The film was a commercial success, grossing $130 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1986. A sequel titled The Karate Kid Part III was released in 1989.
Though moderately successful at the box office, The Karate Kid Part III received generally negative reviews, with criticism aimed at its rehashing of elements found in its two predecessors, though Griffith's performance as Silver received praise from some critics. It was followed by The Next Karate Kid in 1994.
At least Cobra Kai understands why people fell in love with the Karate Kid. I'd say watch this movie only if you want to understand the origin of some characters in the TV show or you have an interest in understanding the Mr Miyagi back story.
It's an update that, along with the shifted setting and expanded characters, that makes The Karate Kid remake a worthwhile companion to the original. The Verdict: The 1984 original, by split decision, mainly because Macchio is so good.
The Karate Kid Part III suffers from a lack of originality pertaining to Daniel's and Mr. Miyagi's narrative arcs... Content collapsed. Not better than the first, but its better than the second film, while lost in the exotic landscapes of Okinawa.
Shue's Karate Kid exit had gone largely unexplained in the 30 years since she left the franchise, with the actor having previously expressed her frustrations from working on the original movie, which subsequently led to her disinterest in returning.
The original preferred choice was Toshiro Mifune, who had appeared in the Akira Kurosawa films Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), and The Hidden Fortress (1958), but the actor did not speak English.
As he trains for the karate tournament with Miyagi, Daniel learns invaluable lessons about life and love. And brought to the foreground of this karate story is Daniel's pursuit of Ali, who truly is the single person who gave the new kid a chance. On many levels, "The Karate Kid" is an uplifting movie.
The Karate Kid Part III is a slickly produced adventure of the most simple-minded kind. Karate Kid III has emerged as the front runner for the worst sequel of the summer. Disappointing, often violent sequel is for series fans only. The unevenness of The Karate Kid movies reaches its peak in The Karate Kid Part III...
Spoiler Alert This film is about a 35 year old karate boy and his wise old martial arts instructor. Ralph Macchio plays the title role, and seems to have gained about 45 pounds since the second film. Daniel LaRusso and Mr.
Macchio aged two years between The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III, with the actor being 24 during filming. In Cobra Kai Season 5, Macchio was 60 years old while portraying a 53-year-old Daniel LaRusso.
Daniel was also 18 the following summer when Ali dumped him and he accompanied Mr. Miyagi to Okinawa so his sensei could say goodbye to his dying father in The Karate Kid Part II.
Swank was just 18 when she beat out 500 other hopefuls to land the starring role of Julie in The Next Karate Kid. However, at the time, she thought she was playing an altogether different part in the movie.
Why did Ralph Macchio stop making Karate Kid movies?
Despite his youthful appearance, Macchio was in his early thirties when shooting The Karate Kid Part III, and so was deemed too old to continue in the role for further movies.
According to Screen Rant, Shue did not reprise her role as Ali in The Karate Kid Part II due to her academic commitment as a student at Harvard University. Shue wasn't sure that The Karate Kid fans would even care if she returned as Ali in Cobra Kai, but she eventually agreed to reprise her role.
Introduced in The Karate Kid (1984) as Daniel LaRusso's rival, Johnny briefly returns at the beginning of the sequel, The Karate Kid Part II (1986). 32 years later, Zabka began to reprise the role in the sequel television series Cobra Kai (2018–present), where he serves as one of the protagonists.
In the All-Valley Tournament, it was Daniel LaRusso who famously won by beating Johnny Lawrence. However, that wasn't the only competition that Daniel won. In The Karate Kid III, he went up against Mike Barnes in the All-Valley Tournament and took first place trophy home once more.
Johnny has been in most installments in the Karate Kid franchise (including Cobra Kai), but wasn't in the third movie, which saw Kreese (Martin Kove) try to take revenge on Daniel by training a new opponent for him to fight. Johnny wasn't involved because his story had already been told in the first film.
In 1984, 17-year-old Daniel LaRusso and his mother Lucille move from Newark, New Jersey, to Reseda, Los Angeles, California. Their apartment's handyman is an eccentric but kind and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi.
Jackie Chan's 2010 Karate Kid remake was intentionally different from the original, with new characters and a different setting in China, but both versions share similar character dynamics.
