Plot: Stan Dryer is a young tae kwon do prodigy who’s facing some serious problems all stemming from a lack of confidence. His grades are mediocre in school, he’s unable to ask a popular girl named Sandy out to the prom and he becomes a target for bullying by football jock Leon, who incidentally happens to be Sandy’s ex-boyfriend. However, all of that changes when he attempts to come to the aid of Master Yung, an elderly mystical warrior who is ambushed and fatally wounded following a battle with the hired thugs of professional thief Raymond Vonn. With the last of his strength, Yung is able to transfer an ancient ring he has into Stan’s possession (along with all of his knowledge and wisdom) before he takes his final breath, leaving Stan distraught over being unable to save the elderly warrior.
Pretty soon though, Stan finds himself plunged into an adventure of epic proportions when he learns from Master Yung’s granddaughter Hin-See that the ring he is in possession of is able to unlock the hidden abilities of those who are chosen to wear it and that Vonn (who also possesses an identical ring) is after the one Master Yung had which would grant him unlimited power. When Stan learns of the danger the world faces should Vonn get in possession of both rings, he must find the power within himself to stop a threat that could endanger all of mankind.
Why was it Good?
Granted this flick may seem silly to some given that it was geared toward the adolescent crowd, the Power Within definitely stayed true to its own form even though it felt like it was borrowing elements from the Karate Kid in order to drive the story home in teaching people about the power of believing in one’s self. I personally enjoyed the story and the themes it taught about confidence, discipline, courage and learning to harness the good within one’s-self in order to maintain the responsibility that comes with being a martial artist.
The best part of the flick is that there’s a cameo from kickboxing champion Don ‘the Dragon’ Wilson who coaches T.J. Roberts’ character Stan on the proper use of power and William Zabka (known for playing Johnny Lawrence, Daniel’s nemesis from the first Karate Kid) who portrays Vonn, the ruthless thief who is out to capture Stan’s ring for himself so he can be an almighty deity with its power. Zabka’s character is much different from his portrayal of Johnny in that his character is insidious, cruel yet still possessing a suave demeanor in the film. Best part, Zabka got to showcase some of his abilities in a few fight scenes in this movie and the guy truly hasn’t lost his touch.
The Next Karate Kid?
In the next chapter of the ‘Karate Kid’ clones lies ‘The Power Within’, a low-budget entertaining take on the ‘have confidence and you will succeed’ trope in the martial arts genre. My first exposure to this film came when I was about eleven years old and enrolled in tae kwon do class in my local hometown. We used to have a video rental store called ‘Stargate Video’ and I remember a flyer for this movie which showed a picture of martial artist T.J. Roberts throwing a flying jump kick to an opponent. Remembering T.J. from the Saban t.v. series ‘Masked Rider’, I decided to see what kinds of skills the young master had when he wasn’t wearing the Masker Rider costume and I must say, T.J. didn’t disappoint with his fighting skills in this movie.
The Power Within is not his only martial arts flick though: T.J. also starred in the ‘R’-rated film ‘A Dangerous Place’ with Corey Feldman, Tiger Heart and a few others. But T.J. is best known for his portrayal of Kevin, a young karate star in the ‘Magic Kid’ film series. Though T.J. is no Ralph Macchio, he shows that he has his own style and charisma in this film, though T.J.’s performance does come off kind of ‘wooden’ during the first half of the performance. Later when his character gets in possession of the ancient ring that he’s supposed to protect with his life, that’s when T.J.’s acting really starts to take shape a little bit.
Comparison: Differences and Similarities
In a way, The Karate Kid and the Power Within are alike in some ways. Let’s go through the check list:
- a bullied teenager who wants to learn self-defense to protect himself. (Check)
- an Asian master who becomes the teenager’s spiritual coach. (Check)
- A bully and his pack of friends who make trouble for the protagonist. (Check)
- A teen beauty who catches the hero’s eye and becomes his love interest. (Check)
- The protagonist from both films learn about using their abilities responsibly. (Check)
So what separates the Karate Kid from the Power Within? Well story-wise, the Power Within is more a less an adventure whereas the Karate Kid is a drama. In the Power Within, the protagonist comes into possession of an ancient relic that unlocks the hidden talents of its wearer and he must learn to utilize this power wisely and not rely on it too much the way his adversary has done in the film. The key lesson that the Power Within touches upon is that the true abilities we posses lie within us all…we just have to develop the courage to step forward and use them to do what we want to do be it learning to swim, riding a bike, climbing a mountain or even standing up for ourselves. What we do and when we do it is totally up to the person and nobody else.
How were the Fight Scenes?
Given that this is a B-grade martial arts flick, the fight scenes were somewhat interesting. Nothing you’d call Hong Kong-style phenomenal, but still pretty interesting. The best part of the fight scenes is that T.J. is an actual practitioner of tae kwon do and has been ever since he was a kid, so given that he spars a lot and knows all of the drills, he had no problem whatsoever with performing the right moves for the choreographed fight scenes. In some of the fights you can see how intense T.J. is with his facial expressions, showing nothing but pure concentration and only staying on defense throughout the entire film. That’s the part that I enjoyed the most in that the choreographers made sure to create situations where T.J. didn’t have to strike unless he was provoked by his opponent. Hands down the two greatest fight scenes in the movie was the ‘schoolyard fight’ where Stan gets back at his tormentors and the ‘prom fight’ where Stan lays waste to twenty henchmen without breaking a sweat! All in all, the fights were better than the Karate Kid but couldn’t quite hold a candle to the choreography of “No Retreat, No Surrender.”
The Wrap-Up
For a B-grade direct to video film, The Power Within was able to take a new look at the oldest theme from the Karate Kid series and took it up to a ten with its creative storytelling, philosophical values and impressive display of choreographed fight scenes. Though The Power Within is able to borrow elements from the Karate Kid its still able to convey the message of self-confidence and responsibility without totally copycatting the Karate Kid itself. Had The Power Within gotten just a little more recognition when it first came out, odds are it could’ve created a trilogy that would no doubt appeal to young martial artists everywhere.
This is definitely a film worth a rent for the whole family.
The Cable Critic 