The Karate Kid III (1989)
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A vengeful former dojo master teams up with a toxic-chemical magnate to destroy a karate champion's life.
The story
After being abandoned by his students, a now-broke-and-destitute John Kreese visits Terry Silver, a fellow Green Beret who has become a toxic-chemical magnate. Silver vows to personally help him re-establish Cobra Kai, while getting revenge on Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi for defeating his dojo in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament. After sending Kreese to Tahiti for a vacation, Silver hires national karate champion Mike Barnes — known for his vicious personality and utter lack of sportsmanship — to challenge Daniel at the next All-Valley Tournament.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being abandoned by his students, a now-broke-and-destitute John Kreese visits Terry Silver, a fellow Green Beret who has become a toxic-chemical magnate. Silver vows to personally help him re-establish Cobra Kai, while getting revenge on Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi for defeating his dojo in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament. Silver hires national karate champion Mike Barnes to challenge Daniel at the next All-Valley Tournament. Returning to Los Angeles, Daniel and Miyagi find their apartment complex demolished, leaving Miyagi unemployed and Daniel homeless. Daniel moves in with Miyagi and they open a bonsai shop. Silver begins harassing Daniel, eventually forcing him to sign up for the All-Valley. Daniel accepts Silver's offer to train him, which subjects him to a brutal regimen that alienates him from Miyagi. After a violent incident, Daniel reconciles with Miyagi. When Daniel informs Silver he won't compete, Silver reveals his agenda and attacks Daniel with Barnes. Miyagi arrives and defeats them all, agreeing to train Daniel. At the tournament, Silver attempts to re-establish Cobra Kai as a business franchise. In the final match, Silver has Barnes torture Daniel. Daniel perseveres, performs the kata, and wins the All-Valley, foiling Silver's plans.
- First release year
- 1989
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John G. Avildsen
- Writers
- Robert Mark Kamen · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ralph Macchio · Daniel LaRusso; Pat Morita · Mr. Miyagi; Robyn Lively · Jessica Andrews; Thomas Ian Griffith · Terry Silver
- Genres
- martial arts drama; action drama; coming-of-age drama
- Themes
- Revenge; Mentorship; Redemption
- Tone and mood
- Dramatic; Violent
- Premise and plot tags
- Martial Arts; Sequel; Bullying
- Franchise connections
- The Karate Kid
- Content notes
- Violence
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with criticism aimed at its rehashing of elements found in the first film, though Griffith's performance as Silver received some praise. It was moderately successful at the box office, but marked a sharp decline from its predecessors.
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Picture · 1989 · Nominated; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Screenplay · 1989 · Nominated; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Director · 1989 · Nominated; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Actor · 1989 · Nominated; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Supporting Actor · 1989 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The character of Terry Silver was written into the script because the actor for John Kreese had scheduling conflicts.; The producers refused a prequel idea from the writer.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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