the karate kid 3 (1989) review
If The Karate Kid 2 was Mr. Miyagi’s story than The Karate Kid 3 belongs to Cobra Kai. Released in 1989, the third and lowest grossing film in the OG karate kid trilogy makes the correct decision to follow the bad guys as closely as Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Joining Kreese this go-around is the scene-chewing Terry Silver, played with bad intentions and a menacing grin by Thomas Ian Griffith. We are introduced to Silver in classic eighties fashion as he spars with and brutalizes nameless goons while showcasing karate skill exceeding anything we’ve seen in the films outside of Mr. Miyagi. The cigar chomping Silver is asked to do some real acting in seducing Daniel to the dark side. The training sequences between he and Daniel are highlights of the film and a heartbreaking glimpse at Daniel at perhaps his lowest point in the karate kid series. It's no secret that Griffith’s performance as Silver is the reason many enjoy and will revisit this film more than its dreadful Rotten Tomatoes rating would indicate. Speaking of ratings, The Karate Kid 3 is nearly unanimously considered the worst of the original three. I place it slightly ahead of part two and well behind the original. It’s the most cartoonish of the three films and lacks the heart of the 1987 sequel but overall it’s good old fashioned eighties fun. Save for some troubling casual racism in the final scene, Mike Barnes, played by Sean Kanan, is a tremendously effective and truly terrifying foil. I remember thinking as a kid that there is absolutely no way Daniel can defeat this guy. The Cobra Kai triumvirate of Reese, Silver and Barnes carry the film and are far more interesting than anything between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. The villains always get the best lines. This isn't the first or last film with an antagonist outshining the hero. The Dark Knight comes to mind. Daniel’s only motivation here is to avoid getting his ass kicked. I guess that was his arc in the first film too. Still a classic.