The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

Ostracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writers:

Robert Mark Kamen (characters), Robert Mark Kamen

Stars:

Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Robyn Lively

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Macchio	...	Daniel
Pat Morita	...	Mr. Miyagi (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita)
Robyn Lively	...	Jessica
Thomas Ian Griffith	...	Terry
Martin Kove	...	Kreese
Sean Kanan	...	Mike Barnes
Jonathan Avildsen	...	Snake
William Christopher Ford	...	Dennis (as Christopher Paul Ford)
Randee Heller	...	Lucille
Pat E. Johnson	...	Referee
Rick Hurst	...	Announcer
Frances Bay	...	Mrs. Milo
Joseph V. Perry	...	Uncle Louie
Jan Tríska	...	Milos
Diana Webster	...	Margaret

Storyline

John Kreese, his life in tatters after his karate school was defeated by Daniel and Miyagi, visits Terry Silver, a Vietnam War comrade. Terry is a ruthless businessman and martial arts expert, and he vows to help Kreese gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, and reestablish Cobra Kai. Upon returning from Okinawa, Daniel and Miyagi discover that their apartment building has been demolished, which brings Miyagi out of work. Going against Miyagi's wishes, Daniel uses his college funds to realize Miyagi's dream of opening a bonsai tree shop, and becomes a partner in the bonsai business.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage boy | vietnam war veteran | underdog | pain | blood | 

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Taglines:

First it was teacher to student. Then it was father to son. Now, it's man to man.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to John G. Avildsen in a 2000 interview, he himself was no fan of this movie. He considered it a "horrible imitation of Part One", which "...will baffle those who haven't seen the first two films, and insult those who have". He agreed with star Ralph Macchio that making the picture was a miserable experience, largely because "(The screenplay) was hastily written and sloppily rewritten, which is a risky procedure at best, and for us, it was deadly".

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Goofs

It's the dead of night when Daniel goes into the Cobra Kai dojo to talk to Terry, but daylight can be seen coming in through the shutters of the windows.

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Quotes

Mr. Kesuke Miyagi: If karate used defend honor, defend life, karate mean something. If karate used defend plastic metal trophy, karate no mean nothing.

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Connections

Referenced in Modern Family: Stand by Your Man (2019)

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Soundtracks

The First Impression
Written by Jude Cole
Performed by Jude Cole

User Reviews

Heart-warming tale of a 30 year-old boy trapped in the early 80's

Getting a little fat there, Daniel? (I'm not even going to try to seriously evaluate this film.) It's comforting to know that after all his intensive training throughout the film, he doesn't gain any muscle mass or lose any chubbyness. He does learn how to act like a baby though, and thank God for that.

It's also nice to know that even though he has lived and worked in America for x-number of years, Mr. Miyagi's broken english has progressively become worse. This movie marks the transition of Miyagi from philosopher to caracterture/comedian. We get to witness him act out of character and say things like "You want to learn the sweep? I teach you the sweep," and sweep a broomstick on the floor. Very, very mature move there by Miyagi. What lesson was he teaching Daniel-son then? The even-I-can-act-like-a-pre-teen lesson?

But, as one reviewer has already mentioned, this movie is so egregious that it's fun to watch. Every character is a stereo-type(Miyagi and Daniel-son are stereo-types of themselves from previous films), and that means that the film is automatically going to be amusing.

Honestly, though, I would like to see another Karate Kid movie with Daniel and Miyagi; it would have to contain a spoof premise. People would pay to see that, still.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Karate Kid Part III

Filming Locations:

130 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,364,544, 2 July 1989

Gross USA:

$38,956,288

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,956,288

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Weintraub International Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1