Cobra Kai: William Zabka’s 5 Best & 5 Worst Movies, According To IMDB

In 2018, Zabka’s acting career was revived via Cobra Kai, in which he reprises the role of Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid.

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After carving a niche as the quintessential 1980s teen-movie bad guy, William Zabka has had quite a checkered career in Hollywood. Zabka spent the following decade trying to shed his pigeonholed image as the prototypical teen bully, and as a result, made a slew of disposably subpar movies, direct-to-video releases, made for TV productions, etc.

In 2004, Zabka forged his own path of success by writing and producing Most, a 30-minute short film that won an Academy Award. In 2018, Zabka’s acting career was revived via Cobra Kai, in which he reprises the role of Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid, the very first screen role of his career.

10 Best – Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) 6.4/10

In the nostalgic high-concept comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, a foursome of old high-school buddies reunite for a vacation at a ski resort. When they enter what appears to be a relaxing jacuzzi, they’re suddenly whisked back to 1986.

John Cusack pokes fun at his 1980s teen-movie image, as does Zabka who appears as the antagonistic Rick in the film. As the grown men revert back to their high-school selves, they realize how little they’ve matured over the years.

9 Worst – Antibody (2002) 3.4/10

In the last of four Zabka films to be released on video in 2002, Antibody stars Lance Henriksen and Robin Givens as a pair of scientists who enter the bloodstream of a dying terrorist (Julian Vergov) via a diminutive travel vessel. The plan is to obtain a nuclear computer chip before it detonates.

Zabka earns third billing as Emmerich in the Fantastic Voyage meets Innerspace knockoff, one of the scientists led by Gaynes (Henriksen).

8 Best – Just One Of The Guys (1985) 6.5/10

One year after The Karate Kid, Zabka fine-tuned his brazen bullying as Greg Tolan in Just One of the Guys, a gender-reversing high-school comedy directed by Lisa Gotlieb.

The film stars Joyce Hyser as an aspiring high-school journalist out to obtain a summer job at the Sun Tribune. When her article is rejected on what she thinks is on the grounds of sexual discrimination, Terry (Hyser) poses as a boy, enrolls in a new school, and re-submits her article to prove her theory. Zabka plays Greg, a more violent and insolent offshoot of his Johnny Lawrence character.

7 Worst – Ablaze (2001) 3.2/10

Zabka joins the likes of Tom Arnold and Ice-T in Ablaze, a cheap and derivative Backdraft ripoff in which a band of firefighters must extinguish a massive insurance fire.

Directed by the late B-movie director Jim Wynorski, the film traces Wendell Mays (Arnold), an oil refinery owner who plots an insurance scam by deliberately lighting his property ablaze. When the fire rages out of control, a hardened group of firemen is forced to limit the damage. Zabka plays Curt Peters, Wendell’s ill-fated assistant.

6 Best – Where Hope Grows (2014) 6.6/10

Chris Dowling’s sports-driven redemption tale Where Hope Grows revolves around Calvin (Kristoffer Polaha), a once-promising baseball star and single father whose personal demons derail his big-league career. Calvin finds inspiration in the unlikeliest of places.

When Calvin meets a young man with Downs Syndrome named Produce (David DeSanctis) at a grocery store, he slowly forges a meaningful bond with him that ignites genuine hope. Zabka portrays Milton, one of Calvin’s closest friends.

5 Worst – Python 2 (2002) 2.8/10

According to IMDB, most of Zabka’s worst movies were released in 2002, the direct-to-disc killer-snake film Python 2 included among them. It’s one of several movies Zabka filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria around the turn of the century.

The plot of the film concerns a married couple and their business associate tasked with transporting a mysterious object from a top-secret Russian military post. When the carriers realize the object is a humongous, genetically-mutated python, a race for survival ensues. Zabka takes top billing as Greg Larson, a BMW-driving bad-boy up to the challenge.

4 Best – Back To School (1986) 6.7/10

Rodney Dangerfield’s classic fish-out-of-water teen comedy Back to School features Zabka as Chas, a diving-team bully who tries to humiliate his intelligent rival, Jason Melon (Keith Gordon).

When the affluent but uneducated businessman Thornton Melon (Dangerfield) goes back to school as a challenge from his son, he becomes the life of the campus. Jealous of his father’s instant popularity, Jason takes his anger out on Chas, who tries to steal his girlfriend and prevent him from making the swim team.

3 Worst – Mindstorm (2001) 2.7/10

Also known as Project: Human Weapon, Mindstorm pits Zabka against Judge Reinhold in a preposterous sci-fi action plot in which a secret government experiment is conducted to channel telekinesis for use in war.

Also starring Victor Browne, the film involves Evan Mink (Reinhold) tasked with finding twin siblings who survived the experiment en route to becoming one of the most dangerous biological weapons on the planet. Zabka plays a CIA operative named Mike Rojack who helps Mink locate the twins.

2 Best – The Karate Kid (1984) 7.3/10

It should come as no surprise that The Karate Kid ranks as Zabka’s finest film to date, according to IMDB. Without the landmark 80s coming-of-age movie, there would be no Cobra Kai, currently one of the most popular TV shows on Netflix.

Zabka stars as Johnny Lawrence in the 1984 classic, a high-school tough-guy whose status is threatened by the arrival of New Jersey transplant, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). After tormenting Daniel several times, the two ultimately square off in the All Valley Karate Tournament.

1 Worst – Hyper Sonic (2002) 2.4/10

Zabka plays a character called The Executive in Hyper Sonic, aka Air Race, a direct-to-video action B-movie about the fastest jet race in the world. Antonio Sabato Jr. takes top billing.

Also starring Adam Baldwin, Michael Sutton, and Amanda Kiely, the film follows a group of daring hotshot jet-pilots who enter a competition to race for a $25 million grand prize. The film was shot in Bulgaria and marks one of four straight-to-video movies Zabka made in 2002 alone.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/cobra-kai-william-zabka-best-worst-movies-imdb/