I won't beat around the bush here: At face value, this is a pretty poor film, not even in the same league as the first two installments. However, the touching relationship between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Maccio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) makes it a worthwhile addition to round out the trilogy.For a basic plot summary, Karate Kid III sees the famous pair have a falling-out over Daniel's karate future. Without Miyagi's guidance, Daniel falls into a trap, requiring him to defend his karate championship (despite his wishes) one more time.There are two major problems with this movie:1. First, the plot is paper-thin and utterly ridiculous. You know Daniel will be competing at the film's climax the second you push play on your remote, so all the "will he, won't he drama" is irrelevant and boring. It doesn't help that the villain of the story is nothing more than a cackling goon with the stereotypical leather jacket and slicked-backed greaseball ponytail. He's more ridiculous than truly hateable.2. Second, is the meaningless entry of yet another love interest for Daniel. This relationship goes absolutely nowhere and ultimately just wastes time that could have been spent more productively elsewhere.Luckily, KK3 is somewhat redeemed by one bright spot: Miyagi's care for Daniel. Perhaps one of the best mentor-mentee relationships in film history reaches even greater depths here when Daniel's "karate faith" is tested to the maximum. Despite all the contrived drama, you'll still be emotional at film's end due to the touching emotional bond between the duo.So, while this is easily the worst of the original Karate Kid trilogy, it is worth watching for the two title characters alone.

This third film is definitely my least favorite. Its main problem is that it suffers from superfluousness.Ralph Macchio is still great as Daniel and Pat Morita is still great as Mr. Miyagi. Thomas Ian Griffith is also a fantastic villain.However, the story is pretty lacking. For the most part, it feels like a rehash of the first movie without nearly as much spark or charm. It adds nothing new to the Karate Kid saga, and the whole thing comes off as unnecessary and tired.Daniel's new love interest is nothing special, and the fight at the end, once again, really isn't anything we haven't seen before.I still feel that Part II would have been the right way to end the series. This film isn't awful, but it is a mediocre and routine third installment all the way. Recommended only to Karate Kid fans.RATING: C

I've gotta say, I was surprised by the ending to THE KARATE KID PART III. Daniel was physically outmatched (yeah, I know, he always is), but it was just nice to see something good come out of all of this. And seeing him outsmart the other guy was kinda nice. But there's a dour tone to this entire movie, and it all seems a bit silly. Alright, so Kreese has bottomed out, and he's looking to rise from the muck and destroy Daniel LaRusso. That's kinda by-the-numbers for a second sequel, but I can see how they'd go with this for the hook. But the plan is to put the kid through psychological torment and macho head games to finally break his spirit and put the hurt on him. And it's all at the behest of the always-leering Terry Silver. They're just such one-dimensional bad guys. Pitting Daniel against Miyagi didn't make much sense because it could've all been handled with some rational explaining (but Daniel this time around is more hotheaded than ever). Pat Morita makes this all sorta worthwhile because he well wears the weariness of a character that loses so much in the story. But I was surprised at how unsympathetic LaRusso was in this movie, and it's not very well-written. I've gotta wonder how this movie is different from Kamen's original script because it all feels very off. It's not a bad movie, just . . . silly. 5/10

After Daniel and Miyagi defeated the Cobra Kai, Kreese decides to close the dojo, then goes to to his friend, Terry, who is also the dojo's owner, to turn in the keys, and announces that he is leaving town. Terry sends him on a vacation, and he'll get his revenge on Daniel and Miyagi. Part of his plan is to recruit Mike Barnes, to fight Daniel in the tournament. When Daniel's invited to the Karate tournament that he won last year, Miyagi believes that it's not a priority. So Terry offers to train Daniel, but he is puts Daniel through a gruelling training regimen as part of his plan. Eventually all of the training that Terry puts Daniel through and Barnes' hounding, causes a rift between Daniel and Miyagi....Yes, the film is bad. We have some silly subplot involving a Bonsai tree, and Martin Kove does the best 'Boo!' I have seen in any movie, but because the acting is really dire, and when Daniel san gets involved in any scrapes, Miyagi sings, you have the most entertaining entry into the franchise.and this is thanks to one Thomas Ian Griffith. Not only is the bad guy called terry, but he has this knack of doing a maniacal smile every time he walks away from a situation.Macchio looks a little rough in this, and his problems at the beginning mirror that of the second chapter, and it's hilarious when he loses it at the nightclub, but he is second fiddle in this film, once again thanks to Griffith.to be fair, the end battle is really good, and it's great when the inevitable happens, but as a stand alone movie, it's ripe for discussion and mockery.as a franchise, the Karate Kid movies are the pits. The first movie is way too long, the second is boring, but the third is beyond bad, beyond bonkers, and this is what makes it so good in a bad way.it's worth watching such a failing franchise just to laugh at the absurdity of it all.It's the best movie ever made that wants you, begs you to watch the Next Karate Kid.