Actually, I'm tempted to simply run my "Karate Kid II" review again — except that I liked that film better than this one.
"The Karate Kid, Part III" is more than simply a rehash of the first two films — it's a dumber, much weaker rehash. And that's too bad.
Why is it that sequels, in particular this one and "Ghostbusters II," have to be virtual remakes rather than taking the characters in new and more interesting directions?
Why not have Daniel grow up this time — Ralph Macchio really is 27, after all? Why not have him pursuing a career and nurturing his relationship with Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) as they both get older? Why not do something besides a dumb revenge movie that is so violent it seems to be the antithesis of the first two movies' primary theme — that karate is a meditative art rather than a violent sport?
Why not do something a little different?
Even fans of the first two movies are likely to be disappointed in "Part III," as Daniel and Miyagi return from Okinawa — the setting of the second film — to find their apartment building is being torn down.
So Daniel is without a home and Miyagi is without a job.
The story has Daniel using his college money to start a business with reluctant Miyagi, a bonsai shop in a rough part of Los Angeles. There he meets a young woman (Robyn Lively, of "Teen Witch") who runs the pottery shop across the street — but she has a boyfriend elsewhere and, curiously, no romance develops.
That's not the real plot here, however. The film's emphasis is on Daniel's being goaded into defending his championship title as the villainous Kreese (Martin Kove) of the first film vows revenge.
To get it he goes to his best friend, a fellow Vietnam veteran and a vicious karate expert named Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), who also happens to be a multimillionaire businessman who deals in industrial waste. Silver gleefully pretends to be a humble karate teacher, wins Daniel's confidence and then tries to beat him into the ground. He is aided by the "Bad Boy" of karate, and Daniel's tournament challenger Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan).
This causes a rift between Daniel and Miyagi since Miyagi doesn't want Daniel to defend his title — karate is not for competition, he explains. So they go their separate ways. But if you don't think they'll get back together for another tournament showdown, you haven't watched enough Hollywood formula flicks.
The formula works at times, but it's a bit wearing here, and there are plot holes galore — why won't the police interfere in death threats, robbery and destruction of property, and how does Silver manage to leave his business unattended so he can take on an assumed identity?
If that's not enough, Griffith, as Silver, overacts outrageously, bringing the entire film into a cartoonish state, and Macchio seems overly hyper and over-the-top too often himself. Only Pat Morita comes out unscathed, still the epitome of quiet dignity as Miyagi and still the best thing about this series.
"The Karate Kid, Part III" is rated PG for violence and profanity, and there seems to be much more profanity this time around for some reason.