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Title: The Next Karate Kid (1994)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Pat Morita | ... | Miyagi (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita) | |
| Hilary Swank | ... | Julie Pierce | |
| Michael Ironside | ... | Dugan | |
| Constance Towers | ... | Louisa | |
| Chris Conrad | ... | Eric | |
 |
Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad | ... | Abbot Monk (as Arsenio Trinidad) |
| Michael Cavalieri | ... | Ned | |
| Walton Goggins | ... | Charlie (as Walt Goggins) | |
| Jim Ishida | ... | Tall Monk | |
| Rodney Kageyama | ... | Monk | |
| Seth Sakai | ... | Buddhist Monk | |
|
|
Eugene Boles | ... | Mr. Wilkes |
|
|
Keena Keel | ... | School Clerk |
| Tom O'Brien | ... | Gabe | |
| Thomas Downey | ... | Morgan (as Tom Downey) | |
During a commemoration for Japanese soldiers fighting in the US Army during World War II, Mr. Miyagi meets the widow of his commanding officer. He gets to know her granddaughter Julie, an angry teenager who is still feeling the pain of losing both her parents in an accident and is having problems with her grandmother and her fellow pupils. Mr. Miyagi decides to teach her karate to get her through her pain and issues and back on the right path. Written by Matthias Scheler <tron@lyssa.owl.de>
I thought this movie was going to be a disgrace to the series. After all, part 3 didn't measure up to part 2, and this one doesn't have Daniel Sawn. Miyagi's humour wasn't quite as witty in this one as in part 3, but it was funny enough to make the movie worth watching.
The girl's part was pretty good. She's a lost teenager who needs direction. I find the plot a little hard to believe. That the aunt would simply agree to leave her home and her niece under the care of Mr. Miyagi, a man she just met. Of course, he was a friend of her brother.
I did appreciate the monastery. One might think from some of my other reviews that I wouldn't have liked the dancing monks, but I thought it was amusing. It showed that they know how to have some fun. Now if these were monks in ancient China dancing to pop-music, that would have been another matter.
Probably the most intelligent part of the movie was when the girl thought it was stupid that the monks wouldn't kill a bug. Miyagi told her that street gangs killing each other is stupid, nations trying to destroy each other is stupid, but having respect for all life is not stupid. Miyagi has expressed such wisdom in the other films as well.
I give this movie a 4 out of 10. Sure, there were some things I liked about it. It wasn't as funny as part three, and no character could ever live up to Sato in part 2. This movie has no re-watch value. I can't imagine watching it again, but it is worth seeing once.