The Karate Kid, Part III
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| The Karate Kid, Part III | |
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 The Karate Kid, Part III movie poster |
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by | Jerry Weintraub Karen Trudy Rosenfelt (co-producer) Sheldon Schrager (executive producer) Doug Seelig (associate producer) |
| Written by | Robert Mark Kamen |
| Starring | Ralph Macchio Pat Morita Thomas Ian Griffith Martin Kove Robyn Lively Sean Kanan |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Steve Yaconelli |
| Editing by | John G. Avildsen John Carter |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 30th, 1989 |
| Running time | 112 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | N/A |
| Preceded by | The Karate Kid, Part II |
| Followed by | The Next Karate Kid |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) is the second sequel to the hit motion picture The Karate Kid (1984). This film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Thomas Ian Griffith, Robyn Lively, and Martin Kove. Like the first two films, it was directed by John G. Avildsen, written by Robert Mark Kamen, stunts choreographed by Pat E. Johnson, and music by Bill Conti.
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[edit] Plot summary
After his best student lost to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) at the All Valley Tournament almost a year earlier, all the students of Sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) left him when he proved himself a sadistic, sore loser. The futures of Kreese and his Cobra Kai dojo appear bleak and uncertain. After giving up all hope and having nowhere to go, Kreese visits his long time Vietnam buddy Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), who is also a karate expert and president of Dynatox Industries (a multinational company with a record of polluting the environment with toxic chemicals). Silver, who also funded the original Cobra Kai dojo which Kreese ran, tells him to relax; He says they will get their revenge on Daniel and on his teacher, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) for the role Daniel played in their school's financial collapse. Silver sends Kreese to Tahiti, with instructions to have fun and get himself back together, while Silver plots to put Cobra Kai back on the map… while, at the same time, making the boy and his teacher suffer.
Miyagi and Daniel arrive home from their trip to Okinawa, only to find out that the apartment complex where Daniel originally lived—and where Miyagi worked—has been sold. Miyagi, now out of a job, is asked by Daniel to start a business with him selling bonsai trees. Unfortunately, Miyagi seems less than optimistic about the idea; he says Daniel should use his money to get a college education, instead of opening a bonsai shop. Daniel goes ahead and purchases a shop in the rougher part of town. He finally convinces his sensei—and now co-owner—to help him sell trees. Together, they start the process of opening shop. Daniel decides to visit a pottery dealer across the street from their store, since they could use pots for the bonsais. At the pottery store, Daniel meets Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively) and they instantly hit it off.
Meanwhile, Terry Silver contacts a replenished Kreese in Tahiti by telephone and tells him his big scheme. He plans on making Daniel suffer and experience pain, and on using him to make Miyagi experience the same. Silver, looking through a karate magazine, finds "Karate's Bad Boy" Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), whom he hires to help Kreese get back at their two so-called enemies and restore their Cobra Kai business.
Daniel receives word about the All Valley Tournament where he can defend his title, but Miyagi does not support the idea. He feels that after fighting for honor in the first tournament and then his life in Okinawa, all that defending his title would be good for is a trophy. Later, Terry Silver sneaks into Miyagi’s house and looks for information to use against him and Daniel. He hides in their chimney, where he hears Daniel tell Miyagi that he wants their karate to mean something, that he will not be joining the tournament.
That night, Daniel takes Jessica over to visit their bonsai store. He introduces Mr. Miyagi to her. Miyagi leaves the two alone, while Daniel shows Jessica the inside of the shop. After just a few minutes, Daniel and Jessica are confronted by Mike Barnes and Snake (Jonathan Avildsen). They threaten Daniel if he does not join the All Valley Tournament. Mike explains that his financial future depends on him fighting Daniel in the tournament, that Daniel had best sign the application. Daniel still declines. Barnes leaves in a heated rage, promising he will be back for an answer.
Terry Silver makes a surprise visit at Miyagi's home in the morning. He introduces himself to both Miyagi and Daniel, explaining that John Kreese has died. The two give their condolences. Silver leaves with a big guilty smirk on his face. Daniel and Jessica hang out at the store that night. Once again, they are confronted by Mike and Snake-and now Dennis (Christopher Paul Ford). Daniel once again refuses to sign for the tournament. The three goons respond by destroying the shop. When Daniel tries to stop this, he and Jessica are attacked. Miyagi shows up and fends off the goons. Miyagi and Daniel arrive home to find their stock of bonsai has been stolen. An All-Valley tournament-application hangs above where the bonsai used to be.
Getting no help from the local police, Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up a "real" bonsai tree which is growing halfway down the cliffs surrounding the Devil's Cauldron. Miyagi had previously revealed this hiding place as the home of the one true bonsai he had brought from Okinawa, a gift from his late father. Daniel thinks they can use this valuable tree to pay for more bonsai, although Jessica doubts Miyagi would ever condone the selling of a family heirloom. While climbing the cliff, Silver's henchmen take Daniel’s ropes and force him to sign. During the ordeal, Barnes forces Daniel to give him the tree, which he snaps in half. Daniel returns to the shop with Miyagi’s now-broken bonsai, which Miyagi immediately tends to. Miyagi then explains that he had to sell his truck to buy more bonsai trees. Daniel tells him he was forced to sign the tournament application, but Miyagi refuses to train him. Daniel, extremely upset with the whole situation, once again runs into Terry Silver who offers to "train" him, and soon begins doing so.
During the training sessions, called “Quick Silver,” Terry teaches cheap and corrupt ways of fighting with karate—including kicks to the knee, forearm-strikes to the ribs, and chops to the nose—none of which is permitted in the All-Valley Tournament. Silver always makes Daniel attack a wooden dummy, which ends up injuring Daniel in the process. Miyagi, unaware of these training sessions, is saddened by a now confused and angry Daniel. On the last of his training sessions, Daniel gets upset when Silver places a picture of his tormentor Mike Barnes on the dummy. Daniel makes his fists bleed by ferociously punching it. Daniel eventually destroys the entire dummy, at which point Silver proclaims that he is ready now to win the tournament.
That same day, Silver coaxes Daniel into assaulting someone in a club while with Jessica. Daniel, unhappy with his behavior, apologizes for his recent actions to Miyagi and Jessica (who is moving back home to Columbus, Ohio). Daniel thanks Silver in person for his help, but explains that he can't continue training with him after what happened in the club. Daniel adds that he won’t be competing in the tournament. Silver tells Daniel his real agenda and introduces Barnes to him. Daniel tries to escape the Cobra Kai Dojo, but to Daniel's surprise, a very much alive Kreese appears to block his path. Barnes attacks Daniel, but Miyagi shows up and fights off all three of their enemies. Afterwards, Miyagi finally decides to train Daniel for the All-Valley Tournament. They train by Devil's Cauldron and replant the now-healed bonsai.
At the All-Valley Tournament, Mike Barnes makes his way up to the final round to face Daniel. During the entire match, Mike alternately scores points and intentionally loses them by incurring penalties. The match makes it into sudden death, where Daniel confuses Barnes by performing a kata that Miyagi has taught him. Daniel gets the point and becomes victorious once again.
[edit] Criticisms
KK3 did considerably less business than the first two films, grossing only $39 million at the box-office.[1] It has been bashed by critics and moviegoers who considered it when the series finally jumped the shark. Film critic Leonard Maltin gave KK3 a "BOMB" rating (the worst rating that a movie can possibly get in Maltin's eyes) and regarded KK3 as "an utterly stupid movie that was hopeless."
Many wondered why the Daniel LaRusso character, who fought for respect and then his own life in the two previous films, somehow became even wimpier and more obnoxious than before Miyagi took him under his wing. Also in the second film, he ends up fighting for his life and in this film, he is back to fighting for something less than his very life. Supposedly taking place approximately 6 months since The Karate Kid, Part II, Daniel appears to have aged considerably. Many viewers have also pointed out the belief Ralph Macchio looked noticeably pudgier in KK3 than in the previous two. A then 28-year-old Ralph Macchio nearly didn't take the role knowing he was almost 30 and still portraying a teenage boy. As a matter of fact, Thomas Ian Griffith is in real life, one year younger than Ralph Macchio, despite Griffith's character being a Vietnam War veteran.
The Jessica Andrews character is also a topic of concern with fans. Her character never really develops into anything more than just friends with Daniel and disappears from the film well before its conclusion. Some suspect she never developed into a girlfriend for Daniel because of Ralph Macchio's age during the film and being married. This would be a way to avoid any possible kissing scenes or close physical interaction between Ralph and a then underage Robyn Lively.[citation needed]
[edit] Quotes
- Daniel: This is the 80s, Mr. Miyagi! You can't be so damn passive!
- Mr. Miyagi: Your best karate still inside. Now time let out!
- Terry Silver: Now the real pain begins, Danny-boy.
- Terry Silver: This guy wants to break you! Humiliate you! Stomp you into the ground!
- Terry Silver: If you're looking to be a bad boy in L.A., Snake's the boy to be bad with. Right, Snake?
Snake: You know it. - Terry Silver: Extreme situations require extreme measures.
- Snake: You're one heavy wimp, Daniel!
- Daniel: Macaroni and cheese! Hey, you know what I like! I grew up on macaroni and cheese. Hey listen, I never say no when it comes to macaroni and cheese! I used to eat this stuff by the ton.
- Terry Silver: All right, I've heard enough; I've made up my mind. This slope, what's his name, Miyagi? And that punk kid? I'm gonna get them for what they did to you. They made you suffer, so I'm gonna make them suffer... and suffer, and suffer, and when I think they've suffered enough, then I start with the pain!
- Terry Silver: What do you mean you can't dump it in Borneo? Who in Borneo knows what chloride sludge is? Just do it.
- Daniel: Why do I have to do this with this thing?
Silver: Because it's a part of the training. Because I'm teaching you techniques you don't have, techniques you need to win the tournament. What, you think you can rely on the crane crap? - Terry Silver: You want to get beaten because of a little pain, be my guest. I can't be a part of that. I make wimps into winners, not the other way around.
- Margaret: In conclusion, I reject your final offer. If you proceed, I will sue your collective asses accordingly.
- Terry Silver: Waaaa. Waaaa. Waaaa. (Bruce Lee sounds when fighting Miyagi)
- Terry Silver: A man can't stand (breathe, or see), he can't fight.
- Terry Silver: Ow? Ow is not an acceptable kiyap in this dojo, Mr. Laruso.
[edit] Goofs
- The real Devil's Cauldron is located in Nevada, not California.
[edit] Trivia
- Conforming to the title changes of the first and second Karate Kid films for their releases in Japan, Part III was renamed Best Kid 3 (ベスト・キッド3/Besuto kiddo 3).
- The Chinese title likewise took its cue from the previous films and was called Young Man's Tribulations 3 (小子難纏3 / 小子难缠3 / xiǎo zǐ nán chán sān)
- Miyagi and Daniel wear the exact same costumes as they did at the All Valley in the original Karate Kid.
- When Miyagi says, "Hope confusion end soon, Daniel-San. Miyagi heart empty without you," he is looking at a picture of himself and Daniel in the same costumes they were wearing at the O-Bon dance in The Karate Kid, Part II.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| The Karate Kid series |
|---|
| The Karate Kid | The Karate Kid, Part II | The Karate Kid, Part III | The Next Karate Kid |
