Review - The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. And, yes, it is time. This is my review of the 1986 film The Karate Kid Part II and the 1989 film The Karate Kid Part III. Both films, which are sequels to the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, Star the returning duo of Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi, who are joined in Part II by Tamlyn Tomita, Yuji Okumoto, and Danny Kamekona, with brief appearances by William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Martin Kove as John K Reese, while Part III introduces the likes of Thomas Ian Griffith, Sean Kanan, and Robyn Lively, along with the return of Martin Kove as John Kreese. 

        So, The Karate Kid Part II picks up at the aftermath of the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament, where Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese is berating Johnny Lawrence for placing second, and roughing the boy up. Mr. Miyagi, seeing this, puts a stop to the incessant violence and teaches Kreese a lesson, and comedically honking his nose. 

         Some months pass, and Mr. Miyagi receives a letter from his home in Okinawa, and he must return. Daniel, having nowhere else to go, especially with his mother out of town, offers to join Mr. Miyagi on the trip, and the two fly off to Okinawa. Upon arrival, they are picked up by a young man named Chozen Toguchi, who is a student and nephew of Mr. Miyagi's former friend Sato, who himself learned karate from Mr. Miyagi's father. 

      Throughout the movie, we see multiple encounters between Mr. Miyagi and Sato, as well as multiple encounters between Daniel and Chozen. Mr. Miyagi, in addition, also teaches Daniel the full story of Miyagi style karate, and teaches him a new technique based around a type of drum known as the Den-den daiko. While this is going on, Mr. Miyagi reunites with a former romantic interest named Yukie, while Daniel forms something of a romantic connection with Yukie's niece Kumiko, which further builds tension between Daniel and Chozen. Why? Well, let's just say that Chozen also has feelings for Kumiko, but she doesn't feel the same way. 

        Now, something I want to mention about this movie is the location. Okinawa is an absolutely gorgeous island nation, and this movie genuinely allows the audience to take in so much detail about the place that it's truly breathtaking. 

       Anyway, as the movie progresses, we see quite a number of face offs between Daniel and Chozen, as well as a handful of back-and-forth moments between Mr. Miyagi and Sato. But, after Mr. Miyagi saves Sato from a typhoon, which also sees Daniel save a little girl named Yuna, Sato changes his tune on a modernization plan for the village. However, during a celebration, Chozen targets Kumiko, as a means to challenge Daniel in one last fight. Said fight is pretty close to a stalemate, but Daniel uses the skill he learned that is based on the Den-den daiko to overcome Chozen, putting him in a similar position that Mr. Miyagi had Kreese in earlier in the movie, and pulls the same fake out by honking Chozen's nose. And, after an incredible experience in Okinawa, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi say their goodbyes and return to America. 

        The Karate Kid Part III sees John Kreese, some time after the events of the '84 All-Valley Karate Tournament, reunite with Cobra Kai co-founder Terry Silver, and the two make a plan to get revenge against Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, which includes hiring some karate thugs to make Daniel's life a living hell, reclaim the All-Valley championship for Cobra Kai, and begin a franchise expansion plan for MORE Cobra Kai dojos. To this end, Silver hires the services of national karate champion Mike Barnes, the "bad boy of karate," to stand as a viable challenger to Daniel, and pairs Mike up with the duo of Dennis de Guzman and Snake, who are a pair of karate thugs Silver has on retainer, to go after Daniel. 

       Daniel, meanwhile, is having to deal with some new developments since his trip to Okinawa. First, the apartment complex is gone, leaving Daniel without a home and Mr. Miyagi without a job. But, Daniel is able to use the money he earned in Okinawa to acquire a location for Mr. Miyagi to open a bonsai tree shop, which Mr. Miyagi agrees to run with Daniel as his business partner. And, it's in the preparation of getting the bonsai shop up and running, Daniel meets and befriends Jessica Andrews, who is visiting from Columbus, Ohio, and is helping a relative run a pottery store. 

       Another new development comes when Daniel learns that, for the upcoming All-Valley Karate Tournament, the returning champion automatically advances to the finals, meaning that, should Daniel choose to return, he would only have to face a single opponent. However, Mr. Miyagi suggests that Daniel doesn't need to participate in the tournament. It's at this time that Silver introduces himself to Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, apologizes for Kreese's actions, and offers an open hand to Daniel for anything he might need. 

       Around this time, Mike, Dennis, and Snake male Daniel's life a living hell by attacking him and Jessica, destroy the bonsai shop, and nearly leave the two of them to drown, all to force Daniel to sign up to defend his All-Valley championship title. But, in spite of this new situation, Mr. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel, which leads Daniel right into the arms of Silver, who begins training Daniel at Cobra Kai. But, as Daniel absorbs Silver's teachings, he becomes more rageful, more aggressive, and less like the kind young man Mr. Miyagi trained a year prior. And, after he attacks a random young man and breaks his nose, Daniel is terrified by what he's become. 

       Some time after this outburst, and Daniel apologizes to both Jessica and Mr. Miyagi, and mends his connections with the two of them. And, most importantly, Daniel goes to Cobra Kai to end his training with Silver, who reveals that Mike had been on his payroll the entire time, and that Silver and Kreese were in league. Daniel get his ass handed to him by the trio of Kreese, Silver, and Mike, but Mr. Miyagi shows up and takes all three down, and agrees to train Daniel for the upcoming All-Valley Karate Tournament. 

       On the day of the tournament, things go pretty favorably for Mike, who advanced to the championship match against Daniel. And, Silver plans out a strategy for Mike to earn a point, take a deduction, and run out the clock, overtaking Daniel in sudden-death overtime. And, this goes about the way you would expect, and Daniel is overcome with fear. Mr. Miyagi, who has trained Daniel in kata, tells him that it's okay to lose in the tournament, but he mustn't lose to fear and his best karate is still within him. Daniel, taking this encouragement, overcomes his fear, and lands a hit on Mike, securing the victory and making Daniel a two-time All-Valley champion. 

       So, while it's pretty well agreed upon that The Karate Kid Part II is a worthy follow-up to the original, The Karate Kid Part III is not nearly as good, and comes off as being repetitive to the original movie. But, I do enjoy elements of both. I liked seeing Daniel and Mr. Miyagi taking a trip to Okinawa, and the people they met on that trip. I enjoyed Daniel's connection with Kumiko and his rivalry with Chozen. And, while I thought that Mike, Dennis, and Snake went too far at times in their attempts to coerce Daniel to agree to compete in the '85 All-Valley, I did find Mike to be a different adversary for Daniel. And, I liked seeing the dynamic Daniel and Silver would have, establishing the animosity Daniel would have towards Silver during Cobra Kai. 

      But, while I still agree that both Part II and Part III aren't as good or as iconic as the original The Karate Kid, I do think that both movies are better watched nowadays thanks to the show Cobra Kai . Because watching both movies gives context to some of the conversations Daniel has with the likes of Chozen, Mike, and Silver during Cobra Kai, and the appearances that Chozen and Mike have in Cobra Kai makes watching the movies they debuted in more rewarding in seeing how Daniel was able to set aside old rivalries and form bonds of friendship with the two of them. And, in the case of Mike Barnes, seeing what Silver forced him, along with Dennis and Snake, to do to Daniel led to him having greater remorse later in life, and being apologetic when he reunites with Daniel for the first time since the '85 All-Valley. 

         All in all, do I recommend checking out The Karate Kid Part II or The Karate Kid Part III? Only if you have already seen the entirety of Cobra Kai and are looking to watch both movies for context. Other than that, they're pretty easily skippable. And, before anyone asks, I have ZERO intention of talking about the '90s disappointment that was The Next Karate Kid with Pat Morita and Hilary Swank. Because, the less said about that movie, the better. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off and I'll see you in the next review.