Karate Kid 3

[ShoreiSmurf]

I have to say, I never seen the third one. I was bored with the second one. I thought it was the same story all over. However, I really liked the first one. Not for any other reason, than I thought it was well done without over doing the fight senerieos. As far as the acting and script goes: Well, you get what you pay for. Except for miyagi, Pat rocked that roll

[granmasterchen]

The third has a great manipulating plan executed by the "bad guys" of the story, I loved their plan.

[glockmeister]

you just described almost every action movie ever made...

In the first one, he kicked butt the whole tournament. He didn't start losing until the match with johnny, and the main thing there was that bobby kicked his knee.

Um, no not very many action movies are like that, havent seen many steven segal or chuck norris movies like that at all.

Yeah, but you didnt see very much of that part, also thats what made the movie so unrealistic. he does a little bit of wax on, wax off and suddenly he's wiping the floor with all these experienced MA practitioners, yet in #2, he's back to being put out of commission with one kick.

[jaymac]

Mr. Miyagi was awesome. I know he has passed now, but did you know he had a heart attack during the making of one of those films. I am not sure which one though.

The second one was ok, ibut it had great music.

Which one was the one with Hillary Swank? That one was awful.

[glockmeister]

The one with Hillary Swank was called "The Next Karate Kid" and yes it was terrible. very unrealistic and downright corny.

[Sohan]

Actually, Karate Kid 1 did not portray Macchio's character Daniel as holding a black belt rank. Daniel had no rank given when he entered the tournament, and only brown belts and above were permitted in the Open division that he was competing in. Mr. Miyagi then registered Daniel as a black belt so he could compete and "borrowed" a belt from another competitor for the matches. The Miyagi character thought nothing of belt rank, saying earlier in the movie that he had a belt to "hold up his pants".

BTW my son loves this movie, and like it did for him it has certainly inspired many to take up karate and other MA, just as "Top Gun" inspired thousands to pursue dreams of a Naval career. I believe that the Karate Kid franchise, for better or worse, was likely as much a catalyst for the 80's growth of karate in the US as Bruce Lee was for gung fu in the 70's.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[Ottman]

BTW my son loves this movie, and like it did for him it has certainly inspired many to take up karate and other MA, just as "Top Gun" inspired thousands to pursue dreams of a Naval career. I believe that the Karate Kid franchise, for better or worse, was likely as much a catalyst for the 80's growth of karate in the US as Bruce Lee was for gung fu in the 70's.

Respectfully,

Sohan

Couldn't agree more. I was born in '82 and you better believe I knew about Karate Kid way before I knew about Bruce Lee. These movies (as well as Steven Segal, and of course: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are a major reason I got into martial arts. Whether you like the KKID movies or not, they are a timeless example of how media can inspire someone to pursue knowledge they otherwise would have no interest in.

Now that I'm older and I've been training for over 10 years, I surely understand the flaws these movies have, both in movie production, and technical martial arts knowledge, but remember these are supposed to appeal to a broad audience, not just master martial artists and award winning movie directors. I still watch and enjoy these movies frequently. They're part of my culture.

P.S. If you haven't seen Pat Morita (Miyagi) do stand up comedy, he's pretty funny. Check him out if you can find any of his stuff on video.

[isshinryuaaron]

For a short period of time after the Karate Kid movies, the janitors union at my high school demanded black belts. "What!? We mopped the floors for years! Danielson mopped for like a week and got a black belt! You better give us 10th Dan or we strike!" J/K

I think the first and second movies were entertaining, but I didn't really take away a lot of "life lessons" from them. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, or maybe there was nothing in there that was that "new" to me. Perhaps I'll watch them again.

I didn't even know there was a 3rd karate kid. Ralph Macchio must have been 35 by then! Shouldn't the title have changed to "Karate Dude" or something? Karate "Kid" 3? C'mon!

And yes, whoever said it was right about "The Next Karate Kid." It sucked. Although it did star Hilary Swank. I'd love to see "The Next Karate Kid II" (dumb title, I know) now that she got all buffed out (and coordinated) after Million Dollar Baby!! That'd be awesome! If any studio execs are listening: Make it happen!

[Holland]

http://espn.go.com/page2/movies/s/simmons/020830.html

This article is classic.

[Sohan]

http://espn.go.com/page2/movies/s/simmons/020830.html

This article is classic.

Love the article. Unfortunately for film buffs everywhere, we won't see "Return of the Karate Kid" with Mr. Miyagi now that Pat Morita has passed.

Respectfully,

Sohan