Its not like me to write a review but for this absolute classic I thought it would be necessary. For a long time this was my least favourite of the 3 films starring Daniel and Miyagi, but for quite some time it has been not just my favourite of the trilogy but my favourite film of all time, I love the setting, the story, the character development and especially to two main antagonists, Sato and Chozen. I believe you will find the trilogy much more enjoyable if you watch them in the order 1,3,2 rather than 1,2,3 as this film gives such a bigger send off than the third one ever did, the stakes are much higher in this one and the lessons learned are much more meaningful. I'm glad that I gave this one a chance because I didn't realise what I was missing, the soundtrack is something to behold. It's simply stunning, especially during Miyagis fathers funeral and Kumikos ritual dance at the end. Such a beautiful movie that should be watched by people of all ages. A story of redemption, love, forgiveness and empathy, a true classic. 10/10

The location is exotic.The characters are beloved.But that is kind of where it ends. It is beautiful and has a nice appeal because of the backdrop and the characters but...The story you sort of fall asleep in the middle of, the mind starts to wander and all real focus is lost. Something about Rocking Around the Clock and Fighting for your Honor and....yeah...I give up.It is miles above the third one and the main characters can both act...the director can direct...the problem is that the writers can't write.

Following the theory that success is not to be tampered with, director John G Avildsen has paired up karate student Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) with mentor Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) and poured them in to story little change from the original. Daniel gets beat up a few times, Mr Miyagi comes to his rescue, after a few life lessons Daniel wins the day, oh and he meets a girl and falls in love again too. That's slightly harsh as it's now set in Mr Miyagi's home lad of Okinawa, with a different reason behind the main bad guys actions. Plot In A Paragraph: Mr Miyagi must return to Okinawa as his father is dying. Daniel asks to go with him, as Mr Miyagi is always there when he needs him. Mr Miyagi reluctantly agrees and upon landing it's clear why he was keen to leave Daniel at home, as an old love rival of Mr Miyagi, Sato, wants to settle an old score. Sato is Okinawa's top karate instructor, he and his best student Chozen set about making Miyagi and Daniels life hell. Ali (Elizabeth Shue) is quickly written out, with Daniel saying she fell in love with a soccer player from UCLA. Enabling our hero to fall in love in Okinawa with Kumiko (a stunning Tamlyn Tomita) and Shue is not missed. Sadly the villains of the piece are not a patch on the brilliant William Zabka and Martin Kove Johnny and Kreece) from the first movie. I'm not sure if the character of Sato (Danny Kamekona) is meant to be a gruff voiced clone of Kreece, with his nephew Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) replacing Zabka as his best student. But that is how it comes off, and it does not help with the sense of "we've seen all this before". Despite the final confrontation being a fight to the death, it lacks the intensity of the first movie, and the victory doesn't feel as joyous. That said there are some good scenes in this movie, the ice breaking competition is a standout scene, as is Miyagi's confrontation with a bitter Kreece who is attacking his students at the beginning of the movie. We also get a dramatic rescue during a thunderstorm and a beautiful scene between Daniel and Miyagi on a beach after Miyagi's father dies. It's a great scene with Macchio tugging on the heart strings whilst Morita speaks volumes without uttering a word. Great work by both in this scene. Like in the first movie we have a great song. This time is an Oscar nominated song "Glory Of Love" by Perer Cetera. Overall I've rated it a generous 8/10 a significant drop from the 10/10 first movie. Losing points for weak villains and being almost a clone of the original. It's plus points being some good scenes (as mentioned above) the song and the acting of both Macchio and Morita who have great chemistry together.

This flashes back to right after the tournament where Miyagi (Pat Morita) faces off against John Kreese (Martin Kove) in the parking lot. Then 6 months later, Ali has a new college football boyfriend and breaks up with Daniel (Ralph Macchio). Miyagi gets word of his sick father. The two goes to Okinawa together and faces old rival.I would have preferred to see the movie continue after the tournament with everybody including Elisabeth Shue. The story has written out a lot of the side characters even the mother. Everything's bent out of shape so that they can go to Okinawa. The first part is clunky for that reason. Other than the parking lot, it's a very disappointing start.The Japanese story improves somewhat. It's still very slow. The bully rivals are very cartoonish. The story is basically the same idea as the original. Daniel gets a new girl (Tamlyn Tomita) in Japan. Now there is a new rival for Daniel. The sad thing is that we don't even get to see the real Okinawa.