Mr. Miyagi is back and he takes a new pupil under his wing; a troubled adolescent girl. The Next Karate Kid is definitely a film that i think gets alot of hate for truly no reason, first of all Hilary Swank? was pretty damn great and i actually enjoyed her character way more than whatever the hell Ralph Macchio was portraying in The Karate Kid Part III plus once again Pat Morita gives a terrific perfomance as Mr. Miyagi and i really enjoyed seeing Michael Ironside in a villain part again. Sure it's not the best in the series but it's 100 times better than Part III. (10/10) (A)

If this was my only encounter with Hillary Swank, I would have thought that they picked some young actress to fill this role. I didn't realize she would develop into one of our best actresses. I won't go into detail. It's another rehash of the training that a martial arts person needs to face. This young woman is a bit of a challenge to Pat Morita (what else is new). There are some new rules for her to become what she needs to become and that is the gist of this. The story is quite predictable, although the setting is interesting. If this film had not been made for more than a paycheck it would have been fine. It would be fun for a young woman, I guess.

When I first saw this movie it was playing on TV. I almost didn't watch it because really could it be any better than the original. I decided to give it a try anyways. After watching it, I really enjoyed it. It was really cheesy but other parts were enjoyable and funny.Miyagi is great as usual, which is the main reason I even bothered to watch the movie in the first place. I've always loved his character. This movie is worth at least a one-time viewing if you really liked the Karate Kid movies. It's fine for what it is. It's not the greatest movie in the world but definitely something you could enjoy on a nice rainy day with the kids.Hillary Swank did a pretty good job too. This movie brought Hillary to the forefront and was a good jumping off point. She did the best she could with a not so great plot.

This is a really bad movie. First, it is supposed to follow other parts of Karate Kid with ideas, action and energy. However, the only action we get happens in the last 7 minutes of the movie. Everything else is more a "drama" genre, about a spoiled and angry clichéd teenage girl who is all about "you're ruining my life" and "leave me alone". When Mr. Miyagi says that "boys are easier" I would definitely agree that Daniel-san was much more sophisticated and simple. However, this girl is actually a terrible paradigm of a teenage girl. We watch her little arguments, school problems, etc. and poor Miyagi trying to teach her to be as sophisticated as his former student. Had there not been Mr. Miyagi in this movie, it would be a complete disaster. With him, it is a little bit better. The chemistry and energy from the first part completely disappeared in this movie. The girl does not have the charm nor the energy of Daniel-san. Therefore, while I gave the first part a 10, I give this movie a 3. (Without Mr. Miyagi it would be between 1 and 2.)