= 2 stars

Starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita
Directed by John G. Avildsen

Amazon Link

By this juncture, The Karate Kid series has become (as many series do) cheese-ball and unintentionally funny. There’s a glimmer of the original film’s greatness but many aspects in Part III are decidedly off, round-kicking it into definite so-bad-its-good territory.

After being exposed as a violent loser in Part II, John Kreese (Martin Kove) - the nasty Vietnam veteran karate instructor of the Cobra Kai dojo - finds himself with no students and a failing business. Wanting revenge against Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), Kreese hires Vietnam war buddy Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) to help beat Daniel to a pulp in the upcoming All Valley Karate championship.

Meanwhile, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel return from Okinawa to find their apartment boarded up and Mr. Miyagi out of a job. They decide to open a bonsai tree store. Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively), who works at a pottery store across the street, becomes Daniel’s new love interest.

After this set up, The Karate Kid Part III basically follows the plot of the first. The one variation is that Mr. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel for the tournament - so Kresse’s buddy Terry deliberately makes himself available to instruct Daniel instead. He teaches evil, mean karate (Star Wars parallel noted) in a set-up to make Daniel lose his title. One evil training technique is particularly amusing - Daniel is told spar against a training dummy made of metal and wood, causing him to nearly break his foot and his knuckles to bleed.

Yes - this is dorky, and this film has many unintentionally hilarious moments best suited for late-night cable schlock. For starters, although the film is supposed to take place immediately after Part II - both actors are noticeably older, as a few years elapsed before this film was made.

Second, the evil karate masters are fine examples of over-the-top, “evil” acting. Terry sports greased back hair, cackles maniacally, and acts so sleazy that it’s laughable Daniel would consider him a decent “sensei” alternative to Mr. Miyagi. In one scene Terry bathes in a sauna yapping on a cell phone (with ridiculously huge, bouncing antenna) to Kreese, somewhere in the South Pacific (perhaps the Island of Dr. Moreau), massaged by two hula girls.

It’s also rather depressing that Daniel has yet another love interest. Kumiko (from Part II) has been cast aside, not unlike how Ali from Part I was cast aside for Part II. There isn’t much chemistry between Daniel and Jessica. Meanwhile, Daniel’s mom is also MIA, probably still trapped in Fresno, leaving Daniel to live with Mr. Miyagi and get beat up repeatedly by sadists. Sadly, it’s finally become creepy that Daniel’s only friend (roommate and now business partner) is Mr. Miyagi. There’s one unfortunate scene where Daniel is trying to hide an injured foot, and Mr. Miyagi, most likely eavesdropping, coos “Daniel-san, what you doing in your room?” I certainly thought some inappropriate innuendo regarding that “wax on wax off” stuff.

I couldn’t help but think: Daniel should be at college cavorting with co-eds, not acting as a punching bag for various adults behaving like children. At one point he throws a hissy fit and wonders why he’s so stupid. I found myself agreeing.

Still, The Karate Kid Part III has a few entertaining moments. One was seeing Mr. Miyagi take on three of the evil karate masters simultaneously. Whenever Mr. Miyagi puts on the tan outfit, watch out - he’s like a super hero. Lastly, the final All Valley tournament was a relatively satisfying pay off - mostly because I knew the tale of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi was finally over.

IMDB: The Karate Kid Part III
Wikipedia: The Karate Kid Part III
Rotten Tomatoes: The Karate Kid Part III 29%

Categories: 2 Star Movies, Movies :: Tags: 2 stars, John G. Avildsen, Martin Kove, Pat Morita, Ralph Macchio, Robyn Lively, The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III, Thomas Ian Griffith :: Trackback URL
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