Road to Karate Kids: Legends - The Karate Kid Part II Review

 

The Karate Kids Part II is the sequel to the classic 1984 film and the second movie of the franchise. Delphi V Productions worked on production with Columbia Pictures distributing. John G. Avildsen returned to direct with Robert Mark Kamen also returning to write.

The story is, six months after winning the all-valley tournament Daniel and Miyagi are enjoying not only their big win but also peace. This changes when Miyagi is given a letter saying his father is dying. The duo soon set out to Miyagi's home village on Okinawa Island, but this visit will soon reignite an old rivalry Miyagi had with a once good friend.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

Now the story isn't bad, pretty obvious statement for me to make given where I've placed it but still. What the story does right is take our characters on a new adventure, give us new characters, and doesn't repeat the first one's plot. It's a pure continuation. Where it slightly dips is the balance. What I mean by that is the story is more focused on Miyagi. Which makes sense, we are going to HIS village because HIS dad is dying and so on. But Daniel is pushed to the side. Yes he still has something to do and still has a story. It's just when I was watching it it almost felt like Daniel was more supporting character and less main character.

• Positives

One positive aspect is the darker tone. Don't worry it's not full blown edgy, it's just things do get a lot more intense when compared to the original. Speaking of intense I really got a kick (does that count as a pun?) out of the final fight. Where as the first movie's fight was about winning a tournament, this one's final fight is for survival. I'm not joking. It's a literal fight to the death this time around. So while the first one is exciting because of winning, this one will make tense up because the stakes are much higher. The last thing I'll write is the chemistry between Ralph Macchio & Pat Morita, again. Despite the material not being as strong as the first, these two still deliver great performances and it's even better seeing them share the screen together.

The Karate Kid Part II has its flaws, but as far as sequels go this is an example of a pretty good one.

My final rating is, Good.

Well that was fun. Come back on Monday, Jan 27th, where I'll return to the Road to Superman (2025), with my review of the comic miniseries Kingdom Come. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.