The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Strong and Moving!

best movie i've ever seen.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I honestly don't get why this movie is so hated. Well, I kind of get it - at its core, it's a B movie with lots of implausibilities, but so was Part II and (to a lesser extent) the original. I think this one is perfectly on par with the first sequel, and it even has a more satisfying arc.There are lots of things to be enjoyed here, like for instance the bad guys - main villain Terry Silver is a fresh departure from the previous baddies, even if too archetypical (he's an evil businessman who dumps toxic wastes in places like Borneo, no less). His plan kind of makes sense and is fun to watch, though at the end it gets too silly and obvious. Kreese, on the other hand, is not so great - he turns too cartoony-evil and his hair is terrible, but he's a welcome return anyway. Mike Barnes, for his part, is the most vicious villain in the whole series - while Johnny, Sato and Chozen kinda had their motivations, Mike is all hate and greed - a good if cheesy antagonist, all in all.Points up also for Jessica, played by Robin Lively, who is way cuter than Elizabeth Shue. Her early departure from the movie leaves a feel of uncompleteness, though. It was also really nice to see Randee Heller back a Mrs. Larusso, even if it was for a single scene - It gives a nice sense of cohesion to the trilogy, and she looks better than in the first film five years back.The greatest thing about the movie is the evolution of Daniel and Miyagi's relationship. There's a really well stablished bond among them now, and we get to see them living together, as well as Miyagi doing some actual parenting, an aspect of the movie which seems to be totally overlooked. Daniel giving up college to fulfill his friend's dream is a nice touch, too (although it's a pity we never get to see the bonsai store completed). Macchio has complained that Daniel unlearns some of the lessons he learned on the previous movies, but adolescence is precisely about that. And besides, he's REALLY pushed into the fight (although he could easily have skipped the tournament, even after signing).Once again, Bill Conti's music really shines - even though by this point all is basically a rehash from the first two remarkable soundtracks, we get a really nice, classical-sounding theme for Terry Silver, and some of the rehashes are are really good, too.The weakest point of the movie is the large number of implausibilities - as in Part II, there is no police in sight, and the baddies can break, enter, break again and steal with no fear for the consequences, even with lots of witnesses and traces that unmistakably lead to them (leaving the tournament form in the scene of the robbery? Really?). Daniel is right in that Miyagi is way too passive about all of this, and it's really no such wonder that he looks for another instructor. Pity he didn't look for a diestist, too - Macchio is chubby in this one, and the movie really suffers from it. If he was a not-so-believable romantic lead in the first two movies, he definitely doesn't look the part in this one.The karate scenes are kinda poor, too - specially Miyagi's - If you're gonna pit him single-handedly against three mean, bigger and younger karate experts, at least use a stuntman, as in the first movie. His fights are poorly shot, trying to fool the viewer with abundant cuts, and not convincing at all. I liked the tournament, though - It has a positively nightmarish quality, with no girlfriend and no mom - only Miyagi and Daniel getting the sh*** beaten out of him. Unfortunately, the climax is simply laughable - after the great crane kick and the lame drum technique, writer Robert Kamen clearly couldn't come up with another gimmick, and gave us a contrived ending - a seasoned fighter like Barnes would never have been scared of something as routine and harmless as kata; he'd rather have laughed it off hysterically and gotten the victory point with a vicious blow. Nevertheless, it's good to see Daniel Beat evil, and the final hug, dissing the formal martial arts salute, is a nice touch, too.So yeah, all in all a nice, watchable conclussion to the series. Even if the people involved in the movie seem not to have it in high regards, I'm positive they'd been damn sorry not to have made it. I'm also sure that with a better-looking Macchio and a better-resolved final fight, this would be just as loved as Part II. I'd rather watch this one any day.

I won't beat around the bush here: At face value, this is a pretty poor film, not even in the same league as the first two installments. However, the touching relationship between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Maccio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) makes it a worthwhile addition to round out the trilogy.For a basic plot summary, Karate Kid III sees the famous pair have a falling-out over Daniel's karate future. Without Miyagi's guidance, Daniel falls into a trap, requiring him to defend his karate championship (despite his wishes) one more time.There are two major problems with this movie:1. First, the plot is paper-thin and utterly ridiculous. You know Daniel will be competing at the film's climax the second you push play on your remote, so all the "will he, won't he drama" is irrelevant and boring. It doesn't help that the villain of the story is nothing more than a cackling goon with the stereotypical leather jacket and slicked-backed greaseball ponytail. He's more ridiculous than truly hateable.2. Second, is the meaningless entry of yet another love interest for Daniel. This relationship goes absolutely nowhere and ultimately just wastes time that could have been spent more productively elsewhere.Luckily, KK3 is somewhat redeemed by one bright spot: Miyagi's care for Daniel. Perhaps one of the best mentor-mentee relationships in film history reaches even greater depths here when Daniel's "karate faith" is tested to the maximum. Despite all the contrived drama, you'll still be emotional at film's end due to the touching emotional bond between the duo.So, while this is easily the worst of the original Karate Kid trilogy, it is worth watching for the two title characters alone.

In the "Karate Kid III," La Russo has returned home from Japan and his demeanor and Karate skills, very strangely, are so inept that one would never believe that he has ever so much as 'practiced' any kind of Karate move -much less been good enough at one point to have even entered a tournament -and even much less 'won' it. His physique is very 'non-linear, his athleticism and stamina completely non-existent -- his walk is reminiscent of a 'miniature Big Bird.' Everything about him is absolutely 'pathetic' to the point of being a 'parody' of his former self...so much that it is quite 'hilarious' to watch...Throughout the movie he very effiminately talks and screams like Judy Garland -in the Wizard of Oz- and his naive face looks very similar to that of "Princess Leia." The "Karate bitch" is preyed upon by one of Kreese's friends -and an upcoming 'bully karateka' in numerous ways: La Russo is 'coerced' against his will into entering the annual tournament...and the gullible retard LaRusso is easily tricked by Kreese's pal that he wants to befriend and train LaRusso.The movie -a parody of the previous two Karate Kid movies -has many absolutely hilarious moments: The 'bully karateka' slapping LaRusso around inside of the bonzai gift shop and then taking off in his car whilst doing a few 'doughnuts' before narrowly missing a train, LaRusso asking Miyagi to show him 'sweeps' and Miyagi instead showing Danielson how to use a 'broom,' Silver training Danielson to become an aggressive 'pitbull' of a fighter by having Danielson breaking wooden stilts, Danielson breaking the nose of a boy 'hitting' on his girlfriend at a dance, and especially the entire final tournament: the 'bully karateka' yelling profanities at Danielson telling him his karate isn't worth (*bleep*) and then being 'psyched out' by Danielson in the finale and losing the tournament.The 1980s is a decade rife with 'awesomely-bad' movies (perhaps much more than any other decade) and The Karate Kid III -though in most repects a 'bad' movie- is nonetheless somehow VERY 're'-watcheable...and one of the most 'awesomely-bad' movies I've ever seen. It is also easily one of the most 'unintentionally'-funny (or WAS it 'intentionally-funny'?) movies I've ever seen. One of my favorite movies of all time. 5 stars.

After Daniel and Miyagi defeated the Cobra Kai, Kreese decides to close the dojo, then goes to to his friend, Terry, who is also the dojo's owner, to turn in the keys, and announces that he is leaving town. Terry sends him on a vacation, and he'll get his revenge on Daniel and Miyagi. Part of his plan is to recruit Mike Barnes, to fight Daniel in the tournament. When Daniel's invited to the Karate tournament that he won last year, Miyagi believes that it's not a priority. So Terry offers to train Daniel, but he is puts Daniel through a gruelling training regimen as part of his plan. Eventually all of the training that Terry puts Daniel through and Barnes' hounding, causes a rift between Daniel and Miyagi....Yes, the film is bad. We have some silly subplot involving a Bonsai tree, and Martin Kove does the best 'Boo!' I have seen in any movie, but because the acting is really dire, and when Daniel san gets involved in any scrapes, Miyagi sings, you have the most entertaining entry into the franchise.and this is thanks to one Thomas Ian Griffith. Not only is the bad guy called terry, but he has this knack of doing a maniacal smile every time he walks away from a situation.Macchio looks a little rough in this, and his problems at the beginning mirror that of the second chapter, and it's hilarious when he loses it at the nightclub, but he is second fiddle in this film, once again thanks to Griffith.to be fair, the end battle is really good, and it's great when the inevitable happens, but as a stand alone movie, it's ripe for discussion and mockery.as a franchise, the Karate Kid movies are the pits. The first movie is way too long, the second is boring, but the third is beyond bad, beyond bonkers, and this is what makes it so good in a bad way.it's worth watching such a failing franchise just to laugh at the absurdity of it all.It's the best movie ever made that wants you, begs you to watch the Next Karate Kid.