Welcome to Part Two of our Karate Kid retrospective, looking at all the instalments of the original franchise before the TV series-sequel Cobra Kai hits YouTube Red on May 2nd. This addition: The Karate Kid Part II.
Read part one of our series – Revisiting The Karate Kid – here.
The power of nostalgia is an important contributing factor when looking back on movies that featured in your childhood. It can often be the case that your affection for a childhood favourite may allow you to overlook some flaws within the film in question as it wouldn’t almost feel like you’re crapping on an old friend. This is very much the case for me when it comes to the first Karate Kid, which I revisited a couple of weeks ago. That film was a recurring one for me as a child, but its sequels less so (largely due to the fact that the first one is the only one I had on video). I’m pretty sure I have only seen The Karate Kid Part II (and the third and fourth) once before in my teens.
With less familiarity, it is easier to look at the follow-ups with a bit more of a critical eye, and while my nostalgic view may still cloud my opinion of the first, I don’t think anyone would disagree with me when I say that Part II is a significantly lesser film. There’s just something not quite as sophisticated or as genuine this time around, despite an attempt to inject some freshness with a change in location. It is all a little clunky, very melodramatic and just a bit more ludicrous than the first outing. And as an 80’s sequel to an 80’s hit, that should come to be expected, heck, maybe even craved.
The proceedings kick-off with opening credits that operate as a ‘previously on The Karate Kid’ prologue, taking you back over some of the best bits and scenes from the original that you sense are going to have play on the proceedings of the film you’re about to watch. This may feel a little indulgent now, but it is easy to forget that audiences back in ’86 wouldn’t all have had the luxury of having the original as readily available to re-watch over and over again that modern audiences now have so freely and quickly, so you can kinda forgive this opening. It also results in one indulgently crowd-pleasing moment as the film kicks off with a moment occurring immediately after the tournament with Miyagi putting Cobra Kai dojo sensei Kreese (Martin Kove) in his place with a display of patient skill and mercy.
We then kick forward to six-months later. Miyagi and Daniel still hang out, with Miyagi still teaching Daniel karate and important life lessons. It is clear from these early scenes that the father/son dynamic as both a theme and a nature of their dynamic is going to much more blatant this time around, very much confirmed with the arrival of ‘conveninant plot device mailman’, who delivers a letter to Miyagi informing him that his father is not well and that he needs to come home to Okinawa as soon as he can. Thus, the plot is born, with Daniel-San coming along for the trip. We set off for Miyagi’s home village in Okinawa, only to learn that a feud involving a love triangle with Miyagi’s first love Yukie (Nobu McCarthy) and best friend Sato (Danny Kamekona) has not been forgotten by Sato, who still craves to settle the score with Miyagi by having a fight to the death! We ain’t in an All valley Tournament anymore Daniel-San!
From that, I’m sure you can already gather how much the stakes are raised in this sequel, making the make the plot more exciting, and ultimately much more cartoony, feeding into that 80’s sequel cheese-factor that also came to take over Avildsen’s other fighting franchise Rocky. The film does find a nice groove when it focuses in on the culture of Okinawa and Miyagi’s family history (Miyagi’s dojo motto is a nice antithesis to Cobra Kai’s: ‘Rule #1. Karate for defense only. Rule #2. First, learn rule #1), delivering some scenes which resonate quite effectively on an emotional level. The scene in which Daniel consoles Miyagi after his father’s death is especially touching, and is one of the many scenes within the film that demonstrate the fact that the chemistry remains strong between Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita.
Some of the scenes of 80’s cheese are also quite welcome. When the bland new romance between Daniel and local dancer Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) threatens to take over with an exceptionally schmaltzy Peter Cetera song, we get a deliriously over-the-top slice of Americana with an encounter at a bar which sees Daniel attempt to karate chop through blocks of ice and show-up Sato and his nephew, the suitably antagonising Chozen (Yuji Okumoto).
It all gives way to a final act which builds from one ridiculous set piece to another, from Daniel and Miyagi saving villagers from a storm to a face-off between Daniel and Chozen after Chozen gate-crashes a party at a castle (well, you can’t have a Karate Kid movie without the Karate Kid having a final fight now can you?). This moment comes to epitomise both what works and doesn’t work about Part II. It is entertaining, without a doubt, but only through ridiculous upping of the stakes and cartoonish villains leading to a bit more of an ironic appreciation, rather than attempting much in the way of character development, although Daniel is much less of a hot-head this time around. But hell, I did enjoy myself, there’s a lot here still to find pleasure in as an 80’s artefact and there’s no doubt that Macchio and Morita still register as an engaging on-screen duo!
Stay tuned as I’ll be high-kicking my way into Part III in no time, the last of the original franchise entries to feature Macchio and to have John G. Avildsen in the director’s chair, and if memory serves correct, it’s pretty terrible. Guess I’ll find out soon enough! Till next time, keep waxing!
