Forgotten Sequels: The Karate Kid Part III

 As Cobra Kai attempts to redeem Terry Silver, I thought I'd look at why they needed to do that.  This is The Karate Kid Part III, the final Film in the Series...not counting the one with Hillary Swank.  Where's her Cobra Kai Cameo, guys?!?

In this Chapter, our Heroes return from Japan in the longest flight in Film History (beating Rush Hour II's 3-year trip to Hong Kong) and many things have changed.  In their absence, a new, silly threat emerges to give them trouble.

Will a corrupt Industrialist succeed where a Karate Teacher failed?  Will Miyagi become a Small Business Owner?  Will this Franchise go out on a high note until its revival Decades later?  To find out, read on...

Following his failed attempt to punish his failing (in his eyes) Student (William Zabka), John Kreese lost his Students and was made bankrupt.

Thankfully, he had a never-before-mentioned connection to an Industrialist named Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) whom he saved in the Vietnam War.

Bear in mind that Griffith was 25 when this 1989 Film was made, so he would have been a damn young Soldier, no?

He concocts a very elaborate plan to get revenge for Kreese (who is mostly-absent due to his Shooting Schedule for a 1 Season Show).

This includes...

* Hiring a new Student.
* Marketing him as 'the Bad Boy of Karate'

* Breaking into Miyagi's House to get info on him.

* Pretending to be a good guy from Cobra Kai's Korean Branch that felt bad.

* Telling that that Kreese was dead.

But wait...there's alot more.

Daniel uses his College Fund to buy a Building for Miyagi to run a Bonsai Tree Store.

Across the street, he meets a pretty young Potter (Robyn Lively) who was originally meant to be his love interest.

That changed when they realized that Ralph Macchio was 27 and she was 16.

To cleanse your palette, please enjoy this flimsy excuse to share the 'Top That' Clip from Teen Witch.

The next phase of the plan- which borders on Operation Overlord levels- involves the Bad Boy and Snake (played by the Director's Son) bullying Macchio into signing up to defend his Title.

Miyagi says 'no.'  He says 'no.'

The Bullies keep pushing into they literally have him in a life-or-death situation and get him to sign up.

Terry Silver reappears to beat up Daniel's new Rival in a staged fight.  When Miyagi won't train him, Silver steps up...to train him in ways that make him hurt himself.

He pushes him to press his rage, leading to a Nightclub fight that shakes Daniel's beliefs.

Lively- who told him from the get-go that she was leaving soon- gives him a nice pep talk before she goes home and he reunites with Miyagi.

But first, he needs to 'break up' with Silver.

Silver goes full cartoon villain now, revealing everything to Daniel.

Kreese even gives him a Scare Tactics moment by popping out alive and well.

Before the final Match can happen at the Tournament, however...

Miyagi shows up and defeats all 3 of them with ease (alongside his Stunt Double).

Good thing HE'S not in the Tournament- there'd be no tension at all.

Kreese and Silver's plan is for the match to go the full 3 minutes, in order to make Daniel suffer.

You'd think the latter would be too busy with his MULTIPLE COMPANIES, but he makes time for this.

Unsurprisingly, he wins this match with a final flip and punch.

Good luck on your future family and Used Car Dealership, Daniel-san.

A fun Film, but boy does it feel silly at times.  It is sort of endearing, really.
The basic formula- Daniel is bullied, Daniel rebels and Daniel gets back with Miyagi to win- holds strong here.  Having a shared Crew amongst all 3 Films sure helps things out.

One bit of confusion here is how this timeline makes sense and why.  The first Film was in 1984 and the second one was in 1985, complete with a 6-month time jump built in.  This Film takes place right after the 2nd one, but was made 4 years later.  That means that Daniel is competing in the 1985 Tournament as the '80s is about to end.  Weird, no?

The addition of Terry Silver is the best and worst thing here.  On one hand, he's quite memorable, as shown by his return in Season 4 of Cobra Kai.  On the other hand, he's memorable for being a bizarre, cartoon Character plugged into this seemingly-real world with working class people and stakes.  Here he is talking about dumping Nuclear Waste and attending a party at the House on Haunted Hill (no joke).  He's a bizarre addition that makes the Film all the more entertaining, at the cost of logic and the other Films' serious tone.

I'll leave you with a quick look at how they quickly wrote out Daniel's Mom, his old home and his love interest from Part II in like 5 minutes tops.

Next up, I go back to my pile of leftover Films.  Will it be Horror, more Horror or Sci-Fi?  Stay tuned...