The Karate Kid Part III

The Karate Kid Part III is a 1989 American martial arts drama film and the second sequel to The Karate Kid (1984). The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Robyn Lively, and Thomas Ian Griffith in his film debut. As was the case with the first two films in the series, it was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, with stunts choreographed by Pat E. Johnsonand the music composed by Bill Conti. In the film, with the help of his best friend, Terry Silver, the returning John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi which involves hiring a ruthless martial artist and harming their relationship.

Plot
Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) is now broke and destitute after losing all of his students. He visits his Vietnam War comrade, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), a wealthy businessman who founded the Cobra Kai and now owns a toxic-waste disposal business. Silver vows to personally help him get revenge on Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) and re-establish the Cobra Kai, sending Kreese on vacation to Tahiti to rest and recuperate.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Daniel and Miyagi discover that the South Seas apartment complex is being converted into condominiums, leaving Miyagi unemployed and Daniel homeless. They also learn that Daniel's mother, Lucille (Randee Heller), is in New Jersey taking care of her ill uncle. Miyagi invites Daniel to stay at his house, and Daniel uses his college funds to realize Miyagi's dream of opening a bonsai shop. As thanks, Miyagi makes him a partner at the business. When Daniel visits a pottery store across the street, he meets Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively); though Daniel has a brief crush on her, she tells him that she has a boyfriend back home in Columbus, Ohio, but they remain friends.

Silver hires "Dynamite" Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), a vicious karate prospect nicknamed "Karate's Badboy", to challenge Daniel at the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament. Silver sneaks into Miyagi's house to gather information and overhears Daniel telling Miyagi that he will not defend his title at the tournament. Barnes and some cohorts attempt to coerce Daniel to enter the tournament, but Daniel refuses, and Barnes departs in a rage. The next morning, as Daniel and Miyagi are practicing kata, Silver interrupts and lies about John Kreese suffering a fatal heart attack after losing his students, and begs forgiveness for Kreese's behavior. Barnes and his friends return to make Daniel sign up for the tournament; when Daniel again refuses, a skirmish ensues until Miyagi arrives and fends off the three men. After driving Jessica home, Daniel and Miyagi return to find their stock of bonsai trees missing and a tournament application hanging in place.

To replace the missing trees, Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up and sell a valuable bonsai tree that Miyagi brought from Okinawa, and planted halfway down a cliff. As they retrieve it, Barnes and his henchmen appear and retract their climbing ropes, leaving Daniel no choice but to sign up for the tournament. After pulling them back up, Barnes breaks the tree. Daniel returns to the shop with Miyagi's damaged bonsai, which Miyagi attempts to mend. Miyagi tells Daniel that he sold his truck to buy a new stock of trees, and cannot train him for the tournament.

Silver offers to "train" Daniel for the tournament at the Cobra Kai dojo with a series of brutal, violent, offensive techniques. He derides Miyagi's kata forms and pressures Daniel to destroy a wooden practice dummy, causing him several injuries in the process. Throughout his training, Daniel's frustration alienates him from Miyagi. While Daniel and Jessica are at a nightclub, Silver bribes a random man into provoking a fight with Daniel, who responds by punching the man and breaking his nose. Shocked by his aggressive behavior, Daniel apologizes and makes amends with Jessica and Miyagi.

Daniel visits Silver to inform him that he will not compete at the tournament, but Silver reveals his true agenda to Daniel as Barnes and Kreese enter the dojo. After Barnes viciously assaults Daniel, Miyagi intervenes and finally agrees to train him. They replant the healed bonsai and begin training.

At the tournament, Barnes reaches the final round to challenge Daniel. Silver and Kreese instruct Barnes to inflict serious damage on Daniel, keep the score a tie, and finally beat him in the sudden death round. Barnes gets the upper hand during the fight while taunting Daniel relentlessly. When the initial round concludes, Daniel wants to concede, but Miyagi urges him on. In the sudden death round, Daniel performs the kata; as a confused Barnes lunges toward him, Daniel flips him to the ground and strikes him to win the tournament. Barnes pounds the ground in frustration and Silver walks away in disgrace while the crowd throws their Cobra Kai shirts back at him.

Cast

 * Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso
 * Noriyuki "Pat" Morita as Mr. Miyagi
 * Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews
 * Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver
 * Martin Kove as John Kreese
 * Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes
 * Jonathan Avildsen as Snake
 * Randee Heller as Lucille LaRusso
 * Pat E. Johnson as Referee
 * Rick Hurst as Announcer
 * Frances Bay as Mrs. Milo
 * Joseph V. Perry as Uncle Louie
 * Jan Tříska as Milos
 * Glenn Medeiros as Himself
 * Gabriel Jarret as Rudy

Reception
The film maintains an approval rating of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews. The film's consensus reads: "Inspiration is in short supply in this third Karate Kid film, which recycles the basic narrative from its predecessors but adds scenery-chewing performances and a surprising amount of violence".[3] It did significantly less business than the first two films, grossing $39 million at the box office.[citation needed] It was dismissed by critics, including Roger Ebert, who praised the first two films.[4][5][6][7] His colleague, Gene Siskel, also did not recommend the movie, though he commended the performance of Thomas Ian Griffith, which he thought was nearly enough to save it.[8] Criticism often mentioned the rehashing of elements in the former two movies, including a tournament against Cobra Kai and a romance side-story.[9]

At the 1989 Golden Raspberry Awards, this entry received five nominations but did not win any of them.[citation needed] They are for Worst Picture (Jerry Weintraub; lost to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Screenplay (Robert Mark Kamen; lost to Harlem Nights by Eddie Murphy), Worst Director (John G. Avildsen; lost to William Shatner for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), Worst Actor (Ralph Macchio; lost to William Shatner in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), and Worst Supporting Actor (Pat Morita; lost to Christopher Atkins in Listen to Me).[citation needed]

In 2015, director John G. Avildsen himself called the film "a poor imitation of the first one" and "a horrible movie".[10]