Cobra Kai

For the most part, it's an extremely clever revival, an overachiever that knowingly plays off the title's kitsch factor while evolving the characters and augmenting the cast in savvy ways.

All the trite talk of nerds and mean girls feels like it’s from a forgettable teen soap. But the foundation of Cobra Kai is solid: Not only does it deliver on the ’80s retro fun we expect--yes, Johnny and Daniel do face off across a karate mat once again--but it goes beyond that, forcing us to grapple with exactly why we want to see Johnny and Daniel face off again so badly.

Turning Johnny from a villain to a sympathetic character and showing some of Daniel’s flaws humanizes both men. However, while watching the first two episodes I was left a bit confused as there isn’t a clear antagonist or protagonist. ... If you’re a child of the 80s seeing how things have played out for Johnny and Daniel will be right in your wheelhouse.

Even if Cobra Kai is a little too in love with its evocations of the movie, there is still something compelling about seeing Johnny and Daniel back together, particularly because both men haven’t changed in key ways and have different ways of grappling with and denying that.

This show gets a lot of things right from the perfect amount of references and music from the original and the acid-washed 1980s where the movie reigned supreme to the impressive casting and acting. .... That said, Cobra Kai relies on coincidence far too often even for a show spawned from the decade of decadence.

You might have a good idea of how all of these pieces are going to intersect, but the real fun is in watching these characters come together in interesting ways.

It’s compulsively watchable, emotionally engaging, and almost always one step ahead of where you think it’s going.

The thing you don't expect is for Cobra Kai to be pretty decent and to fill its entire first season with enough homages, twists and reversals to be much more consistently entertaining than it has any right to be.

The energetic if not terribly sophisticated martial arts choreography is entertaining, and a fight sequence that takes place in the school cafeteria is fun in a completely unrealistic way. Perhaps because of its throwback vibe, “Cobra Kai” is able to get away with some of its more problematic issues.