The Karate Kid Part III
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Movie Reviews of The Karate Kid Part III
Movie Review: Daniel is a WHOOSI
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie is really funny. Not that means to be. The plot is the same at the other Karate kid films, Daniel gets beaten up throughout the entire film. And then somehow wins. And also, how does Daniels karate get worse and worse with each film.Movie Review: Not bad but I like the "new karate kid better"
Summary: 3 Stars
Not bad but it was starting to get to be the same old thing with these Karate Kid movies. Worth the few bucks to kill some time. But I truely liked "The New Karate Kid" better.Movie Review: Karate Kid
Summary: 3 Stars
Karate Kid Rocks - but theme not quite followed through on. So was a bit dissapointing. But great to see the team together.Movie Review: Karate inside, but not in this movie
Summary: 2 Stars
THE KARATE KID III (1989) was a bit more bearable when it was new ... barely. In their 3rd outing, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and the late legend Noriyuki Pat Morita as Miyagi Kesuke Sama pick up where they left off in the original cult classic. In short, symbolically kicking the nasty Karate instructor (Martin Kove as John Kreese) where it hurts most.
Here there is an added and completely idiotic supervillain, the wealthy and subliminally gay Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith, cute all-around versatile bit player in the late 80s and 90s) - who happens to be 'the boss' of Karate villain Kreese. He buys what looks to me like a gay hustler/karate champion (the gorgeous Mike Barnes in his first real role) and uses him to kick Daniel San's butt. (I belabor the point because I am so tired of the old 'villain-is-so-gay' routine.)
The story needs no laboring, so I'll launch into my few observations:
~This thing is so bad, and I cannot begin to imagine how they could ruin such a good potential story/film. They had the nuts and bolts here to continue the franchise. Instead there was a third sequel, replacing Macchio with a very lucky young Hillary Swank. It flopped badly, in spite of some cool Buddhist priests and Morita carrying the film.
~What was Macchio's problem? After his original performance, he was set as the heir of a film series dynasty. In this film, he seems like he's on crack the whole time. His acting - like all the acting here except Pat Morita's - is horrific. Though still acting on occasion, Macchio last made a good film, well, right here. Mostly he spots on television. Pity.
~Director John Avildsen, a low-life 'bit' director, ought to be slapped for ruining the KARATE KID potential here. He raced through nearly all the scenes, stretching out a few of them for padding. Then the silly film abruptly ends ... and I notice this ending style was copied in the recent remake (vid. my review).
~The deep and wonderful grain of potential here - master/student, Bonsai-tree-as-inner-potential, etc. - did communicate because it was so good even a lousy director couldn't ruin that much.
~The speed and slop of this film is shown in the immense list of goofs and continuity troubles, also the incredibly cheap soap-opera-style errors galore. See IMDB for details. It'll convince you not to waste time on this dumb movie.
~Nice bit of trivia according to the Internet Movie Database: "[THE KARATE KID III] was part of a wave in the late 80's/early 90's to introduce wide screen letterbox movies to the general public. The first printing of the VHS are all in letterbox. (Re-prints from 1994 claim to be in wide screen but are pan & scan)." Nice try, video company!
~Lastly, why did they film this in the same "house" where Bob Gunton's villain lived in THE GLIMMER MAN?
The second star is ONLY for my beloved hero Pat Morita. Return to us soon as Buddha, Morita Sama.
Movie Review: Sorry LaRusso...you lost... (Pt. 3 of 3)
Summary: 2 Stars
What better way to end the saga of Daniel LaRusso than a final installment in `The Karate Kid Part III'. There was only one major problem...it was a great idea done terribly wrong. The story takes place right after Part II, where a sinister plot is hatched by the true villain of `The Karate Kid' saga, John Kreese. John pays a visit to Terry Silver, fellow soldier turned millionaire scumbag and loyal Cobra Kai. Kreese tells Terry of his downfall thanks to Daniel and Mr. Miyagi and Terry is more than willing to help his friend get his revenge. They hire a violent up and coming fighter named Mike Barnes to force Daniel to fight him for the All Valley Tournament title. Daniel is still true to the Miyagido style of karate and would rather spend his days helping Mr. Miyagi with their new business in Banzai trees. When Daniel is threatened under unavoidable circumstances, Terry jumps in to pose as a friend and teacher to Daniel. Learning a new more violent style of karate from Terry causes extreme tension between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. For too long Miyagi taught Daniel that Karate was not about defending a title and Daniel is torn apart wondering why he has strayed from his friends teachings. No sooner when Daniel discovers that he was played for sap, Mr. Miyagi re-unites with Daniel not for revenge, but to prove the point that has been shown throughout the entire saga. One must be pure in heart and true to his honor in order to emerge a champion.
I gave this film a low rating because the movie as a whole did not live up to the plot. What knocks Part III down from the rest of the story is the sub par acting. `The Karate Kid Part III' comes off looking a lot like `3 Ninjas', with its cartoonish villainy and Ralph Macchio just whines too much. Not even the heavy use of adult language and the major role of John Kreese could save this movie. This movie could have been made much better because the premise of this story is quite good and it does work. I guess it was the staff, letting the movie going public know it was time to put an old dog to sleep. Unfortunately they didn't, but I'm not even going there. If you are a fan of `The Karate Kid' as a whole you will watch this movie more than once and really make an effort to enjoy it. Still, there will be a voice in the back of your mind saying...Sorry LaRusso...you lost this time.