Karate Kid 3: O Desafio Final

Rumor has it Tom Cruise was offered the chance to reprise his signature '80s role in two (!) Top Gun sequels, but refused because he didn't want to do the same thing over and over. He has a point: some films, like Star Wars or Indiana Jones (even Rocky or Rambo, to a reasonable extent), can and in fact deserve to have follow-ups, because the people who made them genuinely think there is more to tell about those characters (Rocky V is too much, though); others, like Top Gun or The Karate Kid, are crippled from the beginning by the fact that they are indelibly connected to the decade that spawned them, and also suffer from having fairly basic scripts and characters that wouldn't really benefit from any continuation of the story. Sadly, Ralph Macchio never realized this, and so here we are: The Karate Kid, Part III.

Whereas the first film dealt with a recycled subject (young boy gets revenge on those who humiliated him) from a new angle, Part III resurrects the revenge theme with all its clichés. The "driving force" (assuming there is one) of the screenplay (if you can call it that) is John Kreese (Martin Kove), the sadistic karate teacher whose students got their asses kicked by Daniel Larusso (Macchio). Broke and lonely, Kreese decides to ask an old army buddy, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), to help carry out a diabolical plan that will make Daniel and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) suffer like never before. Getting them to fight back, however, will prove harder than usual, as Miyagi is more interested in opening a bonsai shop and Daniel refuses to act violently since he is - what a surprise, this - in love.

Love, vengeance, honor, blood and gratuitous butt-kicking are all thrown in the mix, though hardly any of them work to full effect. As a matter of fact, the more explicit violence suffocates the franchise's trademark comedy bits, leaving a few underwhelming Daniel/Miyagi moments with the duty of lightening the tone. Even worse, though, is the over-the-top behavior of the villains: Griffith does nothing but stare manically, shout and laugh, while Kove, who was funny in the first installment of the series, transforms Kreese into a grotesque parody of his earlier work. Only when the dead-certain final battle arrives, there is a sense of the trilogy regaining whatever it lost from Part II onwards. But the question remains: how many people will still be paying attention at that point?

I believe "The Karate Kid Part 3" is a worthy, entertaining and well-acted final installment in the popular trilogy. An improvement over Part 2, this final chapter couldn't have been done any better. Having watched Daniel and Mr Miyagi's relationship develop in the first two film's, Part 3's story threatens to break up their friendship, thus creating a perfect blend of tension and drama. Having Daniel train under the sadistic Cobra Kai teacher adds to the film's intensity. His relationship with Mr Miyagi further threatened by lies and heated arguments, Daniel(Ralph Macchio) gives a solid and engaging performance, proving that he is a competent actor. I found the film refreshing in many ways, especially in regard to Daniel's relationship with his female friend, which doesn't develop into a typical love-interest subplot like the previous two film's. This film may be a little on the dark side but in all honesty it's a decent finale to a very entertaining movie trilogy.

Having enjoyed the first two films, I wanted to see this film too. While not particularly brilliant, I do think it is better than people make it out to be. The script is weak, the plot predictable and the villains unbelievable with somewhat unrealistic motives. However, it did move fairly briskly, had some neat direction, it looked good, the karate sequences were efficient and well choreographed, the ending was decent and there is some nice messaging. I have liked the character of Miyagi as well, he strikes me as wise and caring, the sort of character I like. The acting also was not too bad, Ralph Macchio once again is appealing while Pat Morita, who is always watchable, gives another solid performance. Overall, it was decent, while nothing exceptional. 6/10 Bethany Cox

While this film went back to the more casual appeal of the first film, it proved to be a bit of a rehashing of the first. The only difference, we see Daniel take on the `dark side' (a.k.a. not Mr. Myagi's way) of fighting. Sure, this had to be a little different, but Daniel trying to be a tough guy seemed a little off in a way. Sure, this film was entertaining, but it proved the series was running on empty. However, Mr. Myagi proved he could still kick plenty of butt, making the ending all worth it.

I'm guessing like a lot of Cobra Kai fans, I re-watched this movie for the first time in years recently. In Cobra Kai 4 Terry Silver returned and talked about how over the top the them of this movie was. Ralph Macchio has pretty much said the same in real life.

Daniel goes from a confident fighter to an insecure and winy one. The plot is ridiculous as well: a billionaire who puts his life on hold to terrorize a teenager.

Nontheless Thomas Griffith was very good as Terry Silver the evil villain. It does still have some touching moments with Mr. Miyagi and Daniel. It's the last time the two are on screen together.

Ultimately its a ridiculous movie but not without its charms. Cobra Kai 4 did well to incorporate it unto today.