If you’ve ever watched The Karate Kid and thought that instead of the All-Valley Tournament, the movie should have switched tactics and jumped into Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) mysterious past, then definitely reach for the 2022 action thriller As Good as Dead. It’s the perfect watch for fans of ’90s B-action movies, but modernized with a sprinkle of advanced, schlocky, off-the-grid technology. R. Ellis Frazier’s directorial feature also mixes this with the heart of a mentor-mentee relationship and the backdrop of a trapped teen yearning for a better life. If Mr. Miyagi’s past came knocking in the modern age of technological gimmicks, As Good as Dead is exactly what we would get.

‘As Good as Dead’ Flips the Mentor-Mentee Dynamic

Here, Mr. Miyagi’s wise and skilled mentor role is taken on by Bryan (Michael Jai White), a loner who lives off the grid, clearly hiding some sort of haunted past, and has a wholly unique fighting style. He eventually agrees to teach one of the local boys, Oscar (Luca Oriel), to fight in this style, as the boy becomes increasingly interested in walking past his house and mimicking his actions. Although he warns Oscar he will never train him for a tournament, Oscar decides to fight in an underground competition, where videos of his win go viral. Oscar was simply trying to impress his brother, Hector (Guillermo Iván), and wanted to use this opportunity to make enough money to escape the suffocating hold of gang life he was born into. However, a group of mysterious people from Bryan’s past manages to track him down using Oscar’s videos after recognizing the fighting style, leading to a struggle for survival as the elusive loner’s secrets are slowly uncovered.

‘As Good as Dead’ Puts a Spin on ‘The Karate Kid’s Premise

The initial scenes of Bryan teaching Oscar to fight using unorthodox techniques are reminiscent of the early stages of The Karate Kid. It’s easy to think you’re going into another Karate Kid knock-off, but the movie introduces a spin when it shifts the focus to Bryan’s story rather than Oscar’s. Their relationship is still at the heart of the movie, but it is framed around the dangers in Bryan’s law enforcement past and the criminals he made enemies with. As the layers peel back, we are immersed in a fast-paced and high-octane cat-and-mouse chase, where Bryan becomes increasingly more impressive (albeit ridiculously so) as he launches his array of tricks.

The action sequences with Bryan’s unique fighting style may be fun, but the film gets its enjoyable B-action feel from the hilarious and cool technological gimmicks it employs. From secret passages to sprinklers that spray acid, there’s always some wild idea that catches our attention at each turn. But like most gimmicky films, there is still a tonal balance between these egregious conceits and undercurrents of seriousness. As the film dips into uneasy alliances between Bryan and the temperamental Hector, who are both beholden to Oscar, or explores the heartbreak of broken families and lost dreams in Bryan’s past, there is an emotional tug that keeps us invested despite the ridiculousness of it all.

Michael Jai White Is a Fun B-Movie Badass in ‘As Good as Dead’

Image via Odyssey Motion

At the center of this Karate Kid subversion is the utterly dependable and highly skilled Bryan. As seen with his action-packed filmography, White always makes a convincing badass, and he thrives in this B-action environment, enhancing the fun of the film. He takes the tough guy experience from his roles in Blood and Bone or Never Back Down, and gives Bryan that formidable demeanor that makes him terrifying to his enemies. But he also contrasts this by giving Bryan a playful charm that blends well with the character’s more sobering traits, ensuring he is likable throughout the whole film, even as the story wanders into incredulous ideas.

It’s his inherent likability that makes the central relationship between Bryan and Oscar endearing. Bryan’s more knowing but teasing personality bounces off Oriel’s ardently passionate and naive Oscar perfectly. It somewhat resembles the relationship between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), but gives it a harder edge due to Oscar’s family background in crime and his longing to escape. Where Daniel wanted to learn to fight to defend himself from school bullies, Oscar needed an escape from his circumstances. As an extension of this, Bryan’s more antagonistic relationship with Oscar’s brother is hilarious to watch, as the two step on each other’s toes and constantly bicker.

As Good as Dead may not have the charm or nostalgia of The Karate Kid, but it almost delivers an alternate world where Mr. Miyagi’s counterpart and his mysterious past are brought into the limelight. If you’re vying for a mindless, fun watch filled with truly egregious ideas but still sprinkled with heart, then this action thriller should be on your watch list. For all its rough-housing, As Good as Dead is the cut-throat yet silly B-movie that action and martial arts fans never knew they needed.