Weekend Watch: Cobra Kai Season 4 And The Book Of Boba Fett
Johnny and Daniel are in the dojo, while the bounty hunter turns crime lord in that galaxy far, far away...
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, the soul of karate in the Valley is at stake and Boba Fett wants to rule Tatooine’s crime scene. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
I’ve been watching and enjoying Cobra Kai since it first appeared on what was then known as YouTube Red, the video behemoth’s now-defunct attempt to get into the original programming game. After that folded, Netflix swooped in and picked up the show’s completed third season, turning it into a massive hit along the way and now we have the first full season shot for Netflix. The good news is that it’s still as great as ever.
In fact, the fourth run of episodes is superior to the third, getting great material out of former rivals Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) finally putting aside their differences to team up their karate dojos (Miyagi-do for Daniel, the superbly named Eagle Fang from Johnny) and take on the latter’s former home, Cobra Kai. Of course, Johnny being Johnny (a partially reconstructed macho man and onetime rich kid who is on hard times in his adult life) and Daniel being Daniel (wannabe zen warrior who had a great teacher in Mr. Miyagi but has let his worse tendencies surface since finding success as a car dealership owner), the union is quickly tested, leading to splits in discipline for their students.
And on the truly villainous side, creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald continue to strike gold with the scheming John Kreese (Martin Kove), the original sensei of Cobra Kai who snatched it back from Johnny and added Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) into the mix. It was already impressive how the three (plus their writing team, cast and crew) have done wondrous things with the basic elements of the Karate Kid movies, finding ways to honour the original movies while still having fun with the idea, but taking the baddie from the much-maligned (deservedly so, for the most part) third film in the original franchise and doing something so interesting with him. I’ll leave you to discover that for yourself. Beyond the original characters, the younger cast continues to impress, and while things sometimes head in a soapy direction, the stories of Daniel’s daughter Sam (Mary Mouser) and Johnny’s star pupil Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) continue to impress among the group.
Cobra Kai is a very clever balancing act, finding a way to be meta without being obvious (a certain recent expensive cinematic misfire could learn a lot about that from this series), emotional without being treacly and just pure silly fun at times without losing the other elements in the process. Lawrence, Macchio and Kove have embraced their elder statesmen status and their characters (particularly Johnny and Daniel) develop in interesting ways. It’s also diverse without needing to fly flags and modern without losing the spirit of the movies. Season 5 recently finished shooting and long may it continue, especially if it stays as good as this latest run.
Cobra Kai S4 is on Netflix now. I’ve seen all 10 episodes. The previous seasons are also available.
Image Credit: Disney+
The Mandalorian has been a huge success, bringing Star Wars back to audiences in a way that even the sequel trilogy, for all its box office earnings and meme generation couldn’t quite manage. And, of course, Disney wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to keep that cash Bantha plodding along. Teased at the end of Mando’s second season (and loosely introduced during it via the return of many people’s favourite masked bounty hunter), The Book Of Boba Fett continues the story of Fett (Temuera Morrison) and fellow hunter/assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) as they take over Jabba the Hutt’s crime empire on Tatooine.
This first episode is focused on setting the scene, following Boba and Fennec as they negotiate the tricky waters of running a Godfather-like operation. There are annoying local officials to deal with and of course, people who want the new boss dead. And the initial outing – written by Jon Favreau and directed by Robert Rodriguez – also must carry some flashback weight and we learn how Boba escaped the Sarlacc pit he fell into in Return Of The Jedi. Turns out there was a lot more than simply clambering out of the giant desert trap. Not every beat of the back story works, but there’s enough entertainment there (including a lovely nod to Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation work) to keep you intrigued. Wen of course continues to be an underused standout, and my hope for this series is that we learn a little more about her, or at least get to see her do more than just be a supremely competent warrior. One little fun element? The presence (or at least voice) of Matt Berry, from Darkplace, Toast Of London and What We Do In The Shadows’ TV adaptation as a droid.
Can the new series live up to The Mandalorian’s trailblazing start? The jury’s out, but the signs are hopeful, even if there’s no Baby Yoda hook.
The first episode of The Book Of Boba Fett is on Disney+ now. Episodes will appear weekly on Wednesdays.