn't be anywhere near impressionable teens, but one of them is super awful because he's actually in charge of children at a high school. Colonel Dugan made life hell for Julie Pierce and Eric McGowen in The Next Karate Kid, to the point he tried to have Eric killed after he was bested in mortal combat. The dude was clearly off his rocker, but Miyagi making quick work of him keeps him somewhat low on the list as far as The Karate Kid villains are concerned.

6. Johnny Lawrence

If this were a list of the franchise's greatest characters, Johnny Lawrence would be at the top, thanks to Cobra Kai. In terms of The Karate Kid's villains, though, the series has done a disservice in removing some of the character's fangs. Johnny was certainly an asshole, but honestly, there's just as much evidence that Daniel LaRusso was an ass as well. The only real difference is Johnny had friends and John Kreese steering him in the entirely wrong direction during a vulnerable period in his life. Cobra Kai has shown us Johnny's humanity, and for that reason, I can't rank him too high on this list.

5. Ned Randall

It's one thing to be a bully, and it's quite another thing to be a creep. Ned Randall wasn't a bully to Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid until she rejected his advances. He then became a psycho douchebag and got her suspended from school, which was completely unnecessary. Of course, that didn't hold a candle to smashing up Eric's car and beating him to a pulp just because he went to the dance with Julie, but it's still bad. Ned does eventually turn on Colonel Dugan, but it does little in the way of forgiving The Next Karate Kid villain's misdeeds.

4. Mike Barnes

The most skilled opponent Daniel LaRusso ever faced and one of the only ones he admitted to being afraid of. Mike Barnes was more or less an enforcer beholden to Terry Silver and John Kreese's will, but he was also just a terrible beast of a person. The Karate Kid III villain tracked down Daniel numerous times to beat the hell out of him and even hit his friend Jessica. Had he not been such a hot-head, Daniel may have never beat him, but he was, and it ultimately led to his failure and the end of Kreese's first Cobra Kai. Perhaps we’ll see him resurface again in a future season, especially based on teases by Sean Kanan.

3. Chozen Toguchi

Chozen may not be the most skilled fighter of The Karate Kid franchise, but he's no slouch either. His talent exceeds that of Johnny Lawrence, but it's fair to say Mike Barnes was a clear step above judging his encounters with Daniel. What makes Chozen more vicious is his lust for vengeance, to the point that he threatened to kill Kumiko to get a fight to the death with Daniel LaRusso. Chozen eventually made things right with Daniel decades later, and may even be instrumental in taking Cobra Kai down. Still, we can't discount the fact he literally tried to kill someone in The Karate Kid II.

2. John Kreese

His ideology may have been better explained in Cobra Kai Season 3, but that doesn't make John Kreese any less a psychopath. It's one thing to teach kids to fight back against the problems in their lives, and it's quite another to teach them to combat it by being the aggressor. Kreese's "No mercy" philosophy hasn't even really worked out for him in the long term, and we saw how much it hurt the life of Johnny Lawrence in the long run. Kreese's obsession with embarrassing Mr. Miyagi and Daniel is unnatural, and his manipulation of children for his own goals makes him one of the worst villains of the franchise. That said, we did see him express a sliver of humanity with kind acts towards Tory in Cobra Kai, so we can’t give him the top spot.

1. Terry Silver

Terry Silver is worse than John Kreese because who in the hell would see that man and decide to use his wealth to bankroll his grudge against an old man and a teen. Of course, we learn in Cobra Kai Season 3, the Karate Kid III big bad pledged his life to Kreese after being saved in Vietnam, essentially becoming the rich Chewbacca to Kreese's evil Han Solo. It makes his obsession with torturing Daniel LaRusso make a bit more sense, though one would think Silver could've just bought his old war buddy some expensive therapy instead. Let's also not forget that in Cobra Kai Season 4, Silver betrayed Kreese even after he brought him back into the fold. It was cold-blooded, and why he's one of the most vicious villains of The Karate Kid in my book.

Cobra Kai is currently available to stream only on Netflix.. As always, be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest news happening in television and movies.

Cobra Kai forever, am I right?

Throughout the first four seasons of Cobra Kai, I’ve developed an appreciation not only for the real Cobra Kai (Johnny Lawrence-style), but Miyagi-Do and everything else this amazing drama has to offer, becoming one of the best shows on Netflix. However, since Cobra Kai Season 5 won’t premiere until September 2022, I’m in need of another show or movie that I can watch to feel those same awesome feelings again - and if you’re here, you’re probably looking for a new show too. 

Thankfully, I have a good list of both movies and shows like Cobra Kai that you can stream right now. 

Warrior (HBO Max)

First off, we have Warrior, a martial arts crime drama that is set in the late 1800s. This show follows Ah Sahm, a prodigy from China who has immigrated to the United States in search of his sister, landing him in San Francisco. However, as soon as he arrives, he finds that the country isn’t as he originally thought, and he ends up getting sold into crime factions for his fighting skills. 

Warrior is a great show. Some of its fight scenes are so incredibly well done and will have your eyes glued to the television for minutes on end, but what really sells it for me is the story of the main character himself, Ah Sahm. He’s a very likable protagonist and one that you’ll get hooked on instantly, much like the characters of Cobra Kai. 

Stream Warrior on HBO Max.

Into The Badlands (Netflix)

If you’re looking for a more modern show that’s come out in the last few years, check out Into the Badlands. This AMC original series takes place in a post-apocalyptic feudal land, titled, “the Badlands,” hence the title. In this place, a warrior and his student train to become the ultimate fighting masters, but as life happens, they encounter people that want to use their talents to their own advantage. 

Into the Badlands is one of those shows that only ran for a short period of time, but was really good. As someone who hadn’t watched a lot of series’ that depicted martial arts very well (at least from the United States), it was great to see a show come out that showed amazing martial arts skills, on a network that was very popular with huge hit series like The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad. This is one to watch for sure for fans of Cobra Kai.

Stream Into the Badlands on Netflix.

Ip Man (Amazon Prime)

Based on the martial arts movie series in China, Ip Man is all about one of the masters of Chinese kung-fu, quite literally known as Ip Man, and all about his life as a teacher and passing on his teachings to his students - most notably, one of the most famous of all time, Bruce Lee. 

While this series is romanticized a bit just because it is TV, it still honors the legendary story of one of the most knowledgeable teachers in all of martial arts history, and is so entertaining from beginning to end. As a fan of Cobra Kai, I obviously loved the fighting scenes that this show had to offer, mixed in with the truly amazing story of this teacher. It makes me want to watch the movies that the series was based on. 

Stream Ip Man on Amazon Prime.

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Probably one of the most known Netflix shows ever, this is the perfect series to give you that ‘80s nostalgia Cobra Kai delivers on a consistent basis. Stranger Things is set in the town of Hawkins, a seemingly quiet little town in Indiana. When a boy goes missing and strange happenings begin to occur, it’s up to his friends and someone they just met with weird powers to band together in order to save him. 

Stranger Things has become a phenomenon on Netflix, with Season 4 of the series just releasing in May 2022, breaking records. For fans of Cobra Kai, if you’re looking for something that will completely transport you back in time to the eighties, there really is no better show than Stranger Things. And what makes it better is that it has that danger-vibe that Cobra Kai has, where they face a new enemy every season. This is a show that you don’t want to miss. 

Stream Stranger Things on Netflix. 

Iron Fist (Disney+)

If you’re looking for something that has superheroes in it, check out Iron Fist. This Netflix original, which has now moved over to Disney+, follows Danny Rand, a young man who has spent many years of his life training in the martial arts in the city of K’un-Lun, somewhere far from his home planet, but when he finally becomes the most powerful he can be, he decides to use these talents to avenge his dead parents and return back to Earth, even though everyone thought he was dead for fifteen years. 

I’ll be honest - out of all the Marvel TV shows that have happened, Iron Fist is one of my least favorite in terms of pure storytelling. However, if you’re a fan of Cobra Kai and you want another show that has some kick-ass fight scenes, Iron Fist is a great option. And plus, if you end up watching any of the other Marvel shows that came out on Netflix, he does show up in The Defenders, so you get to learn his backstory beforehand. 

Stream Iron Fist on Disney+.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers

Disney+ has some great original shows, and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is one of them. In this sports series set in the same world of the Mighty Ducks movies, the original team is now known for its skills and cuts anyone that isn’t the pinnacle of the best, including Evan Morrow. Upset over being cut, he decides to form his own hockey team, and seeks the help of Gordon Bombay, the old coach of the original Ducks.

I feel like this premise sounds quite familiar, doesn’t it? While The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers has nothing to do with martial arts, it’s very similar in what it tries to do. It takes place in the same world, has characters from the original movie that return to the show, features new characters, and has a classic underdog story. I mean, what’s not to enjoy? Plus, how can you not be impressed with how skilled these kids are on ice? I mean, I can barely wobble ice and you’re telling me they can play a whole game like this? Talk about talent. 

Stream The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney+. 

Kung Fu Panda Series (Netflix, Amazon Rental)

Okay, okay, hear me out. The Dreamworks series, Kung Fu Panda, follows Po, a big ol’ panda who has a love for food and kung fu. But when his life is suddenly thrown upside down when he is named the Dragon Warrior, someone who is meant to do good with kung fu, it’s up to him to learn how to become the best he can be - and save everyone else when lives are threatened. 

From that premise, you'd never expect this to be a kids movie series, but Kung Fu Panda is specifically targeted towards a younger generation. However, I do think fans of Cobra Kai would love this series because while it does have its moments of younger humor, there is something so sweet about Po. He’s such an easy-going protagonist who just wants to do good, and his fights of good vs evil - especially in the first movie vs Tai Lung - reminds me of many of the competitions in Cobra Kai. 

Stream Kung Fu Panda on Netflix. 
Rent the rest of the Kung Fu Panda series on Amazon.

Kung Fu (HBO Max)

This CW series is kick-ass. In Kung-Fu, which is based on the 1970s series of the same name, a young Chinese-American woman is going through an existential crisis as she is visiting China, wondering what to do with her life. While she’s there, she ends up dropping out of college and joining an all-female Shaolin monastery. Once she’s learned everything she could, she returns home and uses her skills to protect the innocent.

There are so many shows on the CW, some of which are very good, and others that have gotten canceled throughout the years. However, Kung-Fu is one of the better new shows that has come out, and I really enjoy it, especially as a fan of Cobra Kai. The fight scenes are awesome, and the protagonist is really cool and likable and kick-ass. Does it have some of those classic CW cliches? Yeah, of course it does. But it’s still a super entertaining martial arts show. 

Stream Kung Fu on HBO Max. 

Highlander The Series (Peacock)

If you’re looking for another fun continuation of a classic movie like Cobra Kai, check out Highlander: The Series. A continuation of the movies of the same name, we follow the hero, Duncan MacLeod, otherwise known as “Highlander,” an immortal man who has seen the worst in humanity throughout his years, and must fight between good and evil. 

While it’s not as grounded as Cobra Kai, this series is full of amazing moments that will really keep you entertained. With six seasons to binge, Highlander: The Series not only provides really good fight scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but has a basic premise that all Cobra Kai fans can relate to - good vs evil, just like the good dojo vs the bad dojo. 

Stream Highlander: The Series on Peacock.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Amazon Rental)

For another movie on this list, check out Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. In this biographical film based on the book, Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew by Linda Lee Cadwell (Bruce Lee’s wife), this movie takes a deep dive into the mind of Bruce Lee, from his life at home to his life as a fighter, and all the way to his rise as one of Hollywood’s most known martial artists. 

What I think Cobra Kai fans will like about this movie is that it really shows the life behind the martial artist. While we do love the fighting scenes in the show and all the rivalries that occur, at the end of the day, there's more to the story. They all have struggles and personal issues to face, and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story tells that beautifully. Instead of just telling the story of Lee, I feel like this movie celebrates his life, and it’s something that all fans of martial arts, not just Cobra Kai, should watch. 

Rent Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story on Amazon.

Kingdom (Netflix)

South Korean horror has been growing in popularity over the last decade, and Kingdom is a part of that. This Netflix original series is set in Korea during the Joseon period, and tells the story of a young prince who must travel across his country in order to look into a plague that is turning people into monsters - often reminding the viewer of zombies. 

For fans of Cobra Kai, you are going to love the action sequences in this show. Not only does it combine some sick martial arts, but the usage of certain types of weapons against the monsters is skillfully done and will have your eyes glued to the screen. I’ve always been a big fan of zombie TV shows, including another great South Korean one on Netflix, All Of Us Are Dead, but Kingdom was one of the first that really got me into it - and you should watch it too. 

Stream Kingdom on Netflix. 

The Karate Kid Series (Peacock) 

Without it, Cobra Kai wouldn’t even exist. In The Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso is the new kid in town who gets bullied by Johnny Lawrence and his friends, members of the dojo, Cobra Kai. With the help of his apartment building’s maintenance man, Mr. Miyagi, he starts to learn the art of karate to not only take on his bullies, but become one of the best martial artists in the Valley. 

Who says that you can’t spend a day re-watching The Karate Kid movies? I can’t tell you how much I love Cobra Kai when it flashes back between the original films and now, because you can really tell the love that the creators of the show poured into it and how much they respect the original movies. And with so many characters from these films popping back up in the series, it’s the perfect time to re-watch them and refresh your memory on who they are. 

Stream The Karate Kid movies on Amazon Prime through AMC+..

Rent The Karate Kid series on Amazon. 

To be honest, this just makes me want to learn karate myself - or maybe just pop some popcorn and sit down and watch other people be badass. Regardless of how you feel, maybe now you’ll have a new show or movie to enjoy. 

Cobra Kai started as a series that primarily relied on The Karate Kid lore to tell a fresh story. Now that the Netflix show has Season 5 on the way, however, it’s fair to say that the acclaimed series has managed to create its own interesting characters and plot developments and doesn't need to lean on the past as much. With that in mind, continuing to honor the classic film series and characters like Mr. Miyagi might be more challenging than it once was. And one of the co-creators of the show recently fielded a question on that very subject at an event. 

Series co-creator Hayden Schlossberg was one of several TV creatives to take part in  Variety’s A Night In The Writer’s Room event, where he talked about how the show continues to pay tribute to The Karate Kid as the Cobra Kai world expands. Schlossberg explained that while there are a lot of new stories in the show’s universe, they haven’t lost sight of the fact they still need to respect what's come before:

The Netflix hit might be rapidly expanding the universe launched by the '80s film franchise but, as the writer and EP mentioned, the framework or “roots” of the film series are present every step of the way. The show is still very much about bullying, and, at this point, there’s been more karate than maybe even the original movies offered. 

Hayden Schlossberg continued by explaining how the Cobra Kai cast specifically honors The Karate Kid but also adds to its history. While talking about what makes both the show and movies great, Schlossberg discussed the universal appeal of the martial arts-centric franchise:

Season 5 is on the way for those with Netflix subscriptions and will follow up on the wild ending of the fourth season. I can’t imagine how the show will resolve Terry Silver’s betrayal of John Kreese or how the results of the All-Valley tournament will impact the main characters. But still I’m excited to watch and am wondering if  an unexpected character from The Karate Kid happens to make an appearance. Whatever happens though, it's clear that Hayden Schlossberg and his collaborators are going to continue to blaze new trails while never forgetting the past. And that's something fans should be grateful for.

Cobra Kai Season 5 premieres on Netflix on Friday, September 9th. We still have some time to wait but, luckily, there’s no shortage of new shows on television at the moment to keep folks occupied until then. 

Major spoilers ahead from the end of Season 4 of Cobra Kai! 

Cobra Kai has had its foot on the gas since Season 1, though the latest season really brought some major action to the Netflix series. A lot happens this season right at the end, which may be why the fans are reading up on the Cobra Kai Season 4 ending. 

The All-Valley tournament had high stakes, but I’d argue the stakes in Cobra Kai are higher following its conclusion. For those curious or just in need of a reminder, here are the major moments of the season’s end and things that will almost certainly be a factor in Season 5.

Hawk And Tory Won The All-Valley Tournament

The All-Valley tournament introduced a lot of changes in its latest competition, most notably the inclusion of a skills competition and a separate gendered tournament for fighting. The men’s division featured a fierce showdown between competitors, including showdowns between allies. Miguel and Hawk had to face off ahead of the finals, and just when it seemed Miguel might make a repeat trip to the finals, a pulled muscle in his back pulled him from the competition. Hawk then pulled off a stunner victory against Cobra Kai’s Robby Keene, but that alone would not secure the team win for Miyagi-Do.

For Miyagi-Do to overtake Cobra Kai for first place in the All-Valley, Samantha needed to defeat Tory in the women’s finals of the All-Valley. The two went back and forth, but Tory narrowly eked out a victory over Sam to secure an overall dojo win for Cobra Kai. Technically, Cobra Kai’s win meant Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are no longer dojos, and Johnny and Daniel can’t be senseis. 

Tory witnessed Terry Silver paying off the official in the tournament at its conclusion, which could call into question the true legitimacy of her and the dojo’s win. Was Tory’s win legitimate, or were the favorable calls in her match the result of paying off the official?

Miguel Left Town To Find His Father

Johnny’s relationship with Carmen was something Cobra Kai teased for a while, but Season 4 finally pulled the trigger. It’s good news for some fans but bad news for Miguel, who struggled to adjust to the change once he found out. First, Johnny went too soft on him in class, which didn’t go unnoticed by his fellow Eagle Fang members. Then, Robby got in Miguel’s head that Johnny only wanted to be a father to him because he messed up with Robby long ago. That idea only further bothered Miguel when he helped a drunken Johnny to bed, and after a touching conversation between the two, Johnny mistakenly referred to Miguel as “Robby.”

The experience, paired with the pressure of the All-Valley tournament, left Miguel feeling some kind of way. Miguel disappeared after the tournament, and Carmen later found out via a note at their apartment that he’d left for Mexico to track down his father. Carmen worried for her son, and initially, Johnny believed it was due to her past descriptions that Miguel’s father isn’t a good man. Carmen delivered another bombshell right at the end of the scene that made things worse, Miguel’s father isn’t even aware he has a son.

Terry Silver Betrayed John Kreese In The Worst Way Possible

John Kreese and Terry Silver succeeded in defeating Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, which meant their plan for expanding Cobra Kai was on. That’s what Kreese thought, at least, but it turned out that Terry Silver had some very different plans in mind. Silver realized Kreese was his weakness and decided the only way to cure that weakness was to remove him from the picture completely. Not long after that revelation, officers arrived and arrested Kreese for the assault of a character Cobra Kai fans know well, Stingray. 

Stingray’s betrayal is a bit confusing, considering audiences know Terry Silver assaulted Stingray. However, Silver asked Stingray during the beating how badly he wanted to rejoin Cobra Kai, which seemingly indicates that Silver instructed Stingray to give Kreese’s names when he awoke in the hospital. It’s a wild plan especially considering how badly Silver beat Stingray, but it did seem apparent the man really was desperate to rejoin Cobra Kai. I’m not sure I’d ever be desperate enough I’d get beaten to a pulp for something, but it’s not like Stingray is known for making great decisions.

Daniel Vowed To Avenge Miyagi-Do, And Gained An Unexpected Ally

Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang lost the tournament to Cobra Kai, and by the rules of Kreese’s agreement with Johnny and Daniel, those dojos no longer exist. Based on Daniel’s words at Mr. Miyagi’s grave, however, he has no plans of honoring that agreement. To be fair, I’m not sure Kreese or Silver would’ve either, but it’s definitely surprising to hear Daniel not honor the deal. It’s almost as surprising as the new ally he enlisted to help bring down Kreese and Silver’s operation, Chozen Toguchi. 

Chozen agreed to help Daniel restore honor to Miyagi-Do, which apparently meant enough to him to make the trip all the way to America. Chozen showed in Season 3 he knows about techniques Mr. Miyagi never taught Daniel. Perhaps Chozen can be a loophole in the agreement that Daniel and Johnny made with Kreese. One can’t help but wonder how Chozen may differ as a teacher compared to all the senseis we’ve seen thus far and if he’ll be prone to return to his former evil ways in the same way Terry Silver did. I’m doubtful, but who knows?

Kenny Turned The Tables On Anthony LaRusso

Kenny seemed like the next hero of Cobra Kai and gave off massive Daniel LaRusso ties towards the start of Season 4. Anthony LaRusso, Daniel’s son, and his friends bullied Kenny relentlessly and drove him to seek the help of Cobra Kai. Kenny finally found an opportunity to turn the tables on his aggressors, but when Anthony tried to make things right, Kenny rejected the apology. In his mind, this feud is far from over, and he’s just starting to have fun. 

Kenny’s decision to continue bullying Anthony is a product of the teachings of Cobra Kai, which Kenny fully indoctrinated himself in. If Kenny is going to turn away from the “Strike First” mentality, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen in Season 5. In fact, he may just continue to pick on Anthony LaRusso until Anthony is able to turn the tables on him. I hate to see that because Kenny legitimately seems like a good person, but it’s possible Cobra Kai turned him onto a new way of thinking that he won’t soon forget. 

Cobra Kai Season 4, and all prior seasons, are available to stream on Netflix. Season 5 of Cobra Kai is already in the works, so be sure to keep an eye out for updates and any news on new additions to the cast in the coming year.

No matter on which side of the decades-long battle between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso you may fall, we can all agree on the fact that there are few things in this world better than The Karate Kid and the popular streaming series Cobra Kai. But if there were one thing (well, 10 actually) that would even hold a candle to that epic rivalry, it would have to be these amazing Cobra Kai gifts. From the 1984 classic to the Netflix spinoff TV show and its quickly approaching fourth season, there are more choices than leg sweeps.

Deciding on the perfect gift for that special member of Cobra Kai or Miyagi-Do in your life, however, is no easy task, but we’ve put together a quick gift guide featuring a collection of the best gifts from The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai for that fan in your life. And with the holidays upon us, you will want to strike first and strike hard before it’s too late…

Johnny Lawrence And Daniel LaRusso Funko Pops

Nothing says fandom quite like a Funko Pop! collection, and that makes this pair of vinyl figures a must-have for that Cobra Kai or Karate Kid fan in your life. Wearing their iconic outfits from the final showdown at the 1984 All Valley Karate Championship, these figures were made to be together, no matter if they’re staring one another down or standing back-to-back after becoming reluctant allies.

Buy the Johnny Lawrence Funko Pop! on Amazon.
Buy the Daniel LaRusso Funko Pop! on Amazon.

Cobra Kai Original Soundtrack Triple Album 

The Cobra Kai original score, composed by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, is honestly one of the best things about the Netflix streaming series with its perfect mix of dramatic orchestrations, hard-hitting rock anthems, and all that moody vaporwave droning throughout the first three seasons. Now that music can be yours with the Cobra Kai original soundtrack vinyl record set. The first LP is inspired by Cobra Kai Dojo, the second album is dedicated to Miyagi-Do, and the third record contains music from the final fights in all three season finales. On top of that, the Mondo version of the triple album comes with a bonus cassette tape.

Buy the Cobra Kai Original Soundtrack Triple Album on Mondo.

All Valley Karate Championship Shirt

Wait until the Karate Kid fan in your life opens up a box containing this sweet yellow Cobra Kai All Valley Karate Championship shirt from that first showdown between everyone’s favorite blonde jerk and a recent transplant from the East Coast. This shirt is bright, bold, and stylish as it is practical and gives off the impression that it was from the era in which the iconic matchup of the two young martial artists first went down. All that being said, there is no reason not to pick one up and leg sweep someone’s feet off the ground this holiday season. Hey, you might as well buy one for yourself as well because this shirt is just too good to miss out on.

Buy the All Valley Championship Shirt on Amazon.

Miyagi-Do Karate Shirt 

But what if Cobra Kai isn’t your dojo of choice or you don’t want your kids to fall into the trappings of the over-eager and over-zealous group of fighters? Hey, there’s a little something for everyone here including this Miyagi-Do Karate shirt paying homage to Mr. Miyagi himself. Featuring the silhouette of a bonsai tree along with text showing where the karate master was from (Okinawa) and where he’s come to (Resida), this timeless comfort tee is definitely something special. This officially licensed blue shirt pops with the contrast of the red sun rising behind the bonsai tree representing Japan’s history and will look great on everyone.

Buy the Miyagi-Do Karate Shirt on Amazon.

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues Graphic Novel

One of the best things about Cobra Kai is the way it helps show another side of Johnny Lawrence, a side we never got to see in 1984’s The Karate Kid. And just like in the show, the Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues graphic novel shows how the showdown at the All Valley Championship forever changed the life of the future Cobra Kai sensei and continues to do so more than 35 years later. Whether you want to introduce the story to someone who has yet to watch the show or that person in your life that just can’t get enough of the hit series, Denton J. Tipton’s 96-page tale of the leg-sweeping, dirt bike-riding, blonde-haired martial artist’s story. Plus, it’s filled with amazing artwork showing some of Lawrence’s most pivotal moments.

Buy the Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues Graphic Novel on Amazon.

NECA Karate Kid Action Figure 2 Pack

This All Valley Karate Championship action figure set featuring Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from 1984’s The Karate Kid. Don’t let the sticker price shock you on this set because it’s coming from legendary toymaker National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), who is known for its detailed and high-quality action figures. And while these figures have multiple points of articulation, they aren’t really meant to be used as a toy and instead used for decorations on your desk, shelf, or anywhere else out of the reach of young children (kids love to tear these apart).

Buy the NECA Karate Kid Action Figure 2-Pack on Amazon.

A Cobra Kai Patch Four-Pack

Okay, so you have a Cobra Kai fan in your life that is trying to put together the perfect costume for the 2022 convention circuit but their outfit is missing the finishing touches. Well, take a look at this four-pack that comes with all the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do patches you could ever desire. Each of these patches can either be applied by ironing them onto your costume or by sewing them. And if cosplay isn’t something you do, don’t worry because each of these patches would look great on a backpack or sweet denim jacket.

Buy a Cobra Kai Patch Four-Pack on Etsy.

A Cobra Kai Mug

We all know that John Kreese doesn’t believe in fear, pain, or defeat, but that can’t be said for those of us who can’t face the day without a cup of coffee. That’s what makes this Cobra Kai ceramic mug a great option for those who want to strike first, strike hard, and show the world no mercy (just after a cup or two of coffee) the perfect gift for that special someone in your life who not only loves a cup of joe but also walks around screaming like a madman trying to punk out a group of teenagers for his own amusement.

Buy a Cobra Kai Mug on Amazon.

A Cobra Kai 2022 16-Month Calendar

If you are looking for a great way to kick the year off with a bang, then look no further than this 2022 Cobra Kai calendar. In addition to having an assortment of photos from the popular series, this calendar also comes with the final four months of 2021, which is especially cool for those counting down the days until Cobra Kai Season 4 arrives on the scene. A perfect addition to any office, laundry room, or home gym, this calendar will help you keep track of all the big moments throughout the upcoming year.

Buy a Cobra Kai 2022 16-Month Calendar on Amazon.

The Karate Kid 4K UHD + Blu-Ray

If all else fails, you can play it safe and pick up a copy of The Karate Kid on 4K UHD so you can go back and revisit how it all got started for Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. In addition to coming with one of the best ‘80s movies, this set also includes a new “Remembering The Karate Kid” documentary, a commentary track, and all other sorts of special features.

Buy The Karate Kid 4K UHD + Blu-ray on Amazon.

Well, that about wraps up this list of great Karate Kid and Cobra Kai gift ideas for that super-fan in your life. With a wide range of prices and types of gifts featured on this list, there’s something for every budget this holiday season. And to repeat the warning from the start, don’t wait too long to pick up these gifts because Christmas is only days away at this point and you don’t want to miss out.

For an updated list of some of the movie and TV-related Black Friday deals happening, click the banner below: 

For three seasons, Cobra Kai has managed to keep viewers greatly entertained. Not only has the show seamlessly honored the saga that began in 1984’s The Karate Kid, but it’s also managed to build on the mythology with some fresh elements. Fans like myself were relieved when Netflix scooped up the series from Netflix for Season 3, and it’s popularity has only expanded since then, which arguably led to its fourth season renewal. Then, this past summer, it was announced that the show would also receive a fifth season, but some may now be wondering if that could be its last. Now, one of the show’s creators has chimed in on the matter.

Cobra Kai has been a passion project for Josh Heald, Hayden Schlossberg and Jon Hurwitz, who all grew up on the Karate Kid franchise. They’ve covered a lot of ground over the course of the first three seasons and, with two more on the way, it’s natural to wonder if they’ve plotted out an ending for the series. Hurwitz recently participated in a Q&A with fans on Twitter and was asked about the show’s future. And his answer is sure to make fans hopeful:

So if Jon Hurwitz and his colleagues get their way, Season 5 won’t spell the end for Cobra Kai. Nevertheless, it would also appear that they do, at the very least, have a general idea of how they’d like things to conclude. The Karate Kid spinoff has been unpredictable, so it’s nearly impossible to predict how the story of William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence and Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso will end.

Season 3 concluded with a serious change in status quo. John Kreese, who is now in full control of Cobra Kai dojo, set his sights on winning the All Valley Karate Tournament. However, Daniel and Johnny chose to combine their classes in order to take on Kreese’s students. And per a bet made by the three sensei, whoever loses the tournament must disband their dojo. This should make for an exciting Season 4, which will see Lawrence and LaRusso attempt to work in harmony. Plus, fans will also see the return of Karate Kid Part III’s Terry Silver.

With two seasons (and potentially more) on the way, Cobra Kai still has plenty of time to do a number of other cool things. What fans are probably hoping for the most are additional returning characters. Sean Kanan, who famously played bad guy Mike Barnes in Part III, is among the actors who’d be willing to return.

Of course, the star everyone is really crossing their fingers for is Hilary Swank, who notably played Mr. Miyagi’s second pupil, Julie Pierce in 1994’s The Next Karate Kid. The creators have apparently discussed ways to bring her onto the show, but whether or not Swank actually signs on remains to be seen.

What we can say for sure is that as of right now, the future looks bright for the show. If Jon Hurwitz and his colleagues can keep up the momentum they’ve built, then they’ll truly ensure that Cobra Kai never dies.

There are plenty of people (especially young people) who have never seen any of The Karate Kid movies starring Ralph Macchio, Hilary Swank, and Jaden Smith, but have watched all three seasons of Cobra Kai. But, would you believe that there are people like myself who have never watched a single episode of Cobra Kai but have seen all 5 of The Karate Kid movies? I know, I know. What am I doing with my life? Yes, I should definitely watch Cobra Kai season 5 since I hear it’s excellent, but I find that I don’t have the time. Maybe it’s because I keep re-watching the original Karate Kid trilogy. That could have something to do with it, don’t you think?

The thing is, I grew up with the first three movies and they were in regular rotation in my household. It was like Rocky for teens, which made sense since it was done by the same director as the first and fifth Rocky movies, John G. Avildsen. For me, The Karate Kid trilogy is the ‘80s, so it takes me right back to that time period whenever I think about it. But The Karate Kid is not just a trilogy. There are also two other movies, one a legit sequel, and the other a remake. So, which one is the best around? You’re about to find out.

Oh, and some minor spoilers up ahead.

5. The Next Karate Kid (1994)

Starring Hilary Swank, Pat Morita, and Michael Ironside, and directed by Christopher Cain, The Next Karate Kid is about a grieving teen (played by Hilary Swank in her first starring role!), who has a lot of anger issues, which gets her in trouble at school. But when Mr. Miyagi takes her under his wing and teachers her Karate, she learns to find inner peace… and also kick the ass of a dude who sexually harasses her. It has its merits.

Like Michael Ironside, for instance. He’s in it, and he’s always pretty good. Hilary Swank—“Julie-san”, which Mr. Miyagi must say over a 100 times in this movie—is also decent for her first major role, and Pat Morita is always excellent. But the rest of the movie is pretty terrible. It’s just that it feels so unnecessary. The fight scenes are all pretty stale, the inciting incident (Julie jumps on the hood of a moving car) is pretty lame, and it has to have the most unsatisfying Mr. Miyagi beatdown ever when he faces off against Michael Ironside’s, Colonel Dugan. Overall, it’s mediocre and I don’t like it.

4. The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

Starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Martin Kove, Sean Kanan, and Thomas Ian Griffith, and directed by John Avildsen, who directed the whole trilogy, The Karate Kid Part III is pretty much just more of the same. Essentially, it’s a revenge story as Cobra Kai instructor, John Kreese (played by Martin Kove) wants to get back at Daniel and Mr. Miyagi for beating him and leaving Cobra Kai in shambles. He enlists the help of his nutcase friend, Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith) who lures Daniel in and takes him in as a student to split him up from Mr. Miyagi, as Miyagi says that he won’t train Daniel. And then, well, lunacy occurs.

The Karate Kid Part III is both a weird and overly familiar movie. On one end, the whole Terry Silver/Mike Barnes subplot to get Daniel to join them is over-the-top and ludicrous, but on the other end, the movie retreads the same stuff from first Karate Kid, making the film dry and a little boring. In the end, it is definitely the least interesting of The Karate Kid trilogy, and the one I definitely watch the least.

3. The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

The Karate Kid Part II is interesting because it takes place in Japan this time. Mr. Miyagi’s father is dying, so he heads to Okinawa and takes Daniel with him. We learn that Mr. Miyagi’s old fling hasn’t married this rich industrialist who once had a thing against Miyagi for loving the same woman. And this same industrialist has a nephew who harbors animosity toward Daniel, so both the teacher and the student are embroiled in hot water.

I like The Karate Kid Part II because it gives Mr. Miyagi more to do than just bail out Daniel this time around. It also feels a bit more serious than the first and the third movies, which I think makes it the most compelling of the trilogy. I’ve heard people say that The Karate Kid Part II and III should be flipped, so that this one is the last in the trilogy, and I agree, mainly because The Karate Kid Part II is good, and The Karate Kid Part III is not very good, so it would have made for a better conclusion to the trilogy. Oh, well.

2. The Karate Kid (2010)

Starring Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson, and Jackie Chan, and directed by Harald Zwart, I already know what you’re going to say. It would have been better if this was called “The Kung Fu Kid” rather than The Karate Kid, and you’re right. In China, it’s actually called The Kung Fu Dream. But it is part of The Karate Kid series, so I will include it here. This one is about a 12-year-old boy named Dre (Smith) who has to move to China when his mom’s job takes her there. He encounters a bully who picks on him, but then learns Kung Fu (Not Karate) from the maintenance man (played by Jackie Chan). He then learns to fight for himself.

The Karate Kid remake is just an overall enjoyable movie. Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han is no Mr. Miyagi. In fact, he’s better. I might just be biased because I love Jackie Chan so much, but I find his pathos and martial arts skills more interesting than Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. The rest of the movie around Jackie Chan’s performance is pretty good, and it doesn’t delve too deeply into the silly territories that the first trilogy sometimes dipped its toes into. But it’s definitely not as iconic as the original movie, which is why it ends up at number 2 rather than the top spot.

1. The Karate Kid (1984)

The original movie is still the best in the series. It’s about a hotheaded boy named Daniel who moves to a new town, gets bullied by these martial artists, and then meets a repairman (played by Morita) who just so happens to also know Karate. The repairman teaches Daniel to find tranquility in Karate, and then Daniel fights in a tournament, does the whole crane kick that people still do whenever they discuss this franchise, and… the end.

The first movie just has everything going for it. The Cobra Kai club is still interesting in their brutal means of training, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi’s relationship is really sweet, and it has the best song in the series, “You’re the Best Around” by Joe Esposito. If you were to ask me which Karate Kid I’d like to watch the most, I might just say the 2010 remake. But when it comes to the first one, I’m pretty sure most would say it’s the best since it’s so classic, so that’s why it gets the top spot on this list.

The Karate Kid has gotten some new life in it these past few years with Cobra Kai, which again, I will definitely watch at some point. But what do you think? What is your favorite The Karate Kid movie? Sound off in the poll below. And for information on the 2022 movies, make sure to stop by often.

Conventional wisdom would tell us that horror releases would most likely do their best if released in the month of October. Then again, if you’re a true fan of frightening and fiendish things, Netflix’s July 2021 new releases like the Fear Street trilogy and Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness are a welcome sight. But don’t worry, because if you’re not into the scary stuff, there’s still plenty of other titles to look forward to including fan-favorites like The Karate Kid, Django Unchained and the Twilight Saga. Take a look at when everything new will be hitting the streaming service this summer.

In addition, if you want to see the rundown of what was added to Netflix in June 2021, you can take a look at those titles through the link below.

Premiering On Netflix - Week Of July 1

Audible - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/1/21

Dynasty Warriors - NETFLIX FILM - 7/1/21

Generation 56k - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/1/21

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway - NETFLIX ANIME FILM - 7/1/21

Young Royals - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/1/21

Air Force One - 7/1/21

Austin Powers in Goldmember - 7/1/21

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - 7/1/21

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me - 7/1/21

The Best of Enemies - 7/1/21

Boogie Nights - 7/1/21

Born to Play - 7/1/21

Bureau of Magical Things: Season 1 - 7/1/21

Charlie's Angels - 7/1/21

Congo - 7/1/21

Dennis the Menace - 7/1/21

The Game - 7/1/21

Hampstead - 7/1/21

The Karate Kid - 7/1/21

The Karate Kid Part II - 7/1/21

The Karate Kid Part III - 7/1/21

Kung Fu Panda - 7/1/21

Kung Fu Panda 2 - 7/1/21

Life as We Know It - 7/1/21

Love Actually - 7/1/21

Mary Magdalena - 7/1/21

Memoirs of a Geisha - 7/1/21

Midnight Run - 7/1/21

Mortal Kombat (1995) - 7/1/21

No Strings Attached - 7/1/21

Not Another Teen Movie - 7/1/21

Ophelia - 7/1/21

Sailor Moon Crystal: Seasons 1-3 - 7/1/21

She's Out of My League - 7/1/21

Spanglish - 7/1/21

Star Trek - 7/1/21

The Strangers - 7/1/21

Stuart Little - 7/1/21

Supermarket Sweep: Season 1 - 7/1/21

Sword of Trust - 7/1/21

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - 7/1/21

Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 7/1/21

Underworld - 7/1/21

Underworld: Awakening - 7/1/21

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - 7/1/21

What Dreams May Come - 7/1/21

Why Do Fools Fall in Love - 7/1/21

ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE - 7/1/21

The 8th Night - NETFLIX FILM - 7/2/21

Big Timber - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/2/21

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 - NETFLIX FILM - 7/2/21

Haseen Dillruba - NETFLIX FILM - 7/2/21

Mortel: Season 2 - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/2/21

Snowpiercer - 7/2/21

Grey's Anatomy: Season 17 - 7/3/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week Of July 4

We The People - NETFLIX FAMILY -7/4/21

You Are My Spring - NETFLIX SERIES -7/5/21

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: Season 2 - NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL -7/6/21

Brick Mansions -7/7/21

Cat People - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY -7/7/21

Dogs: Season 2 - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY -7/7/21

The Mire: '97 - NETFLIX SERIES -7/7/21

The War Next-door - NETFLIX SERIES -7/7/21

Major Grom: Plague Doctor - NETFLIX FILM -7/7/21

This Little Love of Mine -7/7/21

Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY -7/8/21

Home Again -7/8/21

Midnight Sun -7/8/21

RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness - NETFLIX ANIME -7/8/21

Atypical: Season 4 - NETFLIX SERIES -7/9/21

Biohackers: Season 2 - NETFLIX SERIES -7/9/21

The Cook of Castamar - NETFLIX SERIES -7/9/21

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 - NETFLIX FILM -7/9/21

How I Became a Superhero - NETFLIX FILM -7/9/21

Last Summer - NETFLIX FILM -7/9/21

Lee Su-geun: The Sense Coach - NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL -7/9/21

Virgin River: Season 3 - NETFLIX SERIES -7/9/21

American Ultra - 7/10/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week Of July 11

Ridley Jones - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/13/21

A Classic Horror Story - NETFLIX FILM - 7/14/21

The Guide to the Perfect Family - NETFLIX FILM - 7/14/21

Gunpowder Milkshake - NETFLIX FILM - 7/14/21

Heist - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/14/21

My Unorthodox Life - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/14/21

Private Network: Who Killed Manuel Buendía? - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/14/21

A Perfect Fit - NETFLIX FILM - 7/15/21

BEASTARS: Season 2 - NETFLIX ANIME - 7/15/21

Emicida: AmarElo - Live in São Paulo - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/15/21

My Amanda - NETFLIX FILM - 7/15/21

Never Have I Ever: Season 2 - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/15/21

The Beguiled - 7/16/21

Deep - NETFLIX FILM - 7/16/21

Explained: Season 3 - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY (NEW EPISODES WEEKLY) - 7/16/21

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 - NETFLIX FILM - 7/16/21

Johnny Test - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/16/21

Twilight - 7/16/21

The Twilight Saga: New Moon - 7/16/21

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - 7/16/21

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 - 7/16/21

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2 - 7/16/21

Cosmic Sin - 7/17/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week Of July 18

Milkwater - 7/20/21

Chernobyl 1986 - NETFLIX FILM - 7/21/21

The Movies That Made Us: Season 2 - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/21/21

One on One with Kirk Cameron: Season 1 - 7/21/21

Sexy Beasts - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/21/21

Too Hot to Handle: Brazil - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/21/21

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/21/21

Still Working 9 to 5 - 7/22/21

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop - NETFLIX ANIME - 7/22/21

A Second Chance: Rivals! - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/23/21

Bankrolled - NETFLIX FILM - 7/23/21

Blood Red Sky - NETFLIX FILM - 7/23/21

Kingdom: Ashin of the North - NETFLIX FILM - 7/23/21

The Last Letter From Your Lover - NETFLIX FILM - 7/23/21

Masters of the Universe: Revelation - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/23/21

Sky Rojo: Season 2 - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/23/21

Charmed: Season 3 - 7/24/21

Django Unchained - 7/24/21

Premiering On Netflix - Week Of July 25

The Walking Dead: Season 10 - 7/25/21

Wynonna Earp: Season 4 - 7/25/21

All American: Season 3 - 7/27/21

Mighty Express: Season 4 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/27/21

The Operative - 7/27/21

Bartkowiak - NETFLIX FILM - 7/28/21

Fantastic Fungi - 7/28/21

The Flash: Season 7 - 7/28/21

The Snitch Cartel: Origins - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/28/21

Tattoo Redo - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/28/21

Too Hot to Handle: Brazil - NETFLIX SERIES (NEW EPISODES) - 7/28/21

Resort to Love - NETFLIX FILM - 7/29/21

Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom - NETFLIX ANIME - 7/29/21

Centaurworld - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/30/21

Glow Up: Season 3 - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/30/21

The Last Mercenary - NETFLIX FILM - 7/30/21

Myth & Mogul: John DeLorean - NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY - 7/30/21

Outer Banks: Season 2 - NETFLIX SERIES - 7/30/21

The Vault - 7/31/21

Premiering On Netflix - July TBD

Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin

Feels Like Ishq - NETFLIX SERIES

How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast): Season 3 - NETFLIX SERIES

Netflix’s Movie Highlights For July 2021

The wait is finally over, friends! Netflix’s Fear Street Trilogy is finally going to be unleashed upon the public, over three consecutive weeks. Based on R.L. Stine’s classic literary franchise, the towns of Shadyside and Sunnyvale find themselves at the center of an insidious evil that’s definitely not PG-rated. So you may want to watch these terrifying films before showing them to your children.

You could say the same about our next Netflix original film, except when it comes to Karen Gillan and her Gunpowder Milkshake ensemble, that R-rating is for action packed brutality. While there’s no curses here, there is Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, and Michelle Yeoh packing so much firepower, their enemies may as well be milkshakes. It’s gonna get real pulpy, real fast and the results look quite exciting.

Some months, the Netflix originals are more exciting than some of the classics heading to the subscription streamer. July of 2021 will not be one of those months. In fact, tons of franchise films will be hitting the streaming, including the whole of the Austin Powers and Twilight Saga, as well as the aforementioned The Karate Kid. Overall, there's a lot to look forward to on the movie front.

Netflix’s TV Highlights For July 2021

Speaking of waits that have felt like an eternity, Netflix’s breakout comedy I Think You Should Leave finally returns for Season 2! With Tim Robinson and his usual gang of comedic performers bringing their unique brand of humor back to the streaming world, there’s no telling what memes will result from this round. And should Bart Harley Jarvis rear his dastardly head, you know what to shout. Virgin River and Outer Banks will also be back, so if you are a fan, be sure to get those dates onto your calendar.

Circling back to the world of horror, we’ve still got a couple months until Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City makes its way to theaters. But that shouldn’t stop you from digging into the further adventures of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield’s battle against the undead. As the Netflix original series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness debuts in its first season in July, creatures season is opening a little earlier than expected; so you’d better be prepared.

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, July 2021 is quite a frightening place to be. Of course, what’s even scarier is looking for a title you’re excited to watch, and not finding it. So be sure to check this schedule often, as all titles are subject to change and availability. We’ll see you again around this time next month, when August 2021’s Netflix lineup will be revealed like a dark and terrible secret. Good luck keeping the lights on until we meet again.

Cobra Kai Season 4 is on the way to Netflix in late 2021 and, after the third season, there's a lot to be excited about. The upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament has tremendous stakes, where the losing team will be forced to walk away from karate forever. Given the stakes, Daniel LaRusso decided to join forces with Johnny Lawrence, but will that be enough to take down John Kreese and his merciless Cobra Kai fighters?

It's a plot thread that largely relies on a key element that Ralph Macchio recently told Deadline he's most looking forward to. Macchio recently spoke about the intrigue in the Daniel and Johnny team-up, and how these two sensei will overcome their own problems in order to coach their students:

The Ross and Rachel element of Daniel and Johnny's relationship is the "will they or won't they" that asks whether or not the two will ever actually be trusted friends. The two have been through their fair share of ups and downs in the series and, while team-ups have happened in the past, they never seem to last. However, now that the two have united against a common enemy amid such high stakes, one would think things will be different.

Daniel and Johnny's emotions aren't the only thing at play here either. It's been officially revealed that Terry Silver will be involved in Season 4, likely as a close aide to Kreese as the tournament nears. Those combined forces will be tough to overturn, especially if Silver is able to recruit some other talent to add to the already formidable ranks of Cobra Kai.

The road won't be easy I'm sure, but Cobra Kai fans can hope that Daniel and Johnny will be able to put their egos aside for the good of their students. Eagle Fang Karate (provided they stick with that name) definitely will struggle to match the natural athleticism of Cobra Kai, so they'll need the skill of both their teachers to help combat that. Hopefully, their fighting styles are able to mesh better than conflict and ultimately create something that is the best kung fu we've seen in The Karate Kid franchise.

Cobra Kai Season 4 is expected to arrive in the back half of 2021. Season 4 has the potential to be the best season yet, especially if the series found a way to bring back one of its best supporting actors. We'll have to wait and see though!

Cobra Kai Season 3 ended with some major developments for Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso and their students. By the end of the season, Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese further cemented the dojo’s dominance by convincing Johnny’s son, Robby, to join up with him. In order to stop Kreese and end Cobra Kai once and for all, Daniel and Johnny agreed to combine their classes and take on Kreese’s students at the All Valley Karate Tournament. And as part of their deal with Kreese, the loser(s) must dissolve their dojo. Many fans were likely pleased to see Johnny and Daniel join forces, but how does Johnny feel about this alliance going into Season 4? Well, series star William Zabka has some thoughts.

For the past three seasons, Johnny Lawrence and Danel LaRusso have had their ups and downs and, now, they must put aside their differences for a greater cause. Still, you have to wonder how both characters feel about the situation, especially Johnny Lawrence. While speaking with Collider, William Zabka shared his personal take on his character’s mindset going into Cobra Kai Season 4, and what he had to say might surprise you:

So it sounds like Johnny Lawrence is in a relatively positive headspace moving into Cobra Kai Season 4. While William Zabka acknowledges the conflicts the character has had with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso in the past, it sounds Johnny is glad to have the fellow sensei at his side. Still, it also seems like there will certainly be a bit of uneasiness for both characters when it comes to the new co-teaching dynamic.

It’s safe to say Johnny and Daniel are really going to need each other in Cobra Kai Season 4, especially since it looks like John Kreese is calling in reinforcements. This past week, fans learned that The Karate Kid Part III’s Terry Silver, who was alluded to in the Season 3 finale, is officially back, and he’ll once again be played by Thomas Ian Griffith. All you’d need is Mike Barnes to complete the Cobra Kai trifecta, but the aforementioned pair is deadly enough for the united Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang.

Watching Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso navigate their new alliance is sure to be one of the most compelling elements of Cobra Kai’s fourth season. There’s sure to be harmony between the two at times, but it’s fair to assume that they’ll have their share of disagreements here and there. Let’s just hope it’s not enough to throw them off balance and lose them the tournament.

All three seasons of Cobra Kai are currently available to stream on Netflix.

The list of the best ‘80s movies is a massive and diverse list of everything from iconic action movies to Best Picture winners, and so much more. With so many great movies having come out in the penultimate decade of the 20th century, keeping track of all those rom-coms, sci-fi thrillers, horror flicks, and tear-jerking dramas is no easy task.

Looking for a way to revisit your favorites from the ‘80s while waiting for those new releases on the 2025 movie schedule? Well, come with us as we explore the best the ‘80s had to offer and how to watch those movies on some of the best streaming services. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s go back to the ‘80s with these great movies…

The Big Chill (1983)

The Director: Lawrence Kasdan

The Cast: Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt

What It’s About: A group of college friends reunite to bury one of their own who has committed suicide. Together for the first time in years, the once close-knit gang examine their college experience and what has changed.

What To Expect: With one of the best movie soundtracks ever assembled, incredible performances by some of the biggest ‘80s stars, and an unflinching story about friendship and identity, The Big Chill has it all.

• Stream The Big Chill on Max.
  Rent/Buy The Big Chill on Amazon.
• Get The Big Chill on DVD on Amazon.

Major League (1989)

The Director: David S. Ward

The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes

What It’s About: After discovering that their team’s new owner is planning on tanking the team to relocate to sunny Florida, the ragtag group of misfits that make up the Cleveland Indians take matters into their own hands and attempt to pull off the impossible.

What To Expect: One of the best baseball movies of all time, Major League hits the triple crown of a sports flick: comedy, drama, and all kinds of web gems.

• Rent/Buy Major League on Amazon.
• Get Major League on DVD on Amazon.

Clue (1985)

The Director: Jonathan Lynn

The Cast: Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean

What It’s About: Six seemingly random strangers, who appear to have nothing in common with one another, are summoned to a mansion for dinner, only to discover they are in the middle of a murder mystery where no one can be trusted, not even the staff.

What To Expect: With its multiple endings, hilarious gags, and unforgettable performances by some of the funniest people in Hollywood, Clue takes a classic board game and turns it into a classic whodunit comedy.

• Rent/Buy Clue on Amazon.
• Get Clue on DVD on Amazon.

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1989)

The Director: Joe Johnston

The Cast: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Amy O’Neill

What It’s About: After being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a group of teenagers are turned into a fraction of their normal size and are forced to survive the dangerous hellscape that is their backyard.

What To Expect: One of the most hilarious Rick Moranis movies, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, is full of great practical effects, a wild story, and some of the most iconic movie moments of the ‘80s.

• Stream Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on Amazon.
• Get Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on DVD on Amazon.

Field Of Dreams (1989)

The Director: Phil Alden Robinson

The Cast: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta

What It’s About: Ray Kinsella’s (Kevin Costner) life is forever changed after hearing a mysterious voice whisper “If you build it, he will come” while out in his cornfield.

What To Expect: What follows is one man’s journey to “ease the pain” of his hero, an odyssey that concludes with one of the most emotional scenes in any sports movie.

• Rent/Buy Field of Dreams on Amazon.
• Get Field of Dreams on DVD on Amazon.

Raising Arizona (1987)

The Director: The Coen Brothers

The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman

What It’s About: A down-on-their-luck couple goes to extreme lengths to have a baby of their own, even if that means kidnapping one from a wealthy family.

What To Expect: One of the Coen Brothers’ best movies, Raising Arizona has a perfect blend of comedy and crime, as well as no shortage of iconic and unforgettable characters.

• Rent/Buy Raising Arizona on Amazon.
• Get Raising Arizona on Blu-ray on Amazon.

9 to 5 (1980)

The Director: Colin Higgins

The Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton

What It’s About: A trio of fed-up secretaries team up to get even with their sexist boss, but things get out of hand when they learn their dream may have come true.

What To Expect: In addition to having one of the best movie songs of all time, 9 to 5 also has one of the best premises of the ‘80s and a cast that is untouchable.

• Rent 9 to 5 on Amazon.
• Get 9 to 5 on DVD on Amazon.

A Christmas Story (1983)

The Director: Bob Clark

The Cast: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon

What It’s About: A young boy named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) tries to convince everyone from his parents to his teacher and even Santa Claus himself to bring him a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.

What To Expect: Made up of a series of vignettes showcasing life in 1940s Indiana, A Christmas Story perfectly captures childhood obsession and what happens when reality brings your dreams crashing down.

• Rent/Buy A Christmas Story on Amazon.
• Get A Christmas Story on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Adventures In Babysitting (1987)

The Director: Chris Columbus

The Cast: Elisabeth Shue, Anthony Rapp, George Newbern

What It’s About: After being stood up by her boyfriend, high school senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) decides to spend the night watching a group of young siblings. What at first seems like a quiet night and easy money quickly turns into anything but.

What To Expect: Adventures in Babysitting, one of the best movies set in Chicago, is full of great and hilarious moments, all kinds of danger, and Elisabeth Shue in all her glory.

• Stream Adventures in Babysitting on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Adventures in Babysitting on Amazon.
• Get Adventures in Babysitting on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Airplane! (1980)

The Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

The Cast: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen

What It’s About: With the crew and passengers incapacitated and no one else left to land the plane, a nervous pilot has to rise to the occasion and save the day.

What To Expect: The 1980 disaster film spoof, Airplane!, answers the question: what happens when a man who’s afraid to fly is the only one who can prevent a jumbo-jet from crashing?

• Rent/Buy Airplane on Amazon.
• Get Airplane! on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Aliens (1986)

The Director: James Cameron

The Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn

What It’s About: After spending decades floating through space, Ellen Ripley is awoken and sent with a group of highly-trained space Marines to investigate a mining colony that has gone dark.

What To Expect: Ripley is back with a vengeance in James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi action flick, Aliens, and she isn’t stopping until the final Xenomorph is launched into outer space.

• Rent/Buy Aliens on Amazon.
• Get Aliens on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Back To The Future (1985)

The Director: Robert Zemeckis

The Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Llyod, Lea Thompson

What It’s About: When Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) steps into a DeLorean time machine and is transported back to 1955, he must avoid high school bullies and a younger version of his own mom if he wants to get back to 1985.

What To Expect: With great time-traveling scenes, Michael J. Fox at his best, and some hilarious scenarios (both in the past and the present), Back to the Future has everything you’d want in an ‘80s movie.

• Rent/Buy Back to the Future on Amazon.
• Get Back to the Future on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Batman (1989)

The Director: Tim Burton

The Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger

What It’s About: After falling into a vat of toxic chemicals, one of Gotham’s most ambitious and dangerous criminals is transformed into the prince of crime, and only Batman can stop him.

What To Expect: Tim Burton’s dark and moody 1989 unconventional superhero film, Batman, forever changed the face of comic book movies and gave audiences one of the best representations of the iconic character.

• Stream Batman on Max.
• Rent/Buy Batman on Amazon.
• Get Batman on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Beetlejuice (1988)

The Director: Tim Burton
The Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin

What It’s About: When the efforts by a ghostly couple (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) to scare away the new owners of their country home are fruitless, they turn to a spirit by the name of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to regain control.
What To Expect: More than 35 years after its release, Beetlejuice remains one of the most inventive, iconic, and hilarious additions to Tim Burton’s massive library of movies.

• Stream Beetlejuice on Max.
• Rent/Buy Beetlejuice on Amazon.
• Get Beetlejuice on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

The Director: Martin Brest

The Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

What It’s About: A wise-cracking and rebellious Detroit police officer comes to Los Angeles to track down those responsible for his best friend’s murder.

What To Expect: Expect to laugh, like a lot, because this Eddie Murphy classic starts and doesn’t stop until the credits roll.

• Stream Beverly Hills Cop on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Beverly Hills Cop on Amazon.
• Get Beverly Hills Cop on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Big (1988)

The Director: Penny Marshall

The Cast: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia

What It’s About: When 12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) wishes he was a little bigger, he gets his wish and then more when he wakes up to find he has been transformed into a full-grown adult (Tom Hanks).

What To Expect: Penny Marshall’s timeless comedy sees Baskin navigate 1980s New York City, but as a child trapped in a man’s body and various situations.

• Stream Big on Disney+.
• Rent/Buy Big on Amazon.
• Get Big on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

The Director: Stephen Herek

The Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin

What It’s About: Strange things are afoot at the Circle K in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure when two dopey high schoolers (played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) are given access to a time-traveling phone booth to pass their history exam and keep their band together.

What To Expect: Looking for righteous time-traveling sequences, air guitar, and Napoleon going to a water park? Well, look no further.

• Rent/Buy Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on Amazon.
• Get Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Blade Runner (1982)

The Director: Ridley Scott

The Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

What It’s About: Blade Runner follows replicant hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he tracks down four escaped criminals who have returned to Earth from an off-world colony.

What To Expect: What starts off as a simple game of cat and mouse slowly turns into something much more complex.

• Rent/Buy Blade Runner on Amazon.
• Get Blade Runner on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Blue Velvet (1986)

The Director: David Lynch

The Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini

What It’s About: College student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) becomes involved with the dark and twisted world of his town’s criminal underbelly after finding a dismembered ear.

What To Expect: Come in expecting Lynchian twists and turns, unforgettable characters (that you’ll want to forget), and a great soundtrack.

• Rent/Buy Blue Velvet on Amazon.
• Get Blue Velvet on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

The Director: John Landis

The Cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Carrie Fisher

What It’s About: Two brothers attempt to get their old band back together to help save the orphanage in which they were raised.

What To Expect: In the mood for great music, even better characters, and quite possibly the best car chase of all time? Well, look no further than The Blues Brothers.

• Stream The Blues Brothers on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy The Blues Brothers on Amazon.
• Get The Blues Brothers on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Broadcast News (1987)

The Director: James L. Brooks

The Cast: Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, William Hurt

What It’s About: In addition to presenting the news day in and day out, a news producer finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with her longtime best friend and a dreamy yet under-qualified anchorman.

What To Expect: James L. Brooks’ romantic comedy, Broadcast News, finds the perfect balance between drama and comedy, composure and awkwardness, and so much more.

• Stream Broadcast News on Starz.
• Rent/Buy Broadcast News on Amazon.
• Get Broadcast News on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Caddyshack (1980)

The Director: Harold Ramis

The Cast: Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase

What It’s About: Set at the Bushwood Country Club, which is infested with rodents and yuppies alike, Harold Ramis’ 1980 sports comedy, Caddyshack, follows caddies (led by Michael O’Keefe), grounds crew (led by Bill Murray), and all other sorts of characters who spend a summer at the prestigious club.

What To Expect: Considered one of the best sports comedies ever made, Caddyshack has some of the subgenre’s most quotable scenes and one of Hollywood’s most hatable villains.

• Rent/Buy Caddyshack on Amazon.
• Get Caddyshack on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Coming To America (1988)

The Director: John Landis

The Cast: Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, Arsenio Hall

What It’s About: John Landis’ 1988 comedy, Coming to America, follows Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) as he travels to Queens to find a wife to bring back to the African nation of Zamunda.

What To Expect: If you’re in the mood for classic Eddie Murphy moments, some outrageous characters, and a great look at ‘80s NYC, this will do the trick.

• Rent/Buy Coming to America on Amazon.
• Get Coming to America on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

The Director: Peter Weir

The Cast: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke

What It’s About: Set in a prestigious college prep academy, the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society follows newly arrived English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) as he spends a semester opening the eyes and changing the lives of his students, for better or for worse.

What To Expect: Dead Poets Society, one of the great coming-of-age stories of all time, is at times incredibly hopeful while at others utterly heartbreaking.

• Rent/Buy Dead Poets Society on Amazon.
• Get Dead Poets Society on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Die Hard (1988)

The Director: John McTiernan

The Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia

What It’s About: NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) finds himself in the right place at the right time in Die Hard when his wife’s holiday Christmas party is overtaken by a group of international terrorists who hold them hostage in hopes of securing unfathomable wealth.

What To Expect: Bruce Willis’ wisecracks, explosive action scenes, and one of Alan Rickman’s great villains all make Die Hard an unforgettable classic.

• Stream Die Hard on Hulu.
• Rent/Buy Die Hard on Amazon.
• Get Die Hard on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

The Director: Emile Ardolino

The Cast: Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach

What It’s About: Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) goes to spend a summer in the Catskills with her family in Dirty Dancing. Thinking she’ll spend the time bored out of her mind, Baby quickly finds herself learning what it means to dance, love, and stand up for herself, thanks to her dance instructor-turned-lover Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze).

What To Expect: There is no short order of romance, drama, dancing, and legendary ‘50s music in this decorated classic.

• Rent/Buy Dirty Dancing on Amazon.
• Get Dirty Dancing on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Do The Right Thing (1989)

The Director: Spike Lee

The Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis

What It’s About: What initially starts out as a disagreement over which actors should or shouldn’t be included on the wall of a Brooklyn pizzeria quickly escalates into a full-blown riot in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.

What To Expect: If you’re looking for comedy, drama, and a large dose of social commentary, give Do the Right Thing a shot.

• Stream Do the Right Thing on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy Do the Right Thing on Amazon.
• Get Do the Right Thing on Blu-ray on Amazon.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

The Director: Steven Spielberg

The Cast: Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore

What It’s About: Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi adventure E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial follows a young boy (Henry Thomas) as he forms an unbreakable bond with a gentle alien who is trapped on Earth and just wants to go home.

What To Expect: This 1982 sci-fi classic is full of wonder, adventure, and quite possibly one of the best John Williams scores of all time.

• Rent/Buy E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial on Amazon.
• Get E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Blu-ray on Amazon.

Escape From New York (1981)

The Director: John Carpenter

The Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine

What It’s About: John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian thriller, Escape From New York, sees Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) attempt to save the U.S. President from a group of fanatical criminals who run the streets of Manhattan, which has been turned into a prison colony.

What To Expect: With one of Kurt Russell’s most badass characters, some great practical effects by James Cameron, and a legendary John Carpenter score, there’s a lot to love here.

• Stream Escape from New York on Prime Video.
• Rent/Buy Escape from New York on Amazon.
• Get Escape from New York on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

The Director: Amy Heckering
The Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold
What It’s About: The school lives, social lives, and love lives of several teenagers are explored both in and outside their California high school.
What To Expect: If you’re looking for a movie that captures the heart and soul of the ‘80s high school experience, look no further than Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Yes, that includes the good, the bad, and the unbearingly uncomfortable.

• Rent/Buy Fast Times at Ridgemont High on Amazon.
• Get Fast Times at Ridgemont High on DVD on Amazon.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

The Director: John Hughes
The Cast: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara

What It’s About: John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows the charismatic titular high school senior (Matthew Broderick) as he convinces his girlfriend and best friend to skip class and have an epic adventure in Chicago.

What To Expect: A quintessential ‘80s movie, and one of John Hughes’ best cinematic experiences, there are few teenage comedies that hit as hard (or as often) as this one.

• Rent/Buy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Amazon.
• Get Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on DVD on Amazon.

Footloose (1984)

The Director: Herbert Ross

The Cast: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow

What It’s About: When Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a dance-obsessed high schooler, moves to a small town that has banned all forms of music and dancing, he does what any teenager would do in his position: rebels with loads and loads of dancing, in Footloose.

What To Expect: If you’re in the mood for angry dancing, John Lithgow villains, and great movie songs, look no further than Footloose.

• Rent/Buy Footloose on Amazon.
• Get Footloose on DVD on Amazon.

Friday The 13th (1980)

The Director: Sean S. Cunningham

The Cast: Betsy Palmer, Kevin Bacon, Adrienne King

What It’s About: The slasher film Friday the 13th follows a group of counselors as they are picked off one by one by a sadistic killer with one hell of a backstory involving Camp Crystal Lake.

What To Expect: You won’t see Jason Voorhees tracking down and killing teenagers this time around, but the killer in this iconic slasher is just as brutal and perhaps even more unhinged.

• Rent/Buy Friday the 13th on Amazon.
• Get Friday the 13th on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Ghostbusters (1984)

The Director: Ivan Reitman

The Cast: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson

What It’s About: Who ya gonna call? Well, Ghostbusters if you’re looking for a fun supernatural comedy involving college professors who use their knowledge to rid New York City of ghostly threats.

What To Expect: Want to go back and see how the Ghostbusters got started? Want to see the Marshmallow Man walk through NYC again? Want to experience one of the best ‘80s movies? Here’s your chance!

• Rent/Buy Ghostbusters on Amazon.
• Get Ghostbusters on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Gremlins (1984)

The Director: Joe Dante

The Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton

What It’s About: Written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante, the 1984 horror flick Gremlins answers the question: What’s the worst that could happen when you spill water on your new pet and feed them after midnight?

What to expect? Well, you’ll find out what happens when you feed a gremlin after midnight. That’s for sure!

• Rent/Buy Gremlins on Amazon.
• Get Gremlins on DVD on Amazon.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

The Director: Richard Donner

The Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey

What It’s About: Los Angeles police detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are forced to look past their differences and opposing lifestyles to uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring in Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon.

What To Expect: If you want to see one of the premier buddy action movies, Lethal Weapon is going to do the trick, and then some.

• Rent/Buy Lethal Weapon on Amazon.
• Get Lethal Weapon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Midnight Run (1988)

The Director: Martin Brest

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton

What It’s About: Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) sets out to capture mob accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin), who has skipped out on his bail.

What To Expect: What follows is a cross-country adventure involving two personalities that mix like oil and water. But with mobsters, bounty hunters, and the FBI hot on their tail, they’ll have to work together.

• Rent/Buy Midnight Run on Amazon.
• Get Midnight Run on Blu-ray on Amazon.

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

The Director: Harold Ramis

The Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall

What It’s About: Bumbling father, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), takes his wife and two children on what is supposed to be two weeks of family bonding but quickly devolves into a trip from hell in National Lampoon’s Vacation.

What To Expect: Expect chaos. Pure chaos!

• Rent/Buy National Lampoon’s Vacation on Amazon.
• Get National Lampoon’s Vacation on Blu-ray on Amazon.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The Director: Wes Craven

The Cast: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp

What It’s About: Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street follows a group of teenagers who are being terrorized by the undead killer Freddy Krueger, who attacks them when most vulnerable: while they sleep.

What To Expect: If you came looking for an iconic horror villain to be both unbelievably brutal yet undeniably hilarious, as well as terrifying dream sequences, this franchise starter will do the trick.

• Rent/Buy A Nightmare on Elm Street on Amazon
• Get A Nightmare on Elm Street on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Platoon (1986)

The Director: Oliver Stone

The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

What It’s About: Oliver Stone’s 1986 Academy Award-winning military drama, Platoon, follows a group of American soldiers in the Vietnam War who are pushed to the brink of losing what little humanity they have left.

What To Expect: Don’t go into Platoon looking for a happy-go-lucky or romantic view of war, because this brutal, realistic, and unflinching military drama doesn’t hold back.

• Rent/Buy Platoon on Amazon.
• Get Platoon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Raging Bull (1980)

The Director: Martin Scorsese

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty

What It’s About: Robert De Niro plays Jake LaMotta, a former heavyweight champ whose life is falling apart in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 acclaimed, all-time great boxing movie, Raging Bull.

What To Expect: You won’t find likable or redeemable characters, but you will find one of the most engaging and hard-hitting stories ever told in and out of the boxing ring.

• Rent/Buy Raging Bull on Amazon.
• Get Raging Bull on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

The Director: Steven Spielberg
The Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies
What It’s About: The world is introduced to Harrison Ford’s iconic archeologist in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark, which kicked off the Indiana Jones franchise with a story about the mysterious Ark of the Covenant.
What To Expect. You can expect legendary movie sequences, Nazis losing their faces, and Harrison Ford being charming as all hell.

• Stream Raiders of the Lost Ark on Disney+.
• Stream Raiders of the Lost Ark on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Raiders of the Lost Ark on Amazon.
• Get Raiders of the Lost Ark on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rain Man (1988)

The Director: Barry Levinson
The Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino

What It’s About: Barry Levinson’s 1988 drama, Rain Man, netted Dustin Hoffman an Academy Award for his portrayal of Raymond Babbitt, an autistic man who has a knack for counting cards and the game of blackjack.

What To Expect: Rain Man features what could be one of Hoffman’s best performances as well as a story that is both heartwarming and incredibly maddening at times.

• Get Rain Man on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Scarface (1983)

The Director: Brian De Palma
The Cast: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer

What It’s About: Brian De Palma’s sprawling 1983 crime epic, Scarface, follows Cuban immigrant Tony Montana (Al Pacino) as he climbs from the bottom of the food chain to the top of Miami’s booming cocaine market.
What To Expect: Though being a remake itself, Scarface would go on to become one of the most influential crime films of the ‘80s and of all time, thanks to its electric tone, over-the-top violence, and one of Al Pacino’s most unhinged characters.

• Rent/Buy Scarface on Amazon.
• Get Scarface on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Spaceballs (1987)

The Director: Mel Brooks
The Cast: Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, John Candy

What It’s About: Mel Brooks’ 1987 sci-fi spoof Spaceballs takes plot points from the likes of Star Wars and other classic adventures and creates a farcical race to save the galaxy from the evil President Skroob (Brooks) and Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis).

What To Expect: Spaceballs has some of the most hilarious spoof movie gags, great comedic moments, and one of the wildest villains of the decade.

• Rent/Buy Spaceballs on Amazon.
• Get Spaceballs on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stand By Me (1986)

The Director: Rob Reiner
The Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell

What It’s About: Based on a story by Stephen King, Rob Reiner’s 1986 coming-of-age story, Stand By Me, follows a group of childhood friends as they spend the final days of their summer break looking for the dead body of a missing boy.

What To Expect: This is perhaps the best “end of childhood” movie ever released, as well as a drama that never gets old no matter how many times you watch it.

• Rent/Buy Stand By Me on Amazon.
• Get Stand By Me on DVD on Amazon.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

The Director: Nicholas Meyer
The Cast: William Shatner, Ricardo Montalban, Leonard Nimoy
What It’s About: The 1982 sci-fi adventure film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan sees Enterprise commander Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) cross paths with the villainous Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a genetically enhanced superhuman he never thought he’d have to see again.
What To Expect: In the mood for one of the best Star Trek movies as well as an iconic space film, look no further.

• Stream Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Paramount+.
• Rent/Buy Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Amazon.
• Get Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Steel Magnolias (1989)

The Director: Herbert Ross

The Cast: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton

What It’s About: The 1989 Golden Globe winner, Steel Magnolias, follows a tight-knit group of women in northwestern Louisiana who stand together through thick and thin.

What To Expect: Expect to laugh, cry, and then cry some more. Seriously, try watching this movie without crying.

• Stream Steel Magnolias on Max.
• Rent/Buy Steel Magnolias on Amazon.
• Get Steel Magnolias on DVD on Amazon.