The Karate Kid Part II

Starring: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Pat E. Johnson, Martin Kove, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Kamekona
Directed by: John G. Avildsen
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Romance
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) travel to Japan, where Miyagi faces an old enemy, and Daniel faces a new one.

Review:

Tim: After the excellent Karate Kid, there's no surprise that they would move forward with the sequel. This movie picks up immediately after the last film ended. It features an early scene that is just incredible (Miyagi and the car windshields), which is the most iconic, best scene of the film. Unfortunately, things go a bit downhill from there. Now, this is not a bad movie, but after the great original, there's a pretty steep drop in quality here. This is a decent movie, but it needed to be a lot better.

In theory, I like the change of pace with this film. The first film was really about Daniel, and this story shifts the focus to Miyagi. Miyagi is such a fascinating character, and here, we get much more about his story. Whereas in the first film, Daniel was the lead and Miyagi was supporting. In this film, it's almost like these two are both co-leads. I love that this film took the more risky route, rather than just giving us more of the same, which would have been the safe path. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly work out. Still, it was a great effort.

I actually really liked learning more about Miyagi. His story is pretty interesting, especially with the love triangle, his fleeing Japan, and the perception that he is a coward. I loved learning more about Miyagi. The problem is that his story is pretty slow for the most part. This movie featured far too few action and fighting scenes. I know this movie is about more than just pure combat, but this movie focused far too much on the dramatic elements- it needed just a little more action. There are two big clashes in the film- Miyagi and his old enemy, and Daniel with his new enemy. It felt like these two story lines were building wonderfully toward an exciting conclusion. Unfortunately, that is where the movie falls down.

The end of the film is quite disappointing. The Miyagi-Sato clash results in one of the most anticlimactic scenes in memory. We're presented with a storm, and the result just felt forced, rushed, and silly. I was really disappointed in that resolution. Daniel, on the other hand, gets to fight in a climactic battle, which again, felt forced and silly. I laughed out loud when his opponent came swinging in on a rope, and it just so stupid to have these two fight while an entire town looks on, and yet, no one can help, because they are isolated on this little island. The whole thing felt a bit ridiculous, and results in a significantly weaker conclusion than the first film.

The Karate Kid Part II isn't a terrible movie. It does a good job of continuing the story from the first film, and I did like the shift of focus to Miyagi and the chance to explore his past. Unfortunately, there are too many weak scenes and forced moments. In the end, this film isn't bad, but it is significantly less effective than the original film. I loved the first film, and kind of liked this movie. It makes me worry about where this franchise is going.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III