Review of The Karate Kid Part II (1986) by Kai82 — 15 Apr 2021

The movie has the hard challenge to follow a prequel that is a cult classic. For itself it does well. A solid sequel that is not as good as the first movie but still worth watching. They try to give us some new stories while also keeping what makes the original great.

Again the movies uses themes from an underdog story, drama, clashing philosophies and martial arts. This time you learn more about the past of Mr. Miyagi. After the introduction scene which is set directly after the conclusion of the prequel and shows the true character and awesomeness of Mr.

Miyagi there is a small timeskip. Mr. Miyagi becomes a caretaker for Daniel as his mother must leave for a while because of her job. However an event change their plans as he gets a message that his father has a serious illness.

So both travel to Okinawa the home Mr. Miyagi left 40 years ago. There are old and new conflicts that prevents this from being just a holiday. I truly enjoyed the story. It is maybe a bit foreseeable and uses also a bit too many tropes but works well here.

It does push the right buttons but does not reinvent the wheel. The motives and philosophies however are well done and you see the character growth. Again the story would be less of an experience without compelling actors and the movie delivers.

Lets start this time with Pat Morita as Kesuke Miyagi (Yes, Mr is not hist first name as many believed;-). He improved his role and is a stoic hero with a hearth of gold and not a man of many but wise words.

He lives by his ideals and would never hesitate to to what is right. He is a better teacher than Yoda for me in this regard. Of cause there is also Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso. He cant shine as much here as in the prequel but does a good job.

The chemistry between him and Mr. Miyagi is truly great and a strength of the franchise. Danny Kamekona as Sato is an interesting character. Might look a bit of a stereotype character but has depth, character motivations and development (Has he even a family name in this movie?).

Things like his and Mr. Miyagis backstory happen in real life too. Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi is a fitting rival or antagonist. He falls into the love to hate category. Does a phenomenal job in his role.

Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko delivers also a good performance but maybe a bit too much damsel in distress for my taste. In total I say we got a solid to great performance by the cast. Visually the movie looks awesome.

I like Japanese culture and this is a plus for me even when I recently discovered that it is filmed in Hawai. They did put real effort into making it look believable. The soundtrack is again good but not entirely my cup of tea.

Overall it is an enjoyable sequel that I recommend. I must also warn you that I am not sure how much I am under the influence of nostalgia here. Maybe less then I think because I do not enjoy the next 2 movies in the franchise this much.