retro movie review: The Karate Kid, Part III

Back when it was released in 1989, nobody seemed to like The Karate Kid, Part III. Critics alternately panned it or dismissed it outright, few people actually went to see it, those who did mostly complained about it, and even the screenwriter, who had also written the first two installments, was so frustrated by it that he swore he would never write another Karate Kid movie again. Add it all up, and you don't get a very promising legacy.

But you know what? I recently watched the movie for the first time, and I actually enjoyed it. It's true to both the characters and the tone of the first Karate Kid movie, which is rightfully considered a modern classic. After watching The Karate Kid, Part III, I tend to feel that most complaints against it are based more on knee-jerk reactions to sequels, than to the quality of the film itself.

After the opening credits sequence provides us with a brief recap of some of the events in the first two films, the movie opens with an extended sequence involving John Kreese (very well played by Martin Kove), the villainous dojo master from the first film. The humiliating loss to an unknown in last year's karate tournament has ruined Kreese's business, and he is now broke, depressed, humiliated, and lonely -- in short, a completely defeated man. This early sequence is very interesting to watch, as it makes us sympathize with a villain from the previous entries in the series. We realize that this is a man who has his own dreams, disappointments, and friendships. He becomes -- albeit briefly -- a truly three-dimensional character. In cinema, such a sympathetic portrayal of a villain is rare and thus very interesting, from a viewer's standpoint.

The story is set in motion when we learn that Kreese is not the owner of the Cobra Kai dojo, as we were led to believe in the first film; the actual owner is his best friend, a duplicitous but charming karate master and millionaire named Terry Silver. Silver refuses to hear of Kreese's plans to leave town with his tail between his legs, and the two manage to convince each other that Kreese owes all of his current woes to our heroes, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita). They hatch a revenge scheme that partially depends on hiring a small group of thugs to terrorize Daniel, Miyagi, and Daniel's new girlfriend, Jess (Robyn Lively).

Now, I emphasize the word "partially" because too many people latched onto this aspect of the plot, to falsely accuse The Karate Kid, Part III of being a carbon copy of the first film. Yes, it's true that both movies involve a group of bullies using karate as a constant physical threat to Daniel and his friends. But aside from the climax, which again takes place at a tournament where Daniel must face unethical opponents, that's really where the similarities in plot end.

Anyway, back to the story: The thugs start to beat on Daniel on a fairly regular basis, and also do everything they can to hinder Daniel and Miyagi's attempts to open a bonsai tree store. Ostensibly, the thugs' motivation is that they want to bully Daniel into entering the next karate tournament, so that one of them, "Bad Boy" Mike Barnes, can win the title from Daniel, who was last year's champion. Daniel has no way of knowing that it's all part of an elaborate scheme orchestrated by Terry Silver, who enters the picture pretending to be a fan and new friend of Daniel's. When Mr. Miyagi's refuses to train Daniel for the tournament (more on this in a moment), Silver offers his own services as trainer, free of charge. Of course, Silver's "let me help" attitude is all an act, and his training program for Daniel is secretly designed to bruise Daniel's body and spirit until he is incapable of properly defending himself at the tournament.

Much that has been written about this movie has focused on the alleged rift that develops between Daniel and Miyagi when Mr. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel for the tournament. That's a very, very misleading assessment of the storyline, for two reasons. For one thing, the story is more focused on Terry Silver's schemes than on any conflict between Daniel and Miyagi. More to the point, any claim that such a conflict even exists is simply inaccurate; yes, Daniel and Miyagi repeatedly argue over Mr. Miyagi's refusal to endorse Daniel's entry into the tournament, but their friendship never suffers from the disagreement. They still go out of their way to care for each other, further developing their unique relationship which is one half friendship and one half paternal in nature. Anyone who has avoided this film due to rumors that it depicts a rift in the friendship that was so central to the first two films needn't worry.

I do have a couple of nitpicks, and one involves Mr. Miyagi's refusal to train Daniel for the tournament. Yeah, I know I said it was relatively unimportant to the storyline, and that's true, but I still have a problem buying it as a subplot. At first, Mr. Miyagi's decision is understandable, and consistent with character, as Daniel initially wants to enter the tournament just to defend his title, and Mr. Miyagi says, "karate for honor, karate for self defense, karate not for winning championship." But after the bad guys make it clear that they will continue to harass Daniel and Miyagi until Daniel enters the tournament, Mr. Miyagi's mantra stops making sense. Is he really so blind that he cannot see the necessity for Daniel to fight? No, he eventually admits that Daniel has no choice, but then, he ridiculously still refuses to help Daniel train, and it becomes clear that writer Robert Mark Kamen just needed an excuse to get Mr. Miyagi out of the way, so he could set up the subplot about Terry Silver offering to become Daniel's trainer. The writing is just a little too transparent here.

My other nitpick involves a scene in which Kreese and Silver are plotting against Daniel. "Make his knuckles bleed," Kreese instructs, bitterly remembering the humiliation and pain he suffered when he injured his own knuckles while attacking Mr. Miyagi in the beginning of The Karate Kid, Part 2. In the context of the story, it's a powerful line, well delivered by Martin Kove, and emphasizing the pettiness behind the villain's motivations. Good way to end a scene! But then, bafflingly, the writers let the scene continue: "I like that, Johnny!" Terry Silver says, laughing hysterically. "I'm gonna use that!" Now, what, in God's name, were they thinking when they added that last part? It's bad enough that they used a completely pointless bit of dialogue to ruin the carefully constructed tone built during Kove's powerful moment. But Silver's laughter isn't even appropriate for the scene. It's not manic laughter, or realistic laughter, or even sadistic laughter, any of which might have worked. Instead, he laughs like a dork. "Good one, Johnny!" Yeah, it was a good line, until you ruined it. Yes, this is a small complaint, but it bothered me that the scene was ruined so pointlessly.

All in all, however, The Karate Kid, Part III is a better movie than you've probably heard. The dialogue is naturalistic as can be in this type of genre, the characters are believable and effective (hissable villains, likable good guys), the fight scenes are realistic, and the performances range from good to excellent. If you liked the first movie, you'll like this one too.