User reviews

The Karate Kid, Part III、as the title suggests, is the third film in the Karate Kid film series, released in 1989, directed by John Avlidsen, and starring Ralph Macchio as Daniel and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid film series is a rather typical example of other 1980s film series (such as Robocop) which just run out of steam as time goes on to the extent that they began with a bang and ended with a whimper. Despite its flaws however, The Karate Kid, Part III isn't nearly as bad as some people make it out to be and is certainly no Robocop 3. This review will discuss the problems with the movie as well as what it gets right, with an overall assessment of the Karate Kid original film series as a whole.

One of the biggest problems with this movie is the lack of continuity with the Karate Kid Part II, which for all its flaws did genuinely advance the story and develop Daniel and Miyagi's character. The film is fairly graceless in its dumping of Daniel's love interest Kumiko; it's explained that she just got a job in Japan that she couldn't turn down. This just didn't strike me as believable, perhaps because they had done it before in Part II. Daniel's relationships always happen to end between films? It's frankly insulting when sequels hit the reset button like this.

But the real continuity problem is one that is never addressed at all, and that is the relationship between Yuki and Miyagi. This is not presented as a mere superficial teenage romance, but instead as true love. Miyagi even says that he would stay in Okinawa, if not for the people trying to kill him. So why doesn't Miyagi stay in Okinawa after the conclusion of Part II, or take Yuki to America? It's never explained. This film takes a dump on Miyagi and Daniel's development; the second film may as well have never happened.

Moreover, all the balance and self-control that Daniel developed in the first two films is gone, indeed Daniel if anything seems even more neurotic and unbalanced than he was at the beginning of the original film. Daniel is whiny and angsty, going into long diatribes about his own inadequacy. This would be less irksome if it were a response to something far more drastic; but in Part II the villains were trying to kill him and his master; in Part III they are just trying to take away his title as champion by defeating him in a local karate tournament. So, Daniel is cool-headed when threatened with death in a foreign land, but the prospect of losing his title to a bunch of local punks turns him into a nervous wreck? The film also fails to find a coherent theme, besides poorly retreading the original.

That said, the film does manage to get some things right. As whiny as Daniel is, he retains something of his likability, even if it is diminished. We also have the things that make the whole series fun; wonderfully over-the-top villains and pseudo-eastern wisdom. The emotional core of the film is tarnished but intact; that of the relationship between Daniel and Miyagi. These two characters, although somewhat botched, still work together well.

None of the original Karate Kid films are by themselves incoherent, but taken as a whole the series is rather lopsided. They do get progressively worse as the series goes on, and by the end of Part III one is glad they never made a fourth film (unless you count the Next Karate Kid, and I don't). Still, while it's a shame that they never managed to quite recapture the magic of the first film, I'm glad I got to spend 3 films in the company of these terrific characters.

After returning from Japan, Mr. Miyagi & Daniel(Pat Morita & Ralph Macchio again) try to settle in to their lives, only to have old foe John Creese(Martin Kove) return seeking revenge after losing his students, his school, and his money. He turns to grateful Vietnam veteran buddy Terry Silver(Thomas Ian Griffith) to help him regain what he lost, and punish Miyagi and Daniel.

A great pity this is such a comic book level script, with over-the-top villainy(at one point, both Creese and Silver laugh at Miyagi & Daniel like they're the Joker and Riddler!) and redundant character development(Did Daniel learn nothing from the first two films?) Only Pat Morita keeps this disappointment from complete ruin, with his fine performance(he looks appropriately weary of it all!) Ending is predictable, but too abrupt, leaving loose ends never tied up.

I'm guessing like a lot of Cobra Kai fans, I re-watched this movie for the first time in years recently. In Cobra Kai 4 Terry Silver returned and talked about how over the top the them of this movie was. Ralph Macchio has pretty much said the same in real life.

Daniel goes from a confident fighter to an insecure and winy one. The plot is ridiculous as well: a billionaire who puts his life on hold to terrorize a teenager.

Nontheless Thomas Griffith was very good as Terry Silver the evil villain. It does still have some touching moments with Mr. Miyagi and Daniel. It's the last time the two are on screen together.

Ultimately its a ridiculous movie but not without its charms. Cobra Kai 4 did well to incorporate it unto today.

Disgraced karate teacher John Kreese loses his students and his dojo. He finds help from his Vetnam war buddy Terry Silver who is a wealthy toxic waste disposal businessman. Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) return from Okinawa to find their apartment being demolished. Daniel uses his college fund to buy Miyagi a bonsai tree workshop. Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively) makes pottery across the street. Terry Silver buys properties for Kreese to restart his dojo. Miyagi won't let Daniel defend his title. Terry recruits thugs to force Daniel to enter the tournament. Miyagi won't train him and Terry tricks him into being his student. Terry teaches him all the wrong techniques.

The major problem is that this repeats the original and even ends with the same tournament. There are also a few minor annoyances. I doubt the cops would ignore the vandalism and the beatings. There has to be a more devious way to force Daniel into the tournament. Those young thugs are cheesy villains but Thomas Ian Griffith is infinitely worst. I love Martin Kove but his character mostly gets sidelined. The most disappointing is Daniel himself. After all these years, he has not grown much. The third film should have Daniel be a big brother to someone else. It's an obvious way for the franchise to continue but they decide to do a repeat.

This movie is pretty much the same as the other two, quite predictable but still enjoyable. it's easy watching great to watch anytime

Having enjoyed the first two films, I wanted to see this film too. While not particularly brilliant, I do think it is better than people make it out to be. The script is weak, the plot predictable and the villains unbelievable with somewhat unrealistic motives. However, it did move fairly briskly, had some neat direction, it looked good, the karate sequences were efficient and well choreographed, the ending was decent and there is some nice messaging. I have liked the character of Miyagi as well, he strikes me as wise and caring, the sort of character I like. The acting also was not too bad, Ralph Macchio once again is appealing while Pat Morita, who is always watchable, gives another solid performance. Overall, it was decent, while nothing exceptional. 6/10 Bethany Cox

While this film went back to the more casual appeal of the first film, it proved to be a bit of a rehashing of the first. The only difference, we see Daniel take on the `dark side' (a.k.a. not Mr. Myagi's way) of fighting. Sure, this had to be a little different, but Daniel trying to be a tough guy seemed a little off in a way. Sure, this film was entertaining, but it proved the series was running on empty. However, Mr. Myagi proved he could still kick plenty of butt, making the ending all worth it.

I don't know how many stars to give this movie, because a 1 tells you not to see it, and a 10 tells you that it is an excellent movie. Truth be told, this is one of the worst movies ever made, and that is why you absolutely must see it. It is more unintentionally funny than most actual comedies, and it provides as much entertainment value by accident as lots of movies do on purpose. It is like a train wreck, but with this wreck, the passengers are all slipping on banana peels as they exit the train.

Here is what I think happened – the producers decided that they wanted to cash in on the franchise one more time, so they decided to bring back Mr. Miyagi and Daniel for one last hurrah. The script writers cooked up another story about Daniel fighting the Cobra Kais, getting beaten up, competing in the karate tournament once again, and then winning in the end. Then Ralph Macchio showed up for day 1 pudgy and out of shape, and panic erupted. Quickly, the script was rewritten with all of Daniel's fight scenes taken out, and the tournament rules changed so that all Daniel had to do to defend his title was show up for the last fight. I find it next to impossible that anyone associated with this movie honestly expected the audience to buy this, but they were far enough into the project that they had no choice but to finish it.

So what do we get? We get an hour and a half of poor Danny getting abused over and over again. He's chubby. He's pushing 30, but he is still 17 in the movie and he sounds like he is about 13. He gets punched. He gets taunted. He gets kicked in the balls. His, uh, "girlfriend" gets harassed and almost assaulted as some bullies trash Mr. Miyagi's shop, but Mr. Miyagi does absolutely nothing but push the bullies out the door. At no point, does it cross anyone's mind to call the cops. At some point, we start sympathizing more with the bullies than Daniel. He is such a wimp with no defensive instincts, and at this point, Mr. Miyagi seems like an insensitive dope because he makes Daniel get beaten to a pulp multiple times before he will finally agree to train him.

You can tell that just about everybody acting in this movie knows that it's a stinker, so why bother trying? Ralph Macchio totally phones in his performance, and so does Pat Morita (Miyagi). The minor actors in the movie, like Thomas Ian Griffith (the evil pony tail guy) and Martin Kove (the big evil trainer from the first movie) seem to get the joke here. They play over the top, exaggerated cartoon villains, whose only function is to be pointlessly mean. They are grown men, but their lives revolve around torturing a 17 year old boy as revenge for winning a karate tournament. At the end, Daniel finally faces down the big bully. Only this time, he doesn't try to throw any punches or block anything. He just stands there like a doughboy punching bag, yelping out in pain with his girly voice. I have always thought that the greatest achievement of the first two movies was that they made Daniel's triumphs believable and convincing. Since Mr. Miyagi focused on defense and maintaining a positive attitude, Daniel could survive a fight against a privileged bully and a brutal Okinawan street fighter who did not have this kind of positive influence. But in this one, it's just a massive beating. It is just so hard to take seriously that you get a sadistic pleasure out of it, kind of like watching somebody get hammered with a 2X4 in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Maybe the worst thing about this movie is that deep down, somewhere buried underneath the terrible acting and the awful script, there were some good ideas here. A Vietnam vet befriending Daniel and teaching him the darker side of martial arts – sounds like a story with a lot of potential. Maybe the world isn't inherently a good place. Maybe life has predators and prey, and maybe a Vietnam vet is an appropriate guy to teach that to Daniel, who up to this point is still pretty naïve. Maybe a movie that questioned the idealism of the first two and dug into some gray areas could have been really good. But, nope! We just got a tired rehash of the lessons from the first two movies, but they don't even seem to make sense here. Our Vietnam vet is actually just a villain – so cartoony that he even goes around a corner for a sneaky evil laugh while he listens to Daniel punch a piece of wood. Ouch! This one shows up on cable somewhere every once in a while, and if you can catch it, I highly recommend it. Invite some friends over, have a few beers, and have a few laughs at the expense of this tire fire.

And yes, I have seen much worse in terms of films. But considering what a classic the original was... to arrive at this point is pretty sobering for a kid who was truly inspired by a great film in 1984. And part 2 was pretty good also, but mostly for the exotic location and convincing villain. But this 1989 disaster is saddening for two basic reasons. First of all, it has a ridiculous plot. And worst of all, it was obviously made for $$$ purposes only. All the inspiration was gone by this point, and this is painfully obvious in nearly every lame scene.

First off, the film is oblivious to the concept of the passage of time. Five years had passed since the original film, yet the film would have us believe that it picks up the moment Daniel and Mr. Miyagi step off the plane from Okinawa. By 1989, Ralph Macchio was almost 30 years old, and he had gained significant weight since part 2 was released in 1986. And above all else, it just isn't natural that all of the things we've seen since the original could happen to one person in the span of only a year. The film doesn't even try to hide the changes in clothing and hairstyles. I was actually surprised I didn't see a bolo tie on any of the band members at that dance. Virtually every soft rock musician wore them back in the late 1980s. Anyway, the film is full of cheese, but there are some reminders of how good the series had been. And even some nice new things, too.

There are some good things in this film. Frankly, I think actor Thomas Ian Griffith walks away with this picture. He overplays his Terry Silver character to immense proportions, and he looks like he's having fun. The man never became the star he probably should have. Wouldn't he have made a better action star than the wooden Seagal? I think so. Anyway, it's fun to see him put Daniel through all the pain while training him for his title defense. Pat Morita is great as always with his humor and wisdom. He was the one constant in this series, and he was always on his game. The film also scores points for exploring a big rift that forms between Miyagi and Daniel. There are some scenes where the old man looks absolutely crushed that Daniel won't listen to him any more.

But there are more problems here, folks...... lots more. Simply put, the plot is so laughable that anyone over perhaps age 8 could have written the original treatment of the script. The thought of a millionaire toxic waste dumper tormenting a teenager to somehow win back the honor of the evil karate master from part one. Just laughable! How about the new tournament rule allowing the returning champ to only fight in the final match?? Huh?? That would be like allowing the Kansas Jayhawks to only play in the last game of March Madness this year while their opponent would have had to win 5 games in the tournament just to get to the game. Ludicrous! The dialog is so over-the-top, so amateurish that I cannot imagine how these actors got some of the words out of their mouths. Acting from many of the supporting characters is unconvincing to say the least. Robin Lively has no chemistry with Machio, but I guess they were just supposed to be friends. It wouldn't surprise me if they decided to just make them "friends" on the set when they realized how much older he is than her in real life. The actor playing Mike Barnes had some good moves, but no thespian talent to speak of. Oh well, the remake with Jackie Chan and Will Smith's kid is bound to be worse, though! 4 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Rumor has it Tom Cruise was offered the chance to reprise his signature '80s role in two (!) Top Gun sequels, but refused because he didn't want to do the same thing over and over. He has a point: some films, like Star Wars or Indiana Jones (even Rocky or Rambo, to a reasonable extent), can and in fact deserve to have follow-ups, because the people who made them genuinely think there is more to tell about those characters (Rocky V is too much, though); others, like Top Gun or The Karate Kid, are crippled from the beginning by the fact that they are indelibly connected to the decade that spawned them, and also suffer from having fairly basic scripts and characters that wouldn't really benefit from any continuation of the story. Sadly, Ralph Macchio never realized this, and so here we are: The Karate Kid, Part III.

Whereas the first film dealt with a recycled subject (young boy gets revenge on those who humiliated him) from a new angle, Part III resurrects the revenge theme with all its clichés. The "driving force" (assuming there is one) of the screenplay (if you can call it that) is John Kreese (Martin Kove), the sadistic karate teacher whose students got their asses kicked by Daniel Larusso (Macchio). Broke and lonely, Kreese decides to ask an old army buddy, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), to help carry out a diabolical plan that will make Daniel and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) suffer like never before. Getting them to fight back, however, will prove harder than usual, as Miyagi is more interested in opening a bonsai shop and Daniel refuses to act violently since he is - what a surprise, this - in love.

Love, vengeance, honor, blood and gratuitous butt-kicking are all thrown in the mix, though hardly any of them work to full effect. As a matter of fact, the more explicit violence suffocates the franchise's trademark comedy bits, leaving a few underwhelming Daniel/Miyagi moments with the duty of lightening the tone. Even worse, though, is the over-the-top behavior of the villains: Griffith does nothing but stare manically, shout and laugh, while Kove, who was funny in the first installment of the series, transforms Kreese into a grotesque parody of his earlier work. Only when the dead-certain final battle arrives, there is a sense of the trilogy regaining whatever it lost from Part II onwards. But the question remains: how many people will still be paying attention at that point?

Ya just gotta ask, "What were they thinking?" The first movie was a classic - a genuine piece of pop culture, and a great "underdog" movie. While the second wasn't as good, it was still a decent movie which expanded on the story of Daniel & Mr. Miyagi. But this one stunk up the joint... first off the new bad guy Terry Silver (the millionaire mogul/karate expert) is laughable as a villain - his performance is *so* over the top it's ridiculous. It's obvious they got someone who knew his karate, but didn't know jack about acting. It's also ironic that he's actually younger than Ralph Macchio

Robyn Lively - she's attractive enough, but belongs in sitcoms. Also, what's with Daniel *never* getting the girl in the long term???

As for Macchio - I don't know... he seemed to be *way* too enthusiastic. Was he this much of a motormouth in the first two movies? It's almost as if he was trying too hard to compensate for the fact that he is five years older, trying to portray a character that is only one year older.

The pacing of this movie is all wrong. They spend way too much time on trivialities such as the Macchio/Lively relationship. What was the point of that anyway? There was hardly any time spent on the training and actual fight (and as any fan of the Rocky movies could tell you, that's the most important part!)

As for the karate itself, it's L A M E. The Karate Kid series has always been more about the philosophy behind martial arts rather than the physical aspect. All of Mr. Miyagi's wise platitudes are dead-on, but the "crane technique" would be easily countered by any half-competent black belt. Even so, it worked in the first two flicks. But in this one, it's just ridiculous. The final fight, the "bad boy of karate" is whipping Daniel like a government mule, then in sudden death Daniel decides to break into his "Secret Miyagi family kata", which causes both his opponent and his partners to suddenly back away in fear! This is so absolutely ridiculous it's pathetic. Once again, any competent karate student would simply look at Daniel with a bit of confusion, then continue on with the business of kicking his butt. It just seemed all too anti-climactic.

I'm really surprised they made a fourth movie after this stinker, but at least it gave us our first look at Hillary Swank. Yum :)