'Karate Kid 3' - Can a Villain Save a Movie?

Hi, and welcome back to Second Chances where the maligned, forgotten & ignored fight another round.

Those who've kept up with my work on Vocal know that I absolutely love The Karate Kid from 1984. It would be my favorite movie of all time if the original RoboCop didn't exist. I've also been a huge fan of the Netflix series Cobra Kai since the time it debuted on YouTube. I even mentioned that I actually enjoyed the remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, though it should've been called The Kung Fu Kid for the sake of accuracy. However, I haven't talked much about the sequel films aside from deriding the absolutely awful The Next Karate Kid last Christmas. Time to rectify that.

Part 2 was a very good follow-up that expanded on the character of Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) by taking him back to his homeland of Okinawa with his student Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in tow. He reconnected with his lost love Yukie (Nobu McCarthy) and had to settle an old score with his former best friend Sato (Danny Kamekona). Meanwhile, Daniel got immersed in the culture, found a new love interest in a dancer named Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), and ended up in a fight to the death with Sato's nephew and top student Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). While not as good as the first, it was still an excellent sequel that brought in ten times its budget at the box office and won Bill Conti multiple awards for its score. It certainly hasn't been forgotten, either, given how excited people were when Kumiko and Chozen showed up again in the third season of Cobra Kai. So, Part 2 isn't fit to get the Second Chances treatment from me.

But Part 3 sure is.

Part 3 is often derided as being little more than a half-hearted retread of the first film, but that's being too simplistic. Yes, there are plenty of parallels, but it adds just enough new stuff to make it worth loading up once in a while. Picking up after the events of Part 2, the movie starts by catching up with the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo John Kreese (Martin Kove). After trying to strangle his top student Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) for losing the tournament, causing all his students to abandon him, Kreese is close to bankruptcy. He goes to Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), his old war buddy and owner of the Cobra Kai, prepared to give up. Terry, however, comes up with a plan that should kill two birds with one stone, reinvigorating the Cobra Kai and getting revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi return from Okinawa to discover their apartment complex getting demolished, leaving Mr. Miyagi without a job. Daniel gives his college fund to him to help him realize his dream of opening a bonsai shop. Daniel even finds a new friend in a potter named Jessica (Robyn Lively). However, disagreements regarding Daniel defending his title at that year's karate tournament threaten to drive a wedge between him and Mr. Miyagi, not helped when Terry's new protégé Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) starts launching attacks more vicious than Johnny ever did to force Daniel into competing.

The biggest issue I found with the plot was actually not the story beats shared with the first film. It was the number of contrivances. The original film flowed very naturally with actions and motivations fitting the characters. However, in Part 3, there are multiple points that just don't seem to make sense and are clearly in the movie just to keep the plot moving. When Daniel was finally forced to enter the tournament under threat of drowning in a rising tide, Mr. Miyagi still adamantly refused to train him because of his objection to Daniel competing. Uh, did Mr. Miyagi miss the part in Daniel's story where Barnes threatened to let him drown if he didn't enter the tournament? Also, Terry's plan during the final fight, while sadistic, left a wide opening for failure. (Slight spoilers ahead.) To ensure that Daniel suffers as much as possible, Barnes is instructed to use painful and dirty moves to keep the match scoreless for the full regulation time period and get a single point to win during sudden death overtime. Did Terry not realize that he could've made Daniel suffer and ensure success by just keeping the score at 1-0? Daniel would've been beaten senseless for the full three minutes, and Cobra Kai would've won without having to go into sudden death. Cobra Kai's defeat was entirely avoidable.

Despite how stupid the plot could get, there is still plenty to like in Part 3. The cinematography is still gorgeous. The shots, especially for the scenes outdoors, are just breathtaking, making me wish I could visit California. Bill Conti's score adds plenty of new flourishes that mix well with the familiar pieces for the first two films. I especially like the low pieces composed for whenever the villains are on. Putting Daniel and Miyagi's friendship to the test was actually a very good idea (though it could've been executed better). However, like with A View to a Kill, the movie's biggest plus points were the villains. Due to scheduling conflicts, Martin Kove's time as John Kreese was limited, but he clearly made the most of it. He was already over the top in the first film, but he seemed to have a blast cranking the psychopathy up to eleven. He even got to have an actual fight with Miyagi this time as opposed to just breaking car windows. Aside from his first scene, Sean Kanan just explodes every time he shows up as Mike Barnes. It's little wonder he keeps scaring the crap out of Daniel.

The true star of the movie, though, is Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver. If he had a moustache, he would've been twirling it every second he was onscreen. He was clearly instructed to be as diabolical as possible, and he appeared to be having the time of his life through the whole film. His laugh befitted classic villains. His karate moves were also a sight to behold. There's a reason the teaser for Season 4 of Cobra Kai only had to tease his return and nothing else. As far as I'm concerned, Terry Silver is the main reason to watch this movie.

(He was certainly a more entertaining villain than Michael Ironside in The Next Karate Kid.)

The Karate Kid Part 3 has its problems. It does copy a lot from the first film. It does go far more over-the-top than the previous films. It has plenty of stupid moments. However, it still has a fantastic score, gorgeous visuals, and the joy of seeing Mr. Miyagi one more time. (Again, avoid The Next Karate Kid like the plague.) The conflict between the two leads may be contrived, but it adds an interesting wrinkle to the story. Finally, the three villains are a blast to watch every second they're onscreen, ESPECIALLY Terry Silver. This movie (as well as the others) are on Netflix right now alongside the first three seasons of Cobra Kai. Give this movie another try, and see why I'm so excited for Terry's return later this year!

Disagree on Part 3? Think I'm being too harsh on the fourth film? Let me know!

Banzai!