The Karate Kid, Part 2
The Karate Kid Part II is a 1986 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in the Karate Kid franchise and the sequel to the 1984 film The Karate Kid, starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. The Karate Kid Part II follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), who accompanies his karate teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to see his dying father in Okinawa, only to encounter an old friend-turned-rival with a long-harbored grudge against Miyagi.
The Karate Kid, Part 2
Six months later, Daniel and Ali have ended their relationship, and Daniel lives with Miyagi after his mother accepted a job in Fresno. Miyagi receives a letter notifying him that his father is dying, prompting him to return to his home village on Okinawa Island. He tells Daniel that many years ago, he fell in love with a woman named Yukie. She was arranged to marry his best friend Sato, son of the wealthiest man in the village and fellow karate student of his father. Upon announcing his intentions to marry Yukie, Sato challenged him to a fight to the death. Rather than fight, however, Miyagi left the country. Daniel decides to accompany him back to Okinawa.
Other notable cast appearances include BD Wong (credited as "Bradd Wong") as an Okinawan boy who invites Daniel and Kumiko to a dance club and Clarence Gilyard as one of the participants in the ice-breaking scene. Also, Traci Toguchi, who is credited as "Girl Bell Ringer", is the child rescued by Daniel in the typhoon, and is later identified as "Yuna" in the Cobra Kai season three episode "Miyagi-Do".
Six months later in June 1985, Daniel is upset that after the senior prom, claiming to Mr. Miyagi that his girlfriend Ali has left him for a football player who will be attending UCLA along with Ali. To make matters worse, he learns that he and his mother are soon moving to Fresno for the summer. Mr. Miyagi surprises Daniel by telling him that he has made arrangements with Lucille LaRusso to have Daniel live with him for summer. Mr. Miyagi then receives a letter telling him that his father is terminally ill. He intends to return to Okinawa, Japan alone, but Daniel decides to accompany him. When Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi why he had left Japan in the first place, Mr. Miyagi answers that he loved a woman named Yukie (Nobu McCarthy), who was arranged to be married to Sato Toguchi, son of the richest man in town, and Mr. Miyagi's best friend. Sato and Mr. Miyagi had studied karate together under Mr. Miyagi's father, in defiance of what was then the strict one-to-one father-to-son tradition of karate. One day, Mr. Miyagi had announced before the whole town that he wanted to marry Yukie. Sato had been insulted and had challenged Mr. Miyagi to a fight to the death. Rather than fight his best friend, Mr. Miyagi left Japan.
Despite Mr. Miyagi's father's dying wish for his son and student to make peace with each other, Sato still insists on fighting Mr. Miyagi, though, after his sensei's passing, he gives Mr. Miyagi three days to mourn, out of respect for his sensei. Daniel comforts Mr. Miyagi, admitting that when his own father passed away, Daniel thought he had not been a very good son, but eventually realized that by being at his father's side when he was dying and getting to say goodbye to him was the greatest thing he could have done for him. Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel that the secret to his family's karate lies in a handheld drum that beats itself when twisted back and forth. This "drum technique," as Mr. Miyagi calls it, represents the block-and-defense that Daniel begins to practice diligently. Mr. Miyagi warns him that the powerful technique should only be used as a last resort. Later, Yukie and Mr. Miyagi perform the tea ceremony together, which, Kumiko explains to Daniel, is a sign that they are renewing their love.
Daniel inadvertently reveals that the grocery business of Chozen and his cronies, Taro and Toshio, has been defrauding the villagers with rigged weights. The outraged farmers set upon Chozen and demand appropriate compensation. Because of this, Chozen accuses Daniel of both insulting his honor and being a coward like his sensei. He and Daniel have a series of confrontations, first in the village, then later in Naha City, and at a 1950s-themed dance. Chozen attempts to humiliate Daniel by demanding he demonstrate his karate skills by chopping through six blocks of ice, a seemingly impossible feat. However, Mr. Miyagi appears just in time to express confidence in Daniel by taking Chozen up on his bet at a dollar amount which Chozen cannot cover, but which Sato agrees to cover Chozen. Daniel successfully fulfills the challenge, which Chozen protests, but Sato informs Chozen not to embarrass Sato and honors the terms of the wager.[1]
Daniel fights valiantly, but Daniel gets overwhelmed by Chozen and Chozen proves to be a much more formidable opponent than any other that Daniel has faced before; he even deflects the crane kick Daniel used to win in the tournament. A little while later, Mr. Miyagi brings out his hand drum and beats it. The other villagers follow suit with their own drums, which allows Daniel to realize how he can win. As the puzzled Chozen closes in to attack, the brutally beaten-up Daniel successfully utilizes the drum technique to deflect Chozen's attacks and land a series of devastating counter-attacks. Soon after the final attack, Chozen falls down. Daniel, realizing for the first time in his life that his karate skills are potentially capable of enabling him to kill another person, grabs the vanquished Chozen by his hair and cocks his hand back for the fatal blow, demanding of Chozen, "Live or die, man!" When Chozen responds with "die", Daniel counters this and responds the same way Mr. Miyagi did against Kreese; "honking" his nose and dropping him to the ground, unwilling to kill him. Following his defeat of Chozen, Daniel embraces Kumiko, and as Daniel looks up, he sees Mr. Miyagi looking on proudly.
Parents need to know that martial-arts violence and revenge contend with worthy themes of mercy, forgiveness and Japanese culture. Despite lip service to non-violence, the action shows fighting as the ultimate solution to problems, so kids will see lots of threatening behavior, severe karate beatings, and retribution.
High-schooler Danny (Ralph Macchio), a California karate champ thanks to the guidance of handyman Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), accompanies his mentor back to Okinawa, Japan. Miyagi has been away for 40 years because of a rivalry with former friend Sato, now a mafioso-style businessman. After more than half a lifetime, Sato still demands a lethal karate showdown with the unresponsive Miyagi. Sato sends bully nephew Chozen to torment Danny and Danny's instant Japanese girlfriend Kumiko. Finally Miyagi agrees to the duel. When a monsoon strikes, Miyagi ends up using karate skills to save Sato's life instead. The old timers forgive each other, but a hate-crazed Chozen forces Danny into a death match in front of the entire village. Using his lessons from Miyagi, Danny prevails, and spares his opponent's life.
In the first movie, we had the pleasure of meeting for the first time one of the genuinely interesting characters of recent movies, Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese-American janitor whose secret life included mastery of the practice and philosophy of karate, and who was a wise philosopher with a foolish love for restoring old cars. As he gradually revealed himself to Daniel, the "karate kid," we met him too, and it was a pleasure to guess his secrets and be taught some of his mysteries. That first movie had an attitude about karate, and life.
The second film, which transferred part of the story to Japan, had interesting locales and a pretty girlfriend for the hero, but no new ideas about the plot, which involved Mr. Miyagi and his student being pushed so far by bad guys that they overcome their reluctance to fight. In this third film, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) has been reduced to a standard element in a standard plot. And Daniel (Ralph Macchio) is no longer an interesting kid, but simply a series of predictable attitudes.
Terry, the villain (Thomas Ian Griffith), is one of those slicked-back wise guys with a squirmy smile, who does hateful things because he's a hateful person (karate is his hobby; his real-life business is dumping toxic wastes). There's a little room left in the plot for the hapless Kreese (Martin L. Kove), who ran the corrupt karate school in the first movie. And then there's a new love interest named Jessica (Robyn Lively), who runs the pottery shop across the street from Mr. Miyagi's new bonsai store. And a new villain (Sean Kanan), whose job is simply to be violent, cruel and hateful.
It's hard to create original characters and give them interesting things to say, and Avildsen and writer Robert Mark Kamen have exhausted themselves with these particular characters. It's time to move on.
A Senior List Writer covering a wide array of topics who has been with Screen Rant since September of 2019, Jake Dee has written movie news and reviews since 2008, working primarily with OMG Horror (IGN), JoBlo.com, and Arrow in the Head as a freelance reporter based in Los Angeles. A hopeless cinephile, social media Luddite, certified Nic Cage doppelganger, and a big Weekend At Bernie's fan, Jake can often be found tucked away in a dark corner watching an old horror movie. Born and raised in California, Jake has a Bachelor's Degree in Film & Digital Media from the University of California Santa Cruz with an emphasis on theory and criticism, is the author of several "WTF Happened To This Movie" and "WTF Really Happened To This Movie" videos on YouTube, and has covered everything in the entertainment industry from set visits, studio luncheons, and red carpet interviews to wrap parties, movie premieres, private screenings, talent interviews, and more.
The Karate Kid Part II was released in 1986, two years after the original movie. The majority of The Karate Kid Part II cast is entirely new, apart from one scene at the beginning of the movie. The story picks up directly after the first movie, outside the All Valley Karate Championships. In the first scene, we see John Kreese break the 2nd place trophy that Johnny Lawrence won and a minor incident taking place, which Mr. Miyagi deals with. 041b061a72