high-powertheme

The Karate Kid Part III is a 1989 American martial artsdrama film and the second sequel to The Karate Kid (1984). The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Robyn Lively, and Thomas Ian Griffith in his film debut. As was the case with the first two films in the series, it was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, with stunts choreographed by Pat E. Johnson and the music composed by Bill Conti. In the film, the returning John Kreese, with the help of his best friend Terry Silver, attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi which involves hiring a ruthless martial artist and harming their relationship.

Plot[edit]

Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese is now broke and destitute after losing all of his students. He visits his Vietnam War comrade, Terry Silver, a wealthy businessman who founded the Cobra Kai and now owns a toxic-waste disposal business. Silver vows to personally help him get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi and re-establish the Cobra Kai, sending Kreese on vacation to Tahiti to rest and recuperate.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Daniel and Miyagi discover that the South Seas apartment complex is being converted into condominiums, leaving Miyagi unemployed and Daniel homeless. They also learn that Daniel's mother, Lucille, is in New Jersey taking care of her ill uncle. Miyagi invites Daniel to stay at his house, and Daniel uses his college funds to help finance Miyagi's dream of opening a bonsai shop. As thanks, Miyagi makes him a partner at the business. When Daniel visits a pottery store across the street, he meets Jessica Andrews; though Daniel has a brief crush on her, she tells him that she has a boyfriend back home in Columbus, Ohio, but they still remain friends.

Silver hires 'Dynamite' Mike Barnes, a vicious karate prospect nicknamed 'Karate's Badboy', to challenge Daniel at the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament. Silver sneaks into Miyagi's house to gather information and overhears Daniel telling Miyagi that he will not defend his title at the tournament. Barnes and some cohorts attempt to coerce Daniel to enter the tournament, but Daniel refuses, and Barnes departs in a rage. The next morning, as Daniel and Miyagi are practicing kata, Silver interrupts and lies about John Kreese suffering a fatal heart attack after losing his students, and begs forgiveness for Kreese's behavior. Barnes and his friends return to make Daniel sign up for the tournament; when Daniel again refuses, a fight ensues until Miyagi arrives and fends off the three men. After driving Jessica home, Daniel and Miyagi return to find their stock of bonsai trees missing and a tournament application hanging in place.

123movies. To replace the missing trees, Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up and sell a valuable bonsai tree that Miyagi brought from Okinawa, and planted halfway down a cliff. As they retrieve it, Barnes and his henchmen appear and retract their climbing ropes, leaving Daniel no choice but to sign up for the tournament. After pulling them back up, Barnes breaks the tree. Daniel returns to the shop with Miyagi's damaged bonsai, which Miyagi attempts to mend. Miyagi tells Daniel that he sold his truck to buy a new stock of trees, and refuses to train him for the tournament.

Silver offers to 'train' Daniel for the tournament at the Cobra Kai dojo with a series of brutal, violent, offensive techniques. He derides Miyagi's kata forms and pressures Daniel to destroy a wooden practice dummy, causing him several injuries in the process. Throughout his training, Daniel's frustration alienates him from Miyagi. While Daniel and Jessica are at a nightclub, Silver bribes a random man into provoking a fight with Daniel, who responds by punching the man and breaking his nose. Shocked by his aggressive behavior, Daniel apologizes and makes amends with Jessica and Miyagi.

Daniel visits Silver to inform him that he will not compete at the tournament, but Silver reveals his true agenda to Daniel as Barnes enters the dojo. Daniel attempts to leave, but Kreese pops out from behind the cardboard cut-out and blocks him, revealing himself to be alive all along. After Barnes viciously attacks Daniel, Miyagi intervenes by easily defeating Kreese, Silver, and Barnes. Miyagi finally agrees to train Daniel. They replant the healed bonsai and begin training.

At the tournament, Barnes reaches the final round to challenge Daniel. Silver and Kreese instruct Barnes to inflict serious damage on Daniel, keep the score a tie, and finally beat him in the sudden death round. Barnes gets the upper hand during the fight while taunting Daniel relentlessly. When the initial round concludes, Daniel wants to quit, but Miyagi urges him to continue on. In the sudden death round, Daniel performs the kata; as a confused Barnes lunges toward him, Daniel flips him to the ground and strikes him to win the tournament. Barnes viciously pounds the ground in frustration and Silver walks away in disgrace while the crowd throws their Cobra Kai shirts back at him. Daniel and Miyagi embrace each other in celebration.

Cast[edit]

• Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
• Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita as Mr. Miyagi
• Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews
• Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
• Martin Kove as John Kreese
• Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes
• Jonathan Avildsen as Snake
• Randee Heller as Lucille LaRusso
• Pat E. Johnson as Referee
• Rick Hurst as Announcer
• Frances Bay as Mrs. Milo
• Joseph V. Perry as Uncle Louie
• Jan Tříska as Milos
• Glenn Medeiros as Himself
• Gabriel Jarret as Rudy

Reception[edit]

The film maintains an approval rating of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews. The film's consensus reads: 'Inspiration is in short supply in this third Karate Kid film, which recycles the basic narrative from its predecessors but adds scenery-chewing performances and a surprising amount of violence'.^[3] It did significantly less business than the first two films, grossing $39 million at the box office.^{[citation needed]} It was dismissed by critics, including Roger Ebert, who praised the first two films.^[4][5][6][7] His colleague, Gene Siskel, also did not recommend the movie, though he commended the performance of Thomas Ian Griffith, which he thought was nearly enough to save it.^[8] Criticism often mentioned the rehashing of elements in the former two movies, including a tournament against Cobra Kai and a romance side-story.^[9]

At the 1989 Golden Raspberry Awards, this entry received five nominations but did not win any of them.^{[citation needed]} They are for Worst Picture (Jerry Weintraub; lost to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Screenplay (Robert Mark Kamen; lost to Harlem Nights by Eddie Murphy), Worst Director (John G. Avildsen; lost to William Shatner for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Actor (Ralph Macchio; lost to William Shatner in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), and Worst Supporting Actor (Pat Morita; lost to Christopher Atkins in Listen to Me).^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, director John G. Avildsen himself called the film 'a poor imitation of the first one' and 'a horrible movie'.^[10]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abc'The Karate Kid Part III'. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
2. ^'The Karate Kid Movies at the Box Office'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
3. ^'The Karate Kid Part III (1989)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
4. ^James, Caryn (1989-06-30). 'The Karate Kid Part III (1989)'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
5. ^'The Karate Kid Collection DVD Reviews'. JoBlo. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
6. ^Almar Haflidason. 'Films - review - The Karate Kid Part III DVD'. BBC. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
7. ^Ebert, Roger (1989-06-30). 'The Karate Kid Part III Movie Review (1989) Roger Ebert'. Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
8. ^'Siskelandebert.org Is For Sale'. siskelandebert.org.
9. ^Thomas, Kevin (1989-06-30). 'Movie Review: An Anemic Outing for 'Karate Kid Part III''. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
10. ^'Karate Kid Q&A W/Director John G Avildsen & Cast Part 2'. YouTube. H Dellamorte. Event occurs at 21:32. Retrieved 4 March 2017.

External links[edit]

• The Karate Kid Part III on IMDb
• The Karate Kid Part III at AllMovie
• The Karate Kid Part III at Box Office Mojo

The Karate Kid Part II is a 1986 American martial artsdrama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in The Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita. The Karate Kid Part II follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), who accompanies his karate teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to Okinawa in aid of his dying father, only to encounter a group of bullies with long-harbored grudges against Miyagi.

Preparations for the film began immediately after the success of the first installment, and after completing the final edit of the script, casting took place between May and July 1985 after the resigning of Macchio and Morita. Principal photography began in September 1985 in Los Angeles, and filming was complete by December 1985, which included locations such as Oahu, to replicate Okinawa.

The Karate Kid Part II was theatrically released in the United States on June 20, 1986. The film received generally positive critical reception, with praise directed toward the new location and characters, and Morita's performance, although some criticized elements of the storyline, the villains, and some action scenes. The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $115 million worldwide, making it among the highest grossing films of 1986, and the highest grossing in the franchise.^[2][3]

• 3Production
• 5Reception

Plot[edit]

Shortly after the All-Valley Karate Tournament, sensei John Kreese becomes furious and attacks Johnny in the parking lot. Miyagi confronts Kreese and passively immobilizes him. Miyagi threatens to strike a deadly blow but instead comically tweaks Kreese's nose and walks away.

Six months later, Daniel returns early one morning to Mr. Miyagi's house dressed in a tuxedo and driving what is now the badly beaten up car Mr. Miyagi had given him. Surprised, Mr. Miyagi said that it 'must have been some senior prom, what happened?' In response, Daniel exclaims (with a great deal of anger): 'you mean, what didn't happen! First I let Ali borrow the car and she redesigns my fender. And I don't know what she did with the engine but that ain't running right either. And you know what else she does? She tells me that she's just fallen in love with some football player from UCLA. Why didn't she just lie?'

A little while later, Miyagi receives a letter, notifying him that his father is sick. He plans to return to his home village on Okinawa Island. Miyagi tells Daniel about why he left Okinawa many years ago. He fell in love with a woman named Yukie, who was arranged to marry his best friend Sato, son of the richest man in the village and fellow karate student of his father. Upon announcing his intentions to marry Yukie, Sato challenged him to a fight to the death. Rather than fight, however, Miyagi left the country. Miyagi tells Daniel he must go back to Okinawa. Daniel begs Miyagi to let him go to Okinawa with him. Although he initially refuses, Miyagi finally consents.

In Okinawa, Miyagi and Daniel are greeted by Chozen Toguchi, who drives them to one of Sato's warehouses and reveals that he is Sato's nephew. Sato appears and demands to fight Miyagi, who adamantly refuses. Arriving at the village, Miyagi and Daniel are welcomed by Yukie and her niece Kumiko. They discover that Sato has become a rich industrialist whose supertrawlers have destroyed the local fish population impoverishing the other villagers. They are forced to rent property from Sato, who owns the village's land title. Yukie reveals that she never married Sato, because of her love for Miyagi. After Miyagi's father dies, Sato gives him three days to mourn out of respect before their fight. Miyagi shows Daniel the secret to his family's karate – a handheld drum that twists back and forth illustrating the 'drum technique', a block-and-defense karate move that Daniel begins to practice.

Some time later, Daniel accidentally exposes corruption in Chozen's grocery business during an encounter in the village. Chozen later accuses Daniel of insulting his honor, and they have a series of confrontations. Their feud comes to a head when Chozen and his cronies attack Daniel and vandalize Miyagi's family property. The group is quickly defeated and runs off after Miyagi arrives. Miyagi and Daniel plan to return home before the situation gets worse, however Sato shows up with bulldozers and threatens to destroy the village if Miyagi refuses to fight. Forced to comply, Miyagi gives in on the condition that Sato signs the village's land title over to the villagers regardless of the fight's outcome. Sato initially balks, but agrees after Miyagi describes the condition as a 'small price' to pay for honor.

On the day of the fight, a typhoon arrives. Villagers take cover at a nearby shelter, but Sato gets trapped when his family's dojo is leveled by the storm. Miyagi and Daniel rush to rescue him. Arriving at the shelter, Daniel attempts to rescue a child trapped in a nearby bell tower. Sato orders Chozen to help, but when he refuses, Sato rushes to assist Daniel himself. He then disowns his nephew for refusing to cooperate, and an enraged Chozen runs off into the storm in disgrace. The next morning, as the villagers are rebuilding, Sato returns with his bulldozers – only this time to help rebuild the village. Sato hands over the land title to the village and asks for Miyagi's forgiveness, which he accepts. Daniel and Kumiko approach Sato about hosting the upcoming O-bon festival in a nearby ceremonial castle, to which he agrees and invites Daniel to join in the celebration.

While Kumiko is performing a dance at the festival, a now-vengeful Chozen ziplines into the presentation, taking her hostage and demanding to fight Daniel alone. Daniel fights well but is eventually overwhelmed by Chozen. Miyagi, Sato and the crowd respond by twisting handheld drums they brought to the celebration, inspiring Daniel. Seemingly confused, Chozen closes in for the kill, but Daniel is able to deflect Chozen's attacks and land counter-attacks using the drum technique. Daniel grabs the vanquished Chozen, raising his hand and threatening to end Chozen's life saying, 'Live or die, man?'. Chozen chooses death, but, reminiscent of the way Miyagi handled Kreese earlier, Daniel tweaks Chozen's nose and playfully drops him to the ground. Daniel embraces Kumiko, while Miyagi looks on proudly.

Cast[edit]

• Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
• Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita as Mr. Miyagi
• Nobu McCarthy as Yukie
• Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko
• Yuji Okumoto as Chozen
• Joey Miyashima as Toshio
• Marc Hayashi as Taro
• Danny Kamekona as Sato
• Martin Kove as John Kreese
• William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence
• Tony O'Dell as Jimmy

Other notable cast appearances include B. D. Wong (credited as 'Bradd Wong') as an Okinawan boy who invites Daniel and Kumiko to a dance club and Clarence Gilyard as one of the participants in the ice-breaking scene.

Production[edit]

The opening scene takes place immediately following the finale of the first film to seamlessly tie the two together. It was originally planned as the ending for the first film, although it was not shot until after the second film's production began.^[4]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography took place in Oahu, Hawaii, in the northeastern area of the island known as the 'windward side'. The local countryside in modern-day Okinawa had been drastically changed due to the presence of military bases, so other locations in both Japan and Hawaii were scouted as alternative filming locations. Filmmakers selected a property in Oahu that was privately owned by a retired local physician who agreed to allow a portion of the land to be used in the film. To form the Okinawan village portrayed in the film, seven authentic replicas of Okinawan houses were constructed along with more than three acres of planted crops. 50 Okinawa-born Hawaii residents were also recruited as film extras. Filming began on September 23, 1985, and ended on December 20, 1985.^[5][6]

Music[edit]

The musical score for The Karate Kid Part II was composed by Bill Conti, who wrote the score for the previous installment. The film's signature tune was Peter Cetera's song 'Glory of Love', which was a No. 1 hit in the United States and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. When Daniel and Miyagi are being driven by Chozen and his crony Toshio after they arrive in Okinawa, Chozen tunes in the radio of the car until he reaches a station playing 'Fascination', the same song to which Ali and Johnny were slow dancing at the high-end country club in the original film. The soundtrack is notable as being the final album released by United Artists Records.

1. 'Glory of Love' (Peter Cetera)
2. 'Rock 'n' Roll Over You' (The Moody Blues)
3. 'Fish for Life' (Mancrab)
4. 'Rock Around the Clock' (Paul Rodgers)
5. 'Let Me at 'Em' (Southside Johnny)
6. 'This is the Time' (Dennis DeYoung)
7. 'Earth Angel' (New Edition)
8. 'Love Theme from The Karate Kid Part II' (Bill Conti)
9. 'Two Looking at One' (Carly Simon)
10. 'The Storm' (Bill Conti)

The score, which features 20 tracks, was released separately on compact disc by Varèse Sarabande in a box set in 2007 and 2012.

Reception[edit]

The Karate Kid Part II opened in 1,323 theaters across North America on June 20, 1986. In its opening weekend, the film ranked first in its domestic box office grossing $12,652,336 with an average of $9,563 per theater. The film earned $20,014,510 in its opening week and ended its run earning a total of $115,103,979 domestically.^[7]

Critical response[edit]

The film has a 42% rating out of 24 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.^[8] Movie-gazette.com gave the film a positive review, stating the film was a 'worthy follow-up to the first Karate Kid film, with added interest provided by its exotic locations and characters.'^[9] The Los Angeles Times also gave the film a positive review, particularly praising Pat Morita's performance as Miyagi and calling the actor 'the heart of the movie'.^[10] However, while picture historian Leonard Maltin agreed with the strength of the performances, he called the film 'Purposeless.. corny in the extreme — all that's missing from the climax is hounds and ice floes — but made palatable by winning performances. Best for kids.' At the Movies gave the film a mixed review, with both critics praising the character Miyagi but criticizing the villains and action scenes. Roger Ebert recommended the movie overall but Gene Siskel did not. ^[11]

Awards and nominations[edit]

At the 1987 ASCAP Awards, Bill Conti won Top Box Office Films for the original music, which was released on United Artists Records. It also received a different Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for 'Glory of Love'.

Video games[edit]

A video game adaptation titled The Karate Kid Part II: The Computer Game was released in 1986 by publisher Microdeal on Atari ST and Amiga. It is a fighting game similar to The Way of the Exploding Fist in which the user plays the role of Daniel in five fights based on movie scenes. There are also two mini games with digitized images from the movie: Miyagi catching flies with chopsticks and Daniel breaking an ice block. ^[12]

The 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System video game The Karate Kid included several elements based on The Karate Kid Part II. Stages 2-4 of the game are based on The Karate Kid Part II, as are two bonus games in which the gamer must break up to six ice blocks. The drum technique exercise shown in the movie is also featured as a challenge in which the gamer must dodge the swinging ax as many times as possible.

References[edit]

1. ^'THE KARATE KID PART II (PG)'. British Board of Film Classification. May 23, 1986. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
2. ^Canby, Vincent (June 20, 1986). 'Screen: 'Karate Kid Part II'. The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
3. ^'The Karate Kid Part II'. Variety. January 1, 1986. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
4. ^Berry, Robert. ''Sweep the Leg!' The Billy Zabka Interview'. retrocrush.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
5. ^Thomas, Bob (November 14, 1985). ''Karate Kid II' Under Way in Hawaii'. The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
6. ^''The Karate Kid Part II' Production Notes'. Sony Movie Channel. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
7. ^'The Karate Kid Part II'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
8. ^'The Karate Kid Part II (1986)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
9. ^'The Karate Kid Part II (1986)'. movie-gazette.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
10. ^Wilmington, Michael (June 20, 1986). 'Movie Review : Let's Hear It For A Winning 'Karate Ii''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
11. ^'The Karate Kid Part II / Running Scared / Legal Eagles / American Anthem (1986)'. siskelandebert.org. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
12. ^The Karate Kid: Part II - The Computer Game at mobygames.com

External links[edit]

• The Karate Kid Part II on IMDb
• The Karate Kid Part II at the TCM Movie Database
• The Karate Kid Part II at the American Film Institute Catalog
• The Karate Kid Part II at Box Office Mojo
• The Karate Kid Part II at Rotten Tomatoes