The Karate Kid Part III (1989) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

It can be quite bittersweet when an era ends, as long as it all comes full circle. 


PLOT


1989’s The Karate Kid Part III is the final chapter in the original trilogy involving Daniel LaRusso and his sensei Nariyoshi Miyagi. Following the events of Part II, the pair return to Los Angeles from Okinawa, but their lives have drastically changed. The South Seas apartment complex has been sold and demolished, which leaves Miyagi unemployed. Daniel would stay with him elsewhere while his mother Lucille takes care of her sick uncle back in New Jersey. Rather than go straight to college, he uses his funds to finance a bonsai shop with his sensei. As they set up shop at an abandoned building, LaRusso would befriend Jessica Andrews who works for her aunt at a pottery store. They remain friends even after she admits she’s visiting from Ohio and has a boyfriend. As he and Miyagi settle back in, they meet Terry Silver who is a close friend of John Kreese due to being stationed together in South Korea during the Vietnam War. He tells them he’s passed away after Cobra Kai failed to win the All Valley Tournament the previous year but in reality, Kreese is having a personal vacation paid by his friend (who wants to help him re-establish the dojo by having national karate champion Mike Barnes challenge LaRusso for the championship). It is only after he introduces himself to the pair that Barnes would start harassing LaRusso & Jessica to make him sign the contract to defend the championship. Daniel would try to avoid him until he intentionally damages a rare valuable bonsai he wanted to use for the shop. That moment reaches his breaking point, but Miyagi would refuse to train him knowing he’s not in the right headspace to do so. Feeling like he has no other choice, he reaches out to Silver for help in training him. His training would be the same brutal regimen Kreese taught Johnny Lawrence, but Jessica would point out she’s going against what Miyagi taught him. When he intends to make amends with his sensei, he chooses to tell Silver that he wants to back out of the tournament. This would be the moment he reveals to be in cahoots with Kreese and Barnes. When they try to jump him together, Miyagi would intervene and give in to train his protege. On the day of the annual tournament, Barnes would make it to the finals and officially challenge Daniel for the championship. He would prove his constant viciousness when scoring and ultimately losing points with illegal strikes. This results in a draw that sets up sudden death overtime, which he intends to pummel him to victory. Daniel would luckily overcome the torture by using his newfound kata technique Miyagi taught him when they came home. This would foil Silver’s plan to re-establish Cobra Kai had Barnes won. The film ends with Daniel & Miyagi their last victory together.


THOUGHTS


Since Part II took things slow, I knew this one was gonna continue the vibe in being bittersweet. Similar to what would be done in Rocky V the following year, director John G Avildsen was able to stir up the pot much differently in a way that isn’t super bland, but still interesting to get through. Since this is the last time Ralph Machhio would share the screen with the late Pat Morita, it did feel emotional to get through because in their last rodeo, they’re able to remind us personally to not forget our upbringings or we’ll go on with what’s left of our lives dissatisfied. Here, Daniel wanted to be humble when staying by Mr. Miyagi’s side because he didn’t see a future to his liking if he went to college. His breaking point went at full force when the bonsai shop’s success was interrupted by a last batch of bullies. He assumed he wouldn’t deal with that anymore after proving himself against Johnny, but that only paved the way for new challengers which is a given in any sport. Miyagi didn’t want him to keep fighting before Barnes showed up because violence was never the point of him learning karate. He was forgetting his roots of inner peace and he didn’t want to see him suffer like he used to if things didn’t go to his liking. He ended up having his back at the climax not for the sake of wrapping up the story, but he knew he had no even odds without him. When he reminded him his best karate inside, I felt that a lot more than expected because it is all the motivation we need to keep going these days. Besides him, it was nice to know Daniel still had people to care and remind him who he really is. Rather than be another love interest, Robyn Lively succeeds in making Jessica a good companion to him because she was just as down to earth and upfront with her feelings like the past women in his life. She still hung out with him before she left because she was aware he had a big heart and didn’t want to keep the chip on his shoulder. It was fitting for her to tell him he was slipping because no one else was gonna if she didn’t. Had she not said anything, Daniel would never set things right. It makes sense for a franchise to have a recurring villain, but little would I expect it to be one so stuck up. I was quite stunned to see Martin Kove to return as Kreese because he’s nothing like Apollo Creed from Rocky, a man who wanted a second chance to prove his limits. Instead, Kreese is a stuck up loser jealous of a boy half his age being better through his morals alone. He refused to accept the downfall of Cobra Kai was his own doing with being over disciplined and merciless. Rather than rehabilitating, he cries to a friend who shares the same selfishness. Enter Thomas Ian Griffin who brings all that as Terry Silver and then some because he enjoys being in control and nothing more. He enjoys taking what he can and making whatever image he wants to appear on the fly because that’s how much of a manipulator he chooses to be. Sean Kanan would also share that greed as Mike Barnes because his grit made him lack showing respect anywhere he went. Way before he damages the tree, you just scream to yourself how much this guy sucks for hanging with the wrong crowd. He’s another case of Johnny without a conscience, who learns with the rest in the hard way that greed is consequential. The fact they are like so by the time of the show Cobra Kai proves how contagious bitterness can be, whereas Daniel proved the benefit of living in a clear path. With that match being his last with Mr. Miyagi by his side, there is no doubt he will cherish it for the rest of his life. This movie is fine on its own, but then there are a handful of things that hold it back from being better. For example, how the hell did Kreese not notice Miyagi & LaRusso passing by him at the front of the airport? If he was so obsessive to blame them for his downfall, it’s kinda ridiculous for these odds to happen. The same can be said with Daniel not noticing Silver at the club until after he gets into a scuffle orchestrated by him. Another thing, how the hell did Lucille not tell Daniel what was going on with the apartment complex? His son was technically homeless for a day and is lucky Miyagi was around to help him. Also, why would Mike even dare to demand 50% of the dojos’ profits if he hadn’t even personally proved himself to him? You can’t talk up game if you have yet to back it up even if the resume is known. Moving on, why would Silver sneak in the house to snoop around while Daniel was still inside? I mean he could’ve done it in the afternoon since they spend most time at the bonsai shop. Personally speaking, I think LaRusso also should’ve reached out to a professional for help in retrieving the tree. It is the though that counts, not your life by climbing down a cliff. It even gets too weird to notice he actually had a pen on him to sign the contract because I only noticed Barnes throw the paper. Lastly, he should’ve not been surprised Silver would train similarly to what Kreese taught Johnny. He knows the two are friends, so that is a red flag before knowing Kreese is alive. If you can ignore these things, then you’ll still enjoy this entry for what it is. To wrap up, The Karate Kid Part III is not amazing but still a bittersweet conclusion of a fictional dynamic that taught audiences so much overtime. If you appreciate the themes of the franchise at this point, I hope you can try to enjoy it like I have.