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The Karate Kid Part III

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The Karate Kid, Part III
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn G. Avildsen
Written byRobert Mark Kamen
Produced byJerry Weintraub
StarringRalph Macchio
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
CinematographySteve Yaconelli
Edited byJohn G. Avildsen
John Carter
Music byBill Conti
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
June 30, 1989 (1989-06-30) (United States)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12.5 million (estimated)
Box office$38.9 million[1]

The Karate Kid, Part III is a 1989 American martial arts film, and the second sequel to the hit motion picture The Karate Kid (1984). The film stars Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Robyn Lively and Thomas Ian Griffith. As was the case with the first two films in the series, it was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, with stunts choreographed by Pat E. Johnson and the music composed by Bill Conti.

Plot

In the aftermath of his abusive behavior at the All Valley Karate Tournament, Sensei John Kreese loses all of his students. Ostracized and broke, he visits his Vietnam War comrade Terry Silver, a billionaire who owns a toxic waste disposal business and the founder of the Cobra Kai dojo. Silver and Kreese plan to gain revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, and re-establish Cobra Kai. Silver sends Kreese to Tahiti to rest up and get his life back in order.

Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Daniel and Miyagi discover that the South Seas apartments have been demolished, which puts Miyagi unemployed. Going against Miyagi's wishes, Daniel uses his college funds to realize Miyagi's dream of opening a bonsai shop. Miyagi thanks Daniel and makes him a partner at the bonsai business. When Daniel visits a pottery store across the street, he meets and befriends Jessica Andrews. Daniel has a brief crush on her, until she reveals that she has a boyfriend back home at Columbus, Ohio. They remain friends.

Meanwhile, Silver recruits Mike Barnes, a skilled and vicious karate fighter with the nickname "Karate's Bad Boy", to defeat Daniel at the next All Valley Karate Tournament. Silver sneaks into Miyagi's house to gather information and overhears Daniel telling Miyagi that he will not be defending his title at the tournament this year, much to Miyagi's delight. In response, Barnes and Silver's henchmen attempt to coerce Daniel to enter the tournament. Daniel declines and Barnes departs in a heated rage. When Daniel and Miyagi are practicing kata the next morning, Silver meets them and tells them that Kreese suffered a heart attack after losing all of his students and asks them both for forgiveness for Kreese's behavior. That night, Daniel and Jessica find their dinner date interrupted by Barnes and his friends. When Daniel again refuses to enter the tournament, a skirmish ensues until Miyagi arrives and defeats all three men. After driving Jessica home, Daniel and Miyagi return to the shop and find their stock of bonsai trees stolen, with a tournament application hanging in their place.

Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up a valuable bonsai tree that Miyagi brought from Okinawa and planted halfway down a cliff with the hope of selling it and using the money to replace the stolen trees. When they are halfway down the cliff, Jessica accidentally drops the tree at the bottom, forcing her and Daniel to retrieve it. While they retrieve it, Barnes and his friends appear and retract their climbing ropes, leaving Daniel no choice but to sign up for the tournament. After Daniel signs up for the tournament, Barnes and his friends pull Daniel and Jessica from the bottom of the cliff. But Barnes takes the valuable tree from Daniel and breaks it. Daniel arrives at the shop with Miyagi's damaged bonsai, which Miyagi attempts to mend. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Miyagi has sold his truck in order to buy a new stock of trees. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel for the tournament.

Silver offers to "train" Daniel for the tournament at the Cobra Kai dojo. In reality, Silver plans to weaken Daniel in order to set him up for a major fail at the tournament. So Silver discourages Daniel from using his kata and forces him to hit a wooden dummy, injuring Daniel. Daniel eventually destroys the dummy, which makes Silver satisfied and telling Daniel that he is ready for the tournament. Throughout his training, Daniel's increasing frustration ultimately alienates himself from his closest friends. While Daniel and Jessica are at a nightclub, Silver bribes a man into provoking a fight with Daniel. Daniel punches the man, breaking his nose and causing Jessica to storm out in disgust. Shocked by his aggressive behavior, Daniel apologizes and makes amends with Miyagi and Jessica.

Daniel visits Silver at the Cobra Kai dojo to inform him that he will no longer train with him as he will not compete at the tournament. Silver reveals his true agenda to Daniel, and Barnes and Kreese enter the room. After Barnes viciously assaults Daniel, Miyagi arrives and defeats the three men. Daniel decides to compete at the tournament and Miyagi agrees to train him. They train and re-plant the now healed bonsai.

At the tournament, Barnes reaches the final round to face Daniel. Silver announces that he will open Cobra Kai dojos all over Los Angeles. Silver and Kreese instruct Barnes to inflict pain on Daniel and then beat him in the sudden death round. During the match, Barnes scores points against Daniel; however he also deliberately engages in illegal contacts against Daniel, costing him the points he has gained and keeping the score tied. When the initial round concludes, a severely beaten Daniel determines that he cannot continue, but Miyagi encourages him to carry on. In the sudden death round, Daniel does the kata. When a confused Barnes lunges toward Daniel, Daniel flips him to the ground followed by a palm strike, winning the tournament. Disgusted and humiliated, Silver walks away from Kreese and Barnes, implying that the Cobra Kai will be shut down for good. An overexcited Daniel hugs Miyagi in celebration.

Cast

Reception

The film maintains an approval rating of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews. The films consensus reads "Inspiration is in short supply in this third Karate Kid film, which recycles the basic narrative from its predecessors but adds scenery-chewing performances and a surprising amount of violence".[2] It did significantly less business than the first two films, grossing $39 million at the box-office.[3] It was dismissed by critics, including Roger Ebert.[4][5][6][7] Criticism often mentioned the rehashing of elements in the former two movies, including a tournament against Cobra Kai and a romance side-story.[8]

At the 1989 Golden Raspberry Awards, this entry received five nominations but did not win any of them. They are for Worst Picture (Jerry Weintraub; lost to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Screenplay (Robert Mark Kamen; lost to Harlem Nights by Eddie Murphy), Worst Director (John G. Avildsen; lost to William Shatner for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Actor (Ralph Macchio; lost to William Shatner in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), and Worst Supporting Actor (Pat Morita; lost to Christopher Atkins in Listen to Me).

Kamen was so disgusted with the way Daniel LaRusso (Macchio's character) was altered from his portrayal in the script to his portrayal in The Karate Kid, Part III that he refused to involve himself in The Next Karate Kid, the only film in the original franchise in which Macchio did not appear.[9]

References

  1. ^ The Karate Kid, Part III at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ "The Karate Kid, Part III (1986)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) - Box office / business
  4. ^ James, Caryn (1989-06-30). "The Karate Kid Part III (1989)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  5. ^ Weinberg, Scott. The Karate Kid Movie Collection JoBlo.com; Accessed July 7, 2009
  6. ^ Haflidason, Almar. The Karate Kid Part III review at BBC
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger. The Karate Kid Part III at Chicago Sun-Times; June 30, 1989
  8. ^ Thomas, Kevin (1989-06-30). "Movie Review : An Anemic Outing for 'Karate Kid Part III'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  9. ^ Topel, Fred (October 8, 2012). "Not a Sequel: Robert Mark Kamen on Taken 2, Bloodsport and Karate Kid - The Karate Kid, Bloodsport and More". CraveOnline. AtomicMedia. Retrieved December 5, 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: save command (help)
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