The Karate Kid(s)

[RobertScorpio]

Okay...my wife and kids, and I, watched the Four Karate Kid movies over the weekend. I had never seen the Next Karate Kid, so at least there was one 'new' movie in the bunch.

I really like the first Karate Kid movie. Sure it comes out of the Rocky side of the house, but whats wrong with that? Ralph Maacho and Pat Morita do a great job in their roles, and the CRAINE KICK never looked better!!!...

The second movie, where they head to Japan to deal with Myagi's brother was not as good as the first, but not a bad movie either.

KARATE KID 3 was just simply bad. As my kids were watching this installment, I snuck into my room and played some MADDEN 09.

I had never seen the NEXT KARATE KID with Hillary Swank. This movie was made before she made it big. By the way, she has the hottest body in hollywood, even more so than Jolie. The story is kind of boring, and the final battle between Myagi and Michael Ironside is way too short for the amount of time we had to wait for it...but it was still a better movie than TKK 3...

Here is how I rank the four movies..

THE KARATE KID I
THE KARATE KID II
THE NEXT KARATE KID
and
THE KARATE KID III

Good harmless fun for the kiddies!!!

Rob

 

[Jetfire]

I liked all the movies, it is brainless entertainment.



JF

 

[iguana_tonante]

I liked all the movies, it is brainless entertainment.

I always quote Mister Miyagi in my daily life. He never failed me.

 

[Yoda]

I liked all the Ralph Maccio Karate Kids, didn't really care for the Swank edition.

The first one is a perfect 80s movie. Every scene conjures up nostalgia. Danial-san getting pushed around at the beach... Daniel-san getting run off a hill on his bicycle... Wax on, wax off. Fear does not exist in this dojo. The crane kick.... Elizabeth Shue (yum!).

The 2nd one was a decent sequel.

The third was pretty much a remake of the first with everything 'amped up'. I liked the hokey evil rich trainer training Daniel to fight dirty, and how he got alienated from Miyagi.

I distinctly remember evil rich trainer guy saying something like 'Just dump it, who in BORNEO knows what CHLORIDE SLUDGE is anyway?' Beautiful, he's ruining the world environment to make his riches and does evil karate in his spare time. I realize it's not a great film, but it was fun. I also liked Highlander 3

 

[Aragorn]

Part III bastardized Miyagi and devolved Daniel. Maybe he got lucky in the first movie, but he fought for his life and won in the second, so where's his growth in martial arts knowledge and why does everyone still beat the crap out of him?

It was also weird how they brought him back to the local karate tournament and changed the rules so he only had to fight once. I think an opportunity they missed would've been him trying to train the next up-and-comer and losing that kid to the Cobra Kai.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Part III bastardized Miyagi and devolved Daniel. Maybe he got lucky in the first movie, but he fought for his life and won in the second, so where's his growth in martial arts knowledge and why does everyone still beat the crap out of him?

It was also weird how they brought him back to the local karate tournament and changed the rules so he only had to fight once. I think an opportunity they missed would've been him trying to train the next up-and-comer and losing that kid to the Cobra Kai.

I think if they made a new movie, with Pat Morita dead now in real life, they should have Daniel training a new kid much like he was. If done right, and with sentiment, especially in today's violent world, it could be a hit. I'd have Daniel train a black kid who is being beaten up by either other blacks or whites and then does battle with them in a tournament. Get the kid who plays MICCA in Heroes as the 'kid'.

I see a 200 million dollar hit already!!!

Rob

 

[zakfa]

The 3rd one is hilarious. All 3 of the villians are pretty funny. I wanted the bad guys to win!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Last week's Reaper had a great moment where the Devil pulled up in a Trans Am, blaring "You're the Best Around."

 

[DeVario]

The first one is the best by far. First saw it when I was ten, and it made me want to take karate classes (I never did). The second was pretty good too. "Different but same", as Miyagi would say. The third one is good for a few laughs, especially Daniel's loooong Bonsai Shop sales pitch to Miyagi when he first brings him to the empty shop. I wonder if that whole thing was actually scripted out or if Macchio ad-libbed much of it. It also didn't make sense how in the final fight, he's suddenly afraid of Mike Barnes despite having literally fought for his life the previous year. The Next Karate Kid I can take it or leave it. It just seemed like an attempt by Columbia to keep the series going.

 

[Yoda]

Get the kid who plays MICCA in Heroes as the 'kid'.

The annoying kid from Heroes?

I pray that nobody who has anything to do with the rights to the franchise listens to this idea.

 

[Sephiroth]

I actually liked the 3 ninja movies better

 

[cardinal biggles]

I think if they made a new movie, with Pat Morita dead now in real life, they should have Daniel training a new kid much like he was. If done right, and with sentiment, especially in today's violent world, it could be a hit. I'd have Daniel train a black kid who is being beaten up by either other blacks or whites and then does battle with them in a tournament. Get the kid who plays MICCA in Heroes as the 'kid'.

I see a 200 million dollar hit already!!!

Didn't you hear? They're already at work on a sequel. Jaden (son of Will) Smith will play the Daniel character, and Jackie Chan is supposedly signed on to play Mr. Miyagi. Ralph Macchio has already predicted that without Pat Morita, the film will be total crap and a mega-flop. I actually hope he's right...

 

[Gojirob]

I think if they made a new movie, with Pat Morita dead now in real life, they should have Daniel training a new kid much like he was. If done right, and with sentiment, especially in today's violent world, it could be a hit. I'd have Daniel train a black kid who is being beaten up by either other blacks or whites and then does battle with them in a tournament. Get the kid who plays MICCA in Heroes as the 'kid'.

I see a 200 million dollar hit already!!!

Didn't you hear? They're already at work on a sequel. Jaden (son of Will) Smith will play the Daniel character, and Jackie Chan is supposedly signed on to play Mr. Miyagi. Ralph Macchio has already predicted that without Pat Morita, the film will be total crap and a mega-flop. I actually hope he's right...

Part 3 had a distinct lack of closure on one front. There is nothing to prevent the bad guys from setting them up all over again. I mean, the trick is done with, but these guys were willing to hold people over a cliffside to get what they wanted. Somebody should have been arrested for something, if only to show game over for vengeful freaks who can't seem to get their asses kicked often enough.

 

[TheMurph]

I like the first two, but after those I tend to ignore the third and fourth movies.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

As a teenager, the first two movies were my favorite non-science fiction films. I adored them. However, I strongly suspect that if I rewatched the second one now, I would realize it was not as great as I remembered.

As the series progressed the villains became increasingly cartoonish and over-the-top, killing my willing suspension of disbelief. The bad guys' scheme in the third film just didn't resemble anything that would really take place in the real world. I have only fuzzy memories of The Next Karate Kid, but I remember thinking that the story drifted around for an hour and a half without going anywhere.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

I liked whichever one was set on Okinawa. The culture clash was interesting.

 

[cardinal biggles]

^That was Part II.