The Karate Kid, Part III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (November 2007)
The Karate Kid, Part III

The Karate Kid, Part III movie poster
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 30, 1989
Running time 112 min.
Country USA
Language English
Preceded by The Karate Kid, Part II
Followed by The Next Karate Kid
Allmovie 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.

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

After his best student lost to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) at the All-Valley Tournament almost a year earlier, Sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) proved himself a sadistic, sore loser. As a result, his students abandoned him following a physical altercation with Mr. Miyagi in the parking lot of the venue where the All-Valley Karate Championship took place (at the beginning of The Karate Kid, Part II).

The story picks up almost a year after the parking lot confrontation. The futures of Kreese and his Cobra Kai dojo appear bleak and uncertain, after it is revealed through phone messages that since Cobra Kai no longer has any students, the All-Valley Karate Tournament committee won't be including them in the upcoming competition, as well as a utility bill collector threatening to shut off service.

After giving up all hope and having nowhere to go, Kreese visits his long-time Vietnam War comrade Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), who is also a karate expert, fellow Cobra Kai, multimillionaire and president of Dynatox Industries (a multinational company with a record of polluting the environment with toxic chemicals). Silver, a sponsor of Kreese's, tells Kreese that 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. Kreese especially requests that Silver makes Daniel's knuckles bleed, as Kreese's had done when he punched car windows after Miyagi ducked. Silver sends Kreese to Tahiti, with instructions to have fun and get himself back together, while Silver plots to put Cobra Kai into success and ruin Daniel and his mentor.

Miyagi and Daniel arrive home from their trip to Okinawa, only to find 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, in the aptly-named "Mr Miyagi's Little Trees." Unfortunately, Miyagi seems less than optimistic about the idea; he says he feels Daniel could better invest his money in a college education, instead of opening a bonsai shop. Daniel leases a shop in the rougher part of town, and at length convinces his sensei to help him move the merchandise. Together, they start the process of opening and operating a small business. Daniel decides to visit a pottery dealer, intending to use hand-thrown pots for containing the bonsais, a value-added. At the pottery store, Daniel meets Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively) and they instantly become friends.

Meanwhile, Terry Silver contacts a replenished Kreese in Tahiti by telephone and tells him that he (Silver) plans to make Daniel suffer great pain, additionally using him to make Miyagi experience the same (great pain). Silver, looking through a karate magazine, finds "Karate's Bad Boy" Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), whom he hires to help Kreese take revenge and restore their Cobra Kai line of businesses; this will be more prudent than just beating him up himself. Barnes decides that 25 percent of 20 dojos is not sufficient remuneration for a teenager, and in a brief bargaining session he demands 50 percent. The multi-millionaire, Silver, is out-negotiated by the child and agrees to provide the named-figure of fifty percent.

Daniel receives word about the All-Valley Tournament, where he can defend his title as champion, but Miyagi does not support the idea. He feels that after fighting for honor in the first tournament, then for his life in Okinawa, defending his title is merely for personal reward. Later, Terry Silver sneaks into Miyagi’s house, looking 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: thus, he will not be participating in the tournament.

That evening, Daniel takes Jessica to visit their bonsai store. He introduces Mr. Miyagi to her. Miyagi leaves the two, while Daniel shows Jessica the workings of the shop. After a short tour, Daniel and Jessica are confronted by Mike Barnes and his aide "Snake" (Jonathan Avildsen). They threaten to harm Daniel if he does not join the All Valley Tournament. Mike explains that his financial accommodation—the fifty-percent figure agreed to above—is contingent on his facing Daniel in the tournament, but Daniel nevertheless declines. Barnes departs in a heated rage, while promising to return. Without Daniel's sufficient guarantee, he cannot rely upon the fifty-percent compensation arrived at with the (aptly-named) Silver.

Terry Silver visits Miyagi's home in the morning, now playing the role of a sympathetic and humble counselor. He introduces himself to both Miyagi and Daniel, explaining that John Kreese has died and feigning both displeasure and embarrassment on behalf of his Korean master for Kreese's shameless actions at the previous year's tournament. Miyagi and Daniel offer condolences. Silver departs, a guilty smirk on his face. Daniel and Jessica, returning to their independently operated store that night, are again confronted by Mike and Snake—now joined by Mike's personal trainer Dennis (Christopher Paul Ford). (Dennis' financial incentive is not immediately disclosed: the nighttime hours suggest it could be substantial as well.) Daniel once again refuses to enter the tournament. The three goons respond by destroying the potentially uninsured shop. When Daniel attempts to prevent this damage, he and Jessica are attacked. Miyagi shows up and fends off the three men. Miyagi and Daniel arrive home to find their stock of bonsai—the bulk of their investment—has been stolen. An All-Valley Tournament application hangs above the display cases once used to contain the bonsai. At last, Daniel has been provided sufficient incentive (in this case, a negative incentive) to return to tournament competition.

Having received no assistance from the local police, Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up the "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 as a new source of capital (to pay for more bonsai), although Jessica doubts Miyagi will condone this sale of a valuable family heirloom. While Daniel is climbing the cliff, Silver's henchmen take his ropes and force him to sign the tournament application, adding an additional, non-capital incentive. During the ordeal, Barnes forces Daniel to give him the tree, which he snaps in half, sharply reducing its value. Daniel returns to the shop with Miyagi’s now-broken bonsai, which Miyagi immediately mends and restores. Miyagi then explains that he had already sold his truck in an effort to purchase more bonsai trees, resolving the short-term business problem. Daniel reveals that he has been forced to sign the tournament application; Miyagi refuses to train him. Daniel, by now extremely upset with the whole situation, departs. He once again runs into Terry Silver; Silver now offers to "train" Daniel, and soon begins to do so.

During the training sessions—called “Quick Silver," a tribute to both the investor's name and the metal's flowing nature—Terry schools Daniel in many cheap and corrupt ways of fighting with karate. This includes kicks to the knee, forearm-strikes to the ribs, and chops to the nose —- none of which actions sanctioned by the All-Valley Tournament governing regulations. Silver repeatedly invites Daniel to attack a wooden dummy, injuring Daniel in the process. Miyagi, unaware of these training sessions, is saddened by a now confused, angry and secretive Daniel.

During the last of these training sessions, Silver places a picture of Mike Barnes on the dummy. The viewer is moved to recall a previous scene: Kreese, in Tahiti, telling Silver he wants Daniel's knuckles to bleed (as his own had bled in previous confrontation with Miyagi at the close of the tournament), Silver had promised Kreese he'd do just that. He makes good on the promise now, as Daniel makes his fists bleed by ferociously punching the dummy. Daniel eventually destroys the entire dummy, at which point Silver proclaims that he is now ready to win the tournament.

Later on the same day, Silver coaxes Daniel into assaulting a stranger while at a club with Jessica. Daniel, displeased by his own behavior, apologizes for his recent actions to Miyagi and Jessica (who reveals plans to return to Columbus, Ohio). Daniel thanks Silver in person for his help; however, he adds that he will not continue training with him, after what occurred in the club. Daniel adds that he also no longer intends to compete in the tournament, despite numerous assurances to that intention. Silver reveals his real agenda to Daniel and introduces Barnes to him. Daniel tries to escape the Cobra Kai Dojo; to Daniel's surprise, Kreese appears to block his path. Barnes attacks Daniel, but Miyagi shows up from a previously undisclosed location and defeats all three of these enemies. Afterwards, Miyagi finally decides to train Daniel for the upcoming All-Valley Tournament. They train by Devil's Cauldron, where they 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 sacrifices them by incurring penalties. The match thus moves into overtime rounds, where Daniel confuses Barnes by performing a kata that Miyagi has taught him. Daniel becomes victorious once again.

[edit] Cast

Actor Sean Kanan suffered near-fatal injuries during the course of filming. While performing stunts, he suffered injuries that led to undiagnosed internal bleeding. The Aspirin he took for pain-management worsened his condition, leading to hospitalization for hypovolemic shock. He recovered in time to return to filming.

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] Criticisms

KK3 did considerably less business than the first two films, grossing only $39 million at the box-office.[1] It has been "bashed," or dismissed, by critics and moviegoers[2][3], who considered it when the film series finally jumped the shark[4][5][6][7]. Film critic Leonard Maltin gave KK3 a "BOMB" rating (the worst rating that a movie can possibly get in Maltin's eyes, and so a negative inducement to film audiences) 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[8][9] than before Miyagi took him under his wing[10][11]. 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, violating a dependable narrative strategy[citation needed]—i.e., the increase of jeopardy, or narrative "stakes," often known as Freytag's Triangle.

Supposedly taking place approximately 6 months since The Karate Kid, Part II, Daniel appears to have aged considerably[12]. Many viewers have also pointed out the belief that Ralph Macchio looked noticeably pudgier[13][14] in KK3 than in the previous two, which would seem to mitigate against a successful outcome to the All-Valley Tournament. A then-twenty-eight year-old Ralph Macchio nearly did not take the role, knowing he was almost 30 and still portraying a teenage boy[15][16]. As a matter of fact, Thomas Ian Griffith is in real life, several months younger than Ralph Macchio[17], despite Griffith's character[18][19] being a Vietnam War veteran.

Daniel's bye through to the All Valley Tournament final (something that Johnny Lawrence didn't apparently receive in the first film)[20] is an obvious plot loophole to avoid tagging another twenty minutes of montage and footage to the end of the film which would essentially be the same as the final 20 minutes of montage and footage in the first film of the series. The idea of a respected tournament giving a bye to the reigning champion seems without precedent and if this occurred in the real would almost certainly be met with disdain and protest by tournament competitors.

The Jessica Andrews character[21][22] is also a topic of concern for fans. Her character never really develops into anything more than an unsatisfactory, just-friends[23] relationship with Daniel and disappears from the film well before its actual conclusion. Some suspect she never developed into a girlfriend[24][25] for Daniel (like Ali Mills and Kumiko from the first two films respectively) because of Ralph Macchio's age (Robyn Lively is in reality, 11 years younger than Ralph Macchio) during the film and his being married.

[edit] Music

[edit] Track listing for 2007 Varèse Sarabande score

  1. "Main Title" (5:38)
  2. "Terry Silver" (1:14)
  3. "The Last Tree" (1:55)
  4. "Terry’s Next Move" (2:56)
  5. "The Hidden Tree" (3:26)
  6. "Terry Sneaks In" (2:14)
  7. "Mike States His Case" (1:06)
  8. "Getting The Tree" (4:33)
  9. "Jessica’s Slip" (1:07)
  10. "Daniel Signs Up" (3:08)
  11. "Miyagi’s Prayer" (1:01)
  12. "Daniel Submits" (1:22)
  13. "Miyagi’s Shut Out" (:36)
  14. "Terry Owns Daniel" (:37)
  15. "Jessica’s Kiss" (:48)
  16. "Daniel’s Resolution" (1:44)
  17. "Miyagi Kicks Butt" (1:57)
  18. "Kata Training" (1:54)
  19. "Bonsai Prayer" (:36)
  20. "The Final Blow" (4:05)

[edit] Internationally

  • 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).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) - Box office / business
  2. ^ Amazingly, this latest chapter is not boring at all, but it is so sloppily written and acted in such a ham-handed way that it is almost impossible not to laugh.
  3. ^ The Karate Kid Part III is a terrible film, just an unoriginal one. The storyline has a simplistic flare to it, and the villains are poorly written.
  4. ^ The Karate Kid Part III is by far the worst in quality of the trilogy, but by far the most fun to watch. The best parts come from the corny lines and inane plot workings. Just have fun with this one--it's so bad it's great!
  5. ^ And here's where the wheels started to come off.
  6. ^ Any warmth of the previous two films is lost in this sequel too far, as the desperate continuation of "The Karate Kid" franchise shudders to a pathetic halt.
  7. ^ [1] In this third film, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) has been reduced to a standard element in a standard plot. And Daniel (Ralph Macchio) is no longer an interesting kid, but simply a series of predictable attitudes.
  8. ^ [2] Additionally, Daniel has become quite a bit of a jerk. In the past, his feelings for the fairer sex left him bound, helpless, and charmed. Now, he has become overconfident in himself to the point of being almost bored at the prospect of falling in love. The spears of his arrogance proclaim "W00T, I did it again." For both of them, it's just going through the motions of a sidestory that they both know doesn't serve the movie in any way whatsoever.
  9. ^ [3] The questionable twist of Part III is that Daniel, more whiny and insecure than ever, grows distrustful of Mr. Miyagi and finds himself a new teacher (said evil nuclear waste karate guy). It is a reversal of everything interesting that was built up in Part I, so that instead of clever repartee between Daniel and Miyagi, we get a lot of angry silences that remind us of being around ex-girlfriends.]
  10. ^ Macchio has gone from cute to typecast here, his waifish charm turned to gawky adulthood. Twiddling, twitching, wobbling and jiggling, he is as irksome to watch as a flickering fluorescent bulb.
  11. ^ I have edited Ralph Macchio’s performance liberally, because there were many instances where his acting was utterly terrible. Now, in the Bonsai Edition, he gives a reasonable performance.
  12. ^ If the then 27-year-old Ralph Macchio could no longer convince the audience he was the 17-year-old Daniel, the Brooklyn kid who could kick with the flair of a preying mantis, in the regrettably awful 1989 sequel, "The Karate Kid Part III," then what was left except sheer boredom?
  13. ^ Ralph Macchio returns as the college-age Daniel, which would have been fine except for the fact that he weighs about 200 pounds, he is at least 35 years old, and he has suddenly and inexplicably developed a Charles Barkley-sized rear end. Just the sight of him wearing jeans is enough to crack up an entire room. I've seen it happen.
  14. ^ Daniel's weight fluctuates throughout the movie.
  15. ^ Ralph Macchio's age was a problem for this flick — he was 28, still playing a teenager, and his pseudo-love interest was underage. Thomas Ian Griffith (who plays Silver) is one year younger than Ralph Macchio, despite Griffith's character being a Vietnam War veteran.
  16. ^ Macchio was 28 when he made this movie. That's a bit of a stretch for playing a naive teen, and he did it poorly. The acting was lame and the story was the same as all the others but not as well done. Stick to the original and accept no substitutions.
  17. ^ You can nearly pull it off if you want to make a 28-year-old seem 19, and a 27-year-old seem 40. (Yes, the villain is actually a year younger than the "teenage" hero.)
  18. ^ Similarly, Thomas Ian Griffith’s performance as Terry Silver had some very corny and “over the top” moments. I have cut such moments to a minimum to make him a much more serious and sinister character.
  19. ^ There were many bits of dialogue here and there that revealed the plot far too early, or described something we just saw or heard. Now Silver’s motives are a bit more mysterious, and we aren’t constantly being reminded of what we just saw.
  20. ^ The tournament was probably the most difficult scene to deal with. I decided to leave it largely intact, with a few minor cuts and changes, and a newly added bit of dialogue to motivate Daniel into “the zone.” All dialogue references to “win a point, lose a point” have been removed from the final fight, to perhaps make Barnes appear a bit foolish for losing points just to punish Daniel a bit more.
  21. ^ The weakest link in this chain is in the love story between Daniel and Jessica Andrews, played by Robyn Lively. Apparently, she was cast because of her slight resemblance to Elisabeth Shue who played the love interest in the first Karate Kid. But Lively lacks the same pep and optimism that Shue so effortlessly exuded.
  22. ^ Jessica Andrews - The love interest who isn't really a love interest because she's eleven years younger than Ralph Macchio in real life.
  23. ^ Add in a boring, platonic relationship with a redhead and a wildly disappointing end fight scene, and this movie is not worth half a bonsai.
  24. ^ And, for the first time, Daniel is such a sweet, sensible teenager that he befriends rather than dates the Cute Leading Girl (Robyn Lively). At least one honest trait remains in Daniel - he tries to apologize to a kid whose nose he broke.
  25. ^ The romance between Daniel and Jessica has been reconfigured so that Jessica isn’t getting back together with her old boyfriend after all. Now there’s a chance she and Daniel might stick together after the credits roll.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
The Karate Kid series
Films
Characters
Cast
Crew
Music
Related