Did you know there’s a girl version ofThe Karate Kid? Sure, that may be a reductive way to describeThe Next Karate Kid, but history has all but reduced 1994’s oft-malignedKarate Kidmovie to such terms.Before Oscar-winner Hilary Swankwas kicking butt and taking names inMillion Dollar Baby, she was doing it in her leading role debut as Julie, a new student of Mr. Miyagi’s, in the fourth installment of theKarate Kidfranchise. DespiteThe Next Karate Kidbeing the lowest-grossing film in the franchise to date, there are a few reasons it may be worth streaming onTubi, especially with the release ofKarate Kid: Legendson May 30.
What Is ‘The Next Karate Kid’ About?
The Next Karate Kid
Julie is an angsty and rebellious teenager living with her grandmother in Boston following the death of her parents. Julie lashes out against her grandmother, teachers, and peers, and only finds respite in taking care of a hawk named Angel on the school’s roof. Mr. Miyagi, an old friend of Julie’s grandfather, offers to let Julie’s grandmother stay at his house in LA for a stint while he watches over Julie in Boston (a strange concept, yes, they had to set up Mr. Miyagi with a female student somehow…)
At Julie’s school, a “security fraternity” is beginning to form called The Alpha Elite, comprised of young men who are being trained to fight to protect the school, but with sinister undertones. The unspoken leader of the group is the rather volatile Ned Randall, who continually makes unwanted sexual advances against Julie, sometimes with the help of the Alpha Elite. One of the potential Elite Pledges is part-time security guard Eric, who takes a genuine romantic interest in Julie and takes it upon himself to defend her against the other boys. However, one day, sans Eric, the Alpha Elite strike against Julie while she is feeding Angel at school after hours, and though she escapes, she is caught and suspended from school for two weeks for trespassing.
10 Things About The Next Karate Kid You Never Knew
In The Next Karate Kid there’s no Daniel, no Johnny, and no Ali with an I, but we do get Mr. Miyagi, newcomer Hilary Swank and Michael Ironside.
While at home one day, Julie is almost hit by a car. That is when she effortlessly jumps into the tiger position,catching the eye of Mr. Miyagi.Julie reluctantly shares that her father trained her in Karate as a child.Miyagi informs her that Julie’s father learned Karate from his father, who learned it from Mr. Miyagi. In exchange for agreeing to do her homework that she is missing, Miyagi agrees to give Julie karate lessons. A journey to defeat the Alpha Elite ensues, filled with monks, hawks, a lot of teenage self-discovery, and karate-based bonding.
We’re on (Broken) Board With This Cast
Of course, one very exciting reason to streamThe Next Karate Kidis to see Hilary Swank (only 20 years old at the time) in such an early film role. Seeing the late-great Noriyuki “Pat” Morita reprise his franchise role as Mr. Miyagi is another similarly exciting reason. In general,the cast is a real “who’s who” of the ’90s, and they do a great job with a ridiculous script.
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Michael Ironside, known forroles inTotal RecallandTop Gun, stars in the villainous “Colonel” role. Even Walton Goggins, beloved actor of Season 3 ofThe White Lotus, makes a surprise appearance as one of the Alpha Elite. If nothing else, it is pretty remarkable to see actors who have become so distinguished so early in their careers.
Feminism and Fan Service
The Next Karate Kidmay not have much to do with Daniel LaRusso,Cobra Kai, or other familiar franchise faces, but it does contain quite a bit of fan service that makes it a quintessential watch in anyKarate Kidmarathon. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say Mr. Miyagi does attempt to get Julie to “Wax on, Wax off.” Julie even uses the pain suppression technique from the first movie on Angel to fix her broken wing.
It is genuinely fun to see a feminine twist on the franchise, and as aforementioned, the film itself is a bit of ridiculous fun. The stakes are not as high or grounded in reality as most ofthe otherKarate Kidfilms, which is likely why it received such a poor critical response. Still, over three decades later,The Next Karate Kidstands the test of time as the only of six films in the franchise to center on a woman, and tonally, it feels completely unique to any of its companion films. Hilary Swank and Julie may not have quite been the “next” Karate Kid, per se, but she will forever be one of them, and that’s pretty cool.
The Next Karate Kidis streaming on Tubi.
