Movie Review # 729: The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

And now for The Karate Kid Part II!

Plot: Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) receives a letter that his father is dying, prompting him to return to his homeland of Okinawa. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) tags along, as he wanted to see Miyagi’s homeland. But their arrival is not entirely a warm welcome. Miyagi, and Daniel must now face foes in the forms of the former’s archival, Sato (Danny Kamejima), and his nephew, Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). With further training from Miyagi, can both Daniel, and Miyagi defeat them?

Well, even though this film might not e quite as good as its predecessor, it still has plenty to recommend. For one, there is a lot of action in this film. It’s interesting how much suspense is included in this sequel as well. It was also really cool to learn about the culture of Okinawa as well. What’s even more great is that Daniel was open to the idea of going to Okinawa in the first place simply due to him, and Miyagi being great friends, and Miyagi originally being from there. Additionally, it was great to learn about Okinawa’s culture. Next, it was also great to see Miyagi help Daniel further his study in the art of karate, especially when it would come to the good qualities that would go along with it. Another thing to love about The Karate Kid was how people like Daniel were willing to be brave enough to help others, even risking danger to do so. There were also some surprisingly hilarious moments in this film as well, most notably when it came to scenes that involved Mr. Miyagi. Finally, it was great to have themes, such as showing mercy to others, incorporated into this film.

Still, I will say that I’m not sure that having Daniel’s relationship with one female end, only for him to then have one with another. Honestly, if Karate Kid ended up going a route similar, and have Daniel be in one relationship in one film, then another in the next, and so on, I’m not sure that having Karate Kid sequels would be the best for reasons such as this. Yeah, it’s understandable for films to show that some relationships don’t work out, but still.

And that’s my review for The Karate Kid Part II. Aside from wondering if this franchise follow a cliche similar to that of the James Bond movie series, this sequel is a really good follow up to its predecessor. It has heart, has both good old, and new characters, has hilarious moments, and incorporates great lessons in really clever ways. I would say that if you still have yet to see The Karate Kid Part II, then definitely do so. You’ll enjoy it, I’m sure.

Final Rating: 9.5/10