Review of The Karate Kid Part II (1986) by Alex F — 18 Jun 2010

A very passable sequel, but not as great as the first one. Like most second installments in a trilogy, this film is willing to take a darker tone than the first (films such as The Empire Strikes Back, Attack of the Clones, Temple of Doom, Batman Returns, and The Dark Knight come to mind.) as the stakes are tougher, in which Daniel Larusso learns that in Okinawa, karate means fighting to the death, and not in an innocent competition. Six months after the events of the first film, new things have happened. First of all, Ali, the girl played by Elisabeth Shue in the first film, has broken up with Daniel for a football player from UCLA, and Mr. Miyagi finds out that his father is dying. Flying to Okinawa in order to visit him, Mr. Miyagi ends up reviving an old feud with his old friend, Sato, while Daniel ends up making a new enemy in Sato's nephew, Chozen, as well as finding a new love interest in an Okinawan girl aspiring to be a professional dancer, Kumiko.

One of the things that is immediately wrong with this not-so-perfect film is the absence of Elisabeth Shue, the girl from the first film. Her character was very well fleshed out, and was written so perfect for Ralph Macchio. And while Kumiko, played by Tamlyn Tomita, was a great character, it's a case of close, but no cigar. I'm sorry, but splitting up Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue from the first movie is like splitting up Rocky Balboa and Adrian, or splitting up Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man. Other than that, this movie is pretty damn good.