June 20, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback podcast, hosts Tim Williams and JB Huffman dive into the nostalgic world of "The Karate Kid Part III". They explore the film's plot, character development, and the challenges faced during production. The conversation highlights the film's place within the franchise, its memorable scenes, and the overall impact it had on audiences. Despite its flaws, the hosts reflect on the film's rewatchability and its significance in the 80s cinematic landscape.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Nostalgic Reflections on the Franchise
05:56 Story Origins and Pre-Production Insights
09:27 Character Analysis: Daniel LaRusso's Journey
12:58 The Villains: Terry Silver and Mike Barnes
16:41 Casting Choices and Character Dynamics
20:22 Behind the Scenes: Filming Challenges and Changes
25:49 Character Dynamics and Plot Development
27:00 Memorable Scenes and Iconic Moments
29:21 The Role of Conflict in Character Growth
30:32 Fight Scenes and Their Significance
32:41 Dialogue and Humor in Karate Kid 3
34:15 Behind the Scenes and Trivia
38:10 Box Office Performance and Reception
39:01 Rewatchability and Nostalgia Meter
44:46 Thanks For Watching Outro
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, BoxOfficeMojo
https://screenrant.com/behind-scenes-facts-karate-kid-part-3/
Some sections were composed by ChatGPT
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Daniel Larusso is no longer a disciplined karate student, but
a pawn in a game of revenge by amaniacal millionaire.
On this episode of The 80s FlickFlashback, I'm joined by guest
Co host JB Huffman to discuss the 80s flick sequel that Crane
kicked the franchise into oblivion with its cartoonish
(00:20):
villains and lack of Miyagido heart.
We'll break down Daniel Larusso's baffling decision to
forget every lesson he's learnedand try to make sense of an
elaborate revenge scheme centered on terrorizing a
teenager. Stay tuned as we continue our
Summer of Sequels 2 series with our nostalgic views and rad
review of The Karate Kid Part 3 from 1989 on this episode of The
(00:44):
80s Flick Flashback Podcast. Well, welcome to the show
(01:21):
everybody. I'm your host Tim Williams.
I am thrilled to have back returning Co host who's back in
the Dojo for this episode. He's a man who understands that
to analyze a film, you can't just watch it.
You have to paint the fence, sand the floor and prune the
bonsai tree to understand what'sbeneath the surface.
Please welcome back the all Valley champion of podcasting,
(01:42):
JB Huffman for Manly Movies podcast.
How you doing JB? I'm doing great man.
Ready to ready to talk about oneof my favorite.
I wouldn't say it's my favorite movies if it's definitely not
one of my favorite franchises for sure.
Yeah, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Love the franchise, not a lover
of this movie necessarily. We're not not one of the better
(02:03):
entries of the franchise. Not the worst, but definitely
not, not one of the best. So of course you can go back to
think season 1 or season 2 of the show.
And we covered Karate Kid one and two.
I think we did like back-to-backepisodes, and so go back and
listen to those. But we're here in the summer of
sequels. We're tackling the Part 3 of
movie franchises that we coveredalready on the podcast.
(02:24):
So let's jump right in. JB, when did you see The Karate
Kid Part 3 for the very first time, man.
This is a franchise that I grew up watching.
It's right up there with with the Rocky series and the Yeah,
Back to the Future franchise. I just remembered I can't
remember not watching this movie.
And yeah, it's must have been a really, really little kid.
(02:46):
I mean because it came out in what, 80 this?
One came out, this came out in 89, the first one was out in 84,
and I think Part 2 was 86 and then this one was 89.
So yeah. Yeah, so I would have been 4
when it came out, but I rememberwatching it when I was really
little and yeah, not really fully grasping all the concepts
until I was older. Of course, yeah, I was
(03:07):
definitely older. I mean, I, I remember seeing
Karate Kid one. I think I saw it in the theater.
I know I saw the second one in the theater.
I'm not sure if I saw the first one in the theater necessarily,
but this one I know I did not see in the theater.
This is one that I'm sure I caught on VHS like when it came
out, because it came out in the summer of 89 when all the other
(03:29):
big blockbusters came out and itdid not last in the theater very
long at all. So it wasn't at the top of my
list. And so I want to say I don't
even think I rewatched this one a lot.
Like I've seen the 1st 2 so manytimes I almost know them almost
by heart at this point. This one not as much.
So that kind of tells you where it stands with me on phone on
rewatch ability. But how long has it been since
(03:50):
you watched it before rewatchingit for the podcast?
Start to finish was probably 2021.
OK AI got COVID and I was I was off work for a week.
Right, right. Course, I was just, I watched
all The Karate Kid movies and, you know, and then probably 10
or 15 other movies that week. Right, right.
(04:12):
Yes, I remember watching it and listening to your podcasts on
the 1st 2 like that. Really, of course, I'd kind of,
I'd grown up on them, but the rewatch really like and I and I,
I did go back and watch The NextKarate Kid, which we're just not
(04:33):
going to talk about that one. No, no, Thankfully that one came
out in the 90s, so I don't have to, I don't have to talk about.
That you don't have to talk about that.
You wouldn't have to anyway, even if it wasn't 80s but.
Right, right, right, right. I choose not to.
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, that was the last time
I think I watched it start to finish.
Since then, anytime I'm somewhere and I see that it's
on, I'll probably flip it on. Don't matter which one it is,
(04:54):
1-2 or three, right? I'll turn them on and watch
them, and then I'll. Of course, I watched it again
just yesterday. So the times, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, it's been a while for me.
I want to say that when I finally got into Cobra Kai,
which is around the time that wedid the episodes on Karate Kid
one and two, I think I went backand watched all The Karate Kid
(05:16):
movies around that time, so I'm sure I watched it then.
I don't. Yeah.
Honestly, I don't know if I've ever seen in the Next Karate
Kid. I don't think I've seen the 4th
1. I think I've seen bits and
pieces, but I've never watched all of it.
But this one I still because it's Miyagi and Daniel.
Daniel, like I feel like it. If you're going to watch the
first two, you should watch thisone as well.
Like it's just, you know, it doesn't necessarily close out
(05:38):
the story, but just because it'sthe last one of the two of them
together, it had been because that kind of special, special
part of it. But.
But yeah, but it's been a while even before they had probably
been. I mean, it might have been when
I watched it on video that firsttime, maybe caught it on cable a
few times after that just because it was on.
I watched it but yeah that's wasit isn't one that I've rewatched
(05:59):
a lot. Like I said, I've seen the 1st 2
so many times but. I mean, it still has its
moments. It's not like Rocky.
It's not like Rocky 5 or anything, you know?
Gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the Rocky we'd all like to forget.
Yeah. So, but yeah, I'm about to, I'm
about to jump into the Rocky franchise that's coming up soon.
So, so get ready. Yeah, it's hard.
(06:22):
That's hard. You know, it's hard to jump into
a franchise in the middle in the80s because the 1st 2 came out
in the 70s. I was going to start.
With you'll start from the beginning.
No, I'm going to start with Rocky three.
I mean, we'll talk about the first two, but yeah, so anyway,
all right, come that's coming later.
You'll you'll hear more about that later.
But anyway. So let's jump into story origin
and pre production. Not a lot to cover here because
once again, it's a sequel, so you kind of know what they're
(06:44):
trying to do. But Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote
the first two Karate Kid movies,had originally wanted to write
the third installment and he wanted to be a prequel with the
2 main leads still involved, which is kind of weird.
This is a very strange concept. The original plot would have
involved Daniel and Mr. Miyagi traveling to 16th century China
(07:06):
in a dream and meeting Miyagi's ancestors.
Came and envisioned the sequel to resemble a Hong Kong style
Wexia film and would also have afemale protagonist.
But the producers balked at the idea and came in reluctantly.
Was reluctant on rehashing the same story all over again.
He only returned after the studio agreed to pay him a lot
(07:28):
more money, which is usually what the case is.
But yeah, so he was the other studio was like no, we want more
of what we had in the first one,which is pretty much what this
is. It's very much, you know, kind
of a not a total rehash, but it's a lot of similarities
between the 1st between the first one.
But yeah, they brought him back with, you know, enough money,
you'll, you'll write anything. Yeah.
(07:49):
But yeah, that that's pretty much all I got for pre
production. He just had to write this, this
story. How do you feel about it going?
Like, so first one was, you know, there in California and of
course, all the meeting togetherand then Part 2 of them going to
Okinawa, which I love. That's, you know, there's parts
of me that love the second one alittle bit more than the first
(08:09):
one just because of the setting and like the ancestry and the
history. It just seemed to like it was,
it was really, really good. But this one, to go back to LA
and kind of back to Cobra Kai, back to crease, you know, How
did you feel about them going back to the setting of the first
one? Well, first of all, I like the
(08:30):
the Vietnam flashbacks of of crease and silver just kind of
getting a little bit more depth on that character.
I like the way they did that. I think, wow, there may not have
been many flashbacks in them. I might be thinking of Cobra Kai
actually, but. You are.
There's a lot of that in one. Of the season, but they did talk
(08:51):
about. Being, yeah, yeah.
But yeah, but it was, yeah. It's established in this movie
that that's where they know eachother from.
So to get a little bit more background on him was cool.
The going back to Lai feel like they needed to do that because
they kind of went way off going to, which was a great movie
about the way like The Rock. I mean, Karate Kid twos is like
(09:14):
phenomenal film. But yeah, to kind of re
establish it and get more grounded, I feel like it's
something that they should have done to get to.
And yeah, it's kind of rehashingthe same story a little bit, but
I mean, when when something works, why would you mess with
it? So I felt like they did a good
(09:34):
job with it. Terry Silver, which we can talk
about that more later. Yeah, we're yeah.
The baddest of the baddies, Yeah, so.
Yeah, it's it's interesting. I think didn't.
Here's my thing. I didn't mind them going back to
LA. I just, I don't think I like
that 1-2 and three all kind of happened or at least the end of
(09:55):
1 going into Part 2. And then Part 3 is like right
after they get back from Okinawa.
So all of this essentially happens like within let's say,
you know, 16 months of each other.
So it's kind of weird like in 89having to think going back to 85
essentially, you know, it's justkind of I I wish they I wish
(10:17):
they would have fast forwarded alittle bit more where it wasn't
him coming right back to. But you needed that for him to
be, you know, regain, you know, to to defend his title as
though, you know, the the champion.
So that I mean, that was essential to the movie, but it
it was that was a little tough to even watching it again.
I think I forgot like, oh, this does really take place like
(10:39):
literally right after Part 2. Yeah, so.
It's like like one year because he defended his title so.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
So, all right, well, let's jump into casting, as I mentioned on
our Superman 3 episode, not going to cover a lot of the
cast. I mean, we'll talk about him,
but I don't have to go into, like, their filmography because
we've covered them on the previous episode.
So we know Ralph Macchio, of course, played Daniel Larusso as
(11:01):
he did in the first two, nor Norika.
Pat Morita just calling Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi.
Rest in peace. One of the greatest to do it.
Martin Cove, kind of a cameo. You know, he's there at the
beginning and there at the end as John Crease.
I will have this do have this little blurb.
Crease was initially intended tohave a larger role in the film,
but due to his filming schedule conflicts with hard time on
(11:24):
planet Earth. Yes, that's the name of a real
movie that he did. And I and the character of Terry
Silver was written into the script.
But I will honestly say that wassmart.
If you're going to go back to Malay, give us a new villain.
Like I mean, you know, you didn't have crease in the second
besides just the beginning of Part 2, which is literally right
after the end of Part Part 1. But having Terry Silver come in
(11:48):
I think was smart to have a new protagonist.
That's even though I think one article said it's like he's
crease to the 10th power. Like he's just even even more
outrageous, which becomes comical at some point.
Like it's almost he does over. He's really over the top, which
really annoyed me watching at this time.
(12:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he he plays the part
well, but some of it's just likeit's so over there.
I liked him better when he was playing when he was playing like
the like trying to get winning Daniel to his side and being the
Mr. Nice Guy. And you kind of seen that two
faced thing when you first meet him.
He's just so over the top, like,you know, the way he's, you
(12:31):
know, I don't care it takes to get it done.
And you know, I'll just bribe this guy and it's like, OK, this
is this is not real life. I mean, this is not, you know,
it was just he was just like overplaying that character.
Anyway, that's my, my, my take on that.
But let's talk about the man whoplayed Terry Silver, Thomas Ian
Griffith. Of course, he's best known for
this role. He later reprised it in the 4th
(12:52):
through 6th and final season of Cobra Kai, as well as voicing
the character in the video game Cobra Kai 2 Dojos Rising in
2022. He was also the head vampire and
John Carpenter's movie Vampires.He was also in the sword and
sorcery picture Call the Conqueror 1997, and he had a
recurring role on the WBS teen drama series One Tree Hill.
(13:17):
He also did some soap opera workas well.
And although he plays a Vietnam veteran who is roughly 20 years
older than Daniel Daniel Thomas Ian Griffith is actually a few
months younger than Ralph Macchio.
Ralph Macchio was 27 when he filmed this movie, and that
means that they're roughly the same age.
Wow, that kind of obliterates myopinion from watching.
(13:40):
When I when I rewatched the first one, I felt like Ralph
Macchio looked like a total kid and I was like.
Yeah, how much? Older is Elizabeth Shue than
him, but apparently she's probably younger actually.
Yeah, she was, yeah. I think he was like, yeah, so he
was 20. He's either 21 or 22.
So she wasn't that much younger.I think she was like 1819.
Like they both played younger. But yeah, I mean, that was the
(14:02):
whole thing about that. I mean, that's Ralph Macchio.
Like how he got into The Outsiders was because he looked
like he was 14 and he was, you know, 17 or 18 or whatever.
So it's. Like Michael J Fox, man, he
looks like he's 12, you know? Oh yeah, yeah, babyface.
But yeah. So how did you, what did you
think about Terry Silver? Her The trail was it?
(14:24):
Was it too over the top for you like it was for me?
It was definitely over the top and what's funny is like of
course now watching Cobra Kai, which I haven't watched the last
part of that yet. Yeah, I haven't.
I haven't. Been holding off on it because I
don't want, I don't want to be done, you know?
Like I'm just, it's just sad. I do.
The same thing, like when I knowit's the final season, like I
don't really want to watch it because I don't want to know it
ends, Yeah. But it's funny that you
(14:48):
mentioned the One Tree Hill, because I've seen One Tree Hill
three times. And this last time that I
watched it is when it finally clicked with me who he was.
I was like, Oh my gosh, he's such a good guy in this show.
But anyway, yeah, as far as Terry Silver goes, man, like, so
ridiculously over the top. And when I said the baddest of
(15:09):
the baddies, I mean, he's bad inmore than one way.
Yes, he's definitely a bad bad guy, right?
But he's also a really bad actorin this movie.
Like he's just wow, just mustache twirling like.
Yes, yeah. Yeah, it's.
It's just weird but. Overly maniacal, yeah.
(15:32):
But I mean it fits with a lot ofthe themes of the the 80s movies
too though. So like, I mean, yeah.
That's actually the only movie I've seen with him other than I
have seen Triple X but he had a very very small role in.
That Oh yeah. And I've watched Vampires, but I
don't think I remember. I don't think I put I might have
like he looks familiar. I might have looked on IMDb and
realized it was the same guy, but it didn't stick with me
(15:54):
going back to think about it. But yeah, all right, let's talk
about Robin Lively as Jessica Andrews.
She's known for her roles in the89 movies Teen Witch that came
out the same year as this movie,as well as TV shows like Doogie
Howser, MD, Twin Peaks, Savannahand Saving Grace.
Of course, we covered her in hersmall role in The Best of Times
(16:16):
Jamie and I did as well as Wildcats that were both made in
1985. After she was cast as Jessica
Andrews, producers were forced to modify her role of
protagonist Daniel Russo's new love interest because she was
only 16 at the time of filming and still a minor, while Ralph
Macchio was 27, although his character was supposed to be 17.
(16:37):
This this situation cause romantic scenes between Jessica
and Daniel be rewritten. So the pair only developed a
close friendship and also read adifferent blurb that Ralph
Macchio's wife was like, no, no more love interest for you.
She can be your friend this time.
Tired of saying you kissed otherwomen on film.
But I mean, I thought she was a good addition to the to the
role. I mean, to the to the part, to
the movie, to the franchise. I can talk.
(16:59):
But not not kissing other women on film.
That's, we'll call that the KirkCameron effect.
There you go. But no, he, yeah, I thought she
did a really good job. I did find it a little bit weird
that it wasn't a love interest, that it was just like a
friendship. And she had a boyfriend who I
guess lived in Canada. You wouldn't know him.
(17:21):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, she, I mean, she
basically asks him out when theyfirst meet and then all of a
sudden she find out she has a boyfriend.
Like, yeah, it, it feels weird because like I said at the
beginning, you know exactly where it's going.
OK, here, this is the new love interest.
And then she's packing up and leaving like halfway through the
movie. And I'm like, this feels really
(17:42):
weird to me. That whole scene of like after
they're at the club and they're dancing and then she gets mad
and then next thing you know, she's packing and leaving.
I was like, OK, this seems it was just, it was just weird.
It was just a weird plot line togo.
It's it's a weird thing too, in that like he has a different
love interest in every movie. Like, why couldn't him and him
and Ally stay together? You know, like.
(18:03):
Yeah, exactly like I would have,I would have preferred for her
to come back in the picture and the third one, you know, yes,
rekindle something from the fromthe past because like obviously
you're the problem, dude. Like the end of, you know, at
the end of the first one, he's like, you know, he's mad at Alli
because I think she met somebodyat college and then at the
beginning of this was like, Oh no, she's not coming because she
(18:24):
got a dance studio job somewhereelse.
And so it's like, dude, OK, you're the problem.
You. Suck dude, just just admit it.
But well, you know, like I said in the in the opening, and I
think I felt this way watching it too, is like and and we'll
get to it. Like when we talk about Ralph
Macchio was not happy with this movie at all because there was
(18:47):
no he felt like his character hadn't grown any.
And it's true. Like he's making the same.
He's still acting like a which of course he has a kid, but
still, it's like you've already kind of gone through this twice
already, you know, you know, kind of learn from mistakes, but
you know, just a hot headedness and like him going off the hand.
I'm like, yeah, this this shouldn't like you should be
(19:08):
passive. Have a different challenge to
overcome by the third movie instead of just rehashing the
same the same things over again.It just that got a little
irritating about halfway through.
It's like, come on, man, We've we've seen you do this too many
times already. Like, you know, just wise up.
Yeah, you also have to consider he's 19, so yeah, yeah, yeah.
(19:29):
So I'm just like, yeah, I mean, I get it.
And he's also trying to understand something that is
being taught by 60 something year old man.
Yeah. And so the the wisdom that he
has gained in his sixty years cannot be replicated into a 19
year old kid like true in one year.
So I think I'll give him a little bit of grace for it, but
(19:52):
yeah. Alright, let's talk about Sean
Kanan as Mike Barnes and Sean Kanan is no relation to the
writer whose last name is Kanan.But as a teenager, Kanan studied
Shotokan karate under sensei William Stoner.
By the time he landed the role, Kanan had a good foundation of
Japanese karate, which would be essential for portraying the
(20:12):
central villain opposite hero Daniel Larusso.
He trained at a school run by karate master Fumio Dumura and
was stunt coordinator and Tang so do master Pat E Johnson.
So, yeah, so he was, I think they sent out of like the 2000
different people that auditioned.
He was like the best in martial arts and he was the only in all
(20:34):
of the movies. He was the only only one that
actually had karate experience before being cast.
So he kind of knew what he was doing.
So and actually, I think I didn't put it, I don't know put
it there, but like even Thomas Ian who played Silver had
training as well. Like he was, he was already, I
don't think he was a black building city was a Greenbelt,
(20:54):
but he had, you know, he actually had karate background
as well. But for Sean Kanan,
unfortunately, during filming, he suffered internal bleeding
after injuring his omentum, A membrane that connects the
stomach with other organs, supplying them with blood along
with physically protecting them.He collapsed to the Las Vegas H4
days after shooting the scene and underwent life saving
(21:16):
surgery. Yeah, crazy.
So, But yeah, he's a he's also aperiod as a bad boy with a heart
of gold on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
He portrayed the same character on the sister show The Young and
the Restless. He also played AJ Quartermaine
on General Hospital. His other most recent movie
credits include 2/20/21 films with Bruce Willis Survived The
(21:37):
Game and The Fortress. But he's still still in the
business. They need to pop up on for like,
what, two or three episodes of Cobra Kai, I think.
And like Season 3, I think he popped up was pretty good seeing
him, you know, still kicking butt.
Was it like a freeze like a furniture salesman or something?
Yeah, he was. Yeah, it's been a while to watch
those episodes, but yeah. And ironic that in this movie he
(22:01):
was destroying furniture. Yeah.
Tables and stuff in that that that store, whatever.
Yeah, the bonsai. Bonsai Tree Store, yeah.
Mr. Miyagi's Little Trees. It's catchy, rolls off the
tongue every every says it. Yeah.
So what are your thoughts on Mike Barnes?
Good. I mean, I think he's another
good antagonist. He's kind of, you know, once
(22:22):
again, Johnny Lawrence to the tothe 10th power.
Yeah, and he has a little bit ofan excuse to be over the top
because he's not an actor by trade.
He's Yeah, he's a martial artist.
But I mean, it has like, what, 20 something credits to his name
other than the TV stuff that he's done.
Yeah, he's, I mean, he did a good job.
And I think you could really tell that he has some training
(22:43):
under his belt, his karate belt,so to say.
But yeah, yeah, I mean, I, I like him.
And if we're going to go, if we're going to go big on the
baddies with Terry Silver, who might as well go big on the
baddies on the young guy too, so.
Right, right. The bad boy of karate.
Yeah, right. So and then we've got Jonathan
(23:05):
Avildsen, a snake. He's actually the son of the
director John G Avidsen. He also appeared in Rocky 5 as
well as the comedy Gone Fishing with Joe Pesci and Danny Glover.
So actually when the character was created, Mike Barnes was
originally written as a skilled but amateur karate student who
came from a family that trained all of their children in karate,
as evidenced by an early screen test with a then cast Jonathan
(23:29):
Avalon. So he was actually cast as Mike
Barnes originally. OK, but Mike Barnes was
originally conceived as more of an obsessed fan of Daniel who
respected his skill at karate and wanted to beat Daniel at the
All Valley Tournament for personal reasons as his two
brothers had in the past. Both had held the title for five
years. This back story would also put
his origin from Los Angeles area, not from elsewhere in the
(23:51):
country. However, instead of simply
winning the tournament, Barnes wanted to win quote UN quote the
right way by traditionally beating the previous champion.
This initial portrayal of Barneswas more of a chosen type honor
focused character who initially seemed who seemed somewhat
unpleasant. In this original version, Mike
was less outright aggressive andmore affably evil, trying to
(24:14):
passively a passive aggressivelymanipulate Daniel into competing
against him by first complimenting him and then
beginning to take a darker tone when Daniel refused.
This back story also mentioned that Mike had been trained to
fight in the tournament since hewas 14.
However, the film makers ended up rewriting the script and it
was decided that Jonathan Avildsen would not workout for
(24:34):
the newer Mike Barnes the film makers wanted because they
wanted a taller, more muscular, physical, imposing and
intimidating nationwide karate champion.
The newer Mike Barnes was written to be more aggressive,
less friendly, and without any motive other than personal
wealth. It's likely they made this
change to raise the stakes to Daniel fighting an unhinged and
greedy professional karate fighter, as well as to cement
(24:57):
the wealth and power that Terry Silver had access to and the
links he was willing to go to humiliate Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
Since the film makers had been previously impressed by Sean
Kanan's intimidating audition, Kanan made sure to intimidate
Ralph Macho to be remembered by the film makers, who had already
seen thousands of other hopefuls.
So they called Shane Sean Kanan back and told him that he got
(25:17):
the role. However, Jonathan did such a
great job on his early Mark Bond.
On his early Mike Barnes screen test, the film makers wrote the
character of Snake for him, a character who was much closer to
Abbotson's original portrayal ofMike Barnes.
OK, that was a lot. So, yeah.
So that was interesting that he is that, you know, the guy that
played Snake was the original Barnes, but a different type of
(25:39):
character, more passive aggressive.
And, you know, I kind of like that other back story better.
But I understand why to have theconnection with Terry Silver
makes more sense for him to be just somebody that Terry Silver
pays to come in from out of town, doesn't know who Daniel
is, doesn't care. Just really, they're just a, you
know, be the bad boy of karate and just, you know, make some
(26:00):
money. Yeah, that that original story
is is a more interesting story, but this one fits with the plot
more. Yeah.
Yeah. I didn't realize.
I didn't, I didn't go and look at the I I was going to be
surprised on all this because I didn't go and look at any of the
ACT. But I didn't realize when you
said Jonathan, the Bills Appleton, I was like, oh, that
must be that must be John's son.But yeah, it really is.
(26:22):
OK. Yeah.
Cool, cool all. Right.
Well, that's that's all I have on the cast.
Anybody else that that we need to mention?
I mean, there weren't really those were kind of the main
characters. Even Snake kind of becomes a a
side care. You know, he's kind of a he's
there at the beginning, but he kind of fades out towards the
end. We're just Silver and and and by
(26:43):
Barnes and I didn't realize thatSnake was actually Terry
Silver's son. Like in the movie, he's supposed
to be Terry Silver's son. I didn't get that connection at
all, but I saw that in some of the notes when I was reading.
I was like, Oh, I didn't I didn't put that together in the
movie at all. That that was supposed to be his
son. Yeah, I didn't put that.
Yeah, I didn't realize that either.
All right, let's talk about iconic or favorite scenes.
(27:03):
So if someone says to you KarateKid Part 3, what's the first
scene that you think of? The rock climbing, yeah, going
down to get the. The bonsai tree.
The bonsai tree, like, that whole scene was just so
memorable to me. And I also have to say the one
where he asked Mr. Miyagi to teach him how to sweep, and he
(27:26):
goes, he gets a broom. Yeah.
So look, you go back and forth like this.
Right, right. I'll always remember that from
when I was a kid. So yeah, those two are probably
the most memorable to me. Yeah, yeah, I was going to say
the the going down to get the bonsai tree is probably the one
that sticks out the most. That's the one that stands out
the most from this one for this one.
(27:47):
And then in the scene where Daniel has to break all the wood
pieces and the like the human frame, whatever with Mike Barnes
picture on the front, you know, it goes back to when creased.
I was like, I want you to make his knuckles bleed When you
remember getting breaking the glass and of course you see
Daniel hitting that that wood, you know, plank or whatever with
(28:07):
Barnes's face on and his knuckles starting to bleed.
And it's like, OK, that you know, I will say is it was a
silver had a great plan, like the plan worked to AT which is
almost irritating. Like there should have been some
kind of something had to have gone wrong at some point.
But I mean, everything played exactly the way he he thought it
(28:28):
would. So, you know, just I guess he's
a smart businessman. He knows how to how to connive
and control. But yeah, he he played well.
The one that I didn't get, though, was why did he show up
at the club to pay the kid to like pick a fight with Daniel
for him to punch him like it, you know, I know they needed
(28:49):
that for like Daniel didn't havethe realization that's not him.
That's not who he who he is, butit just it, you know, that that
was a little that one, that partwas a little weird to me.
Yeah, I mean, that may be the whole where things went wrong
though for him though is becauseI think he was trying to unleash
some some dog in Daniel, you know, like, yeah, yeah,
(29:09):
something inside of him that that would make him want to do
this more and kind of backfired a little bit.
So yeah, I mean, it was it was weird, but I I can kind of
understand what what Silver was trying to do in that
character's. Yeah.
And like I said, I mean, I know why the scene is there because
that's the that's the point of Daniel coming to realize like
(29:29):
that's, you know, I'm, you know,and it's, it's funny because
that scene to me is like what Cobra Kai became.
It was like you. How many of the characters of
Cobra Kai like they, they get, they get involved with Johnny
and when he was all Cobra Kai had no mercy.
And they're like, you know, thisisn't who I am.
I'm not this just, you know, strike first, no mercy person.
(29:52):
I'm, you know, I want to use karate for defense, not offense,
whatever. So I thought we when that scene
played out, I was kind of like, OK, I can see where, you know,
Cobra Kai really kind of how that that show kind of kept
going. But I want to say like, I think
I read some of that but in the notes.
But I think the creators of Cobra Kai said that Terry Silver
(30:13):
was their favorite villain and they did.
They have a lot of, you know, they have a lot of love for Part
3, so I can kind of see where they pulled some of that
inspiration for the show in thismovie for sure.
Yeah, you can see that. Sorry.
I'll let it. I'll let it Theon out.
You're good. Yeah, that's fine.
So you have any favorite scenes?I really like the fight between
(30:36):
Miyagi and Crease and Silver. That was that was that's pretty
cool. And just to kind of see how much
of AA bad dude Miyagi is, like dude never even got touched the
entire time, but it was just like, so yeah, that that was
pretty cool. Of course, you can't discount
(30:58):
the the last part of the the bigfight with with Mike When when
he kind of channels the the katathat that Terry Silver said.
Oh, that's good for breaking a sweat, but it's not good for
karate. Well, he used it to beat your
dude, man. Right, exactly.
(31:19):
You can't, can't, can't throw that one away, but it's always
going to be the the two on one fight, man, because that's
that's pretty awesome. Yeah, even when Miyagi comes in,
when the when Barnes and Snake and the other guy, I don't
remember his name, are like trash in the bonsai tree store,
like he comes to the double doors, like, you know, the light
(31:39):
behind him and like, here he comes, he's coming to like, take
care of business. So yeah.
Yeah, I like that. I like that scene too.
So yeah, it doesn't. This one unfortunately doesn't
have those like memorable sceneslike the first two do because
they just feel like they're morelike I want to go to the
tournament, but it still feels like the first tournament.
You know, it's a lot shorter because you just see that, you
(31:59):
know, he doesn't have to fight to get to the final round.
He just has to be there to defend whoever makes it to the
final round. But but I did like the train.
You know, the training sequencesare still good.
The music is still my favorite. Like, I love the theme music
that they play during those training montage moments.
But yeah, it it it's good. I don't.
Like I said, I don't really havetoo many to mention this.
(32:21):
This isn't one that we can kind of go on and on and on about
scenes, I don't think, unless you've got more you want to talk
about. But there weren't a lot for me
unfortunately. Training montage man.
Like a good training montage waslike iconic in the 80s.
Yeah, of course. Late 70s and 80s so.
Yeah, yeah. This was this definitely one of
the one of the good ones there for sure.
Any favorite lines or dialogue that you remember stood out to
(32:45):
you? Just the sweeping line.
Yeah, that's good. Can you teach me to sweep?
Sure, I'll teach you to sweep. I.
Just said there's one thing and I won't ask for anything else.
Can you teach me to sweep? You just go back and forth to
select this. I'm like.
Yeah, I'm like, you hear yourself, right.
You just said sweep. You didn't say sweep.
Yeah. And there's like he's teaching
you the sweep move. Don't you know that you got
(33:05):
injured in the first one by whenhe told Johnny to sweep the leg
like this is you're you're learning the move that almost
broke your knee. You know, in the first movie, I
did like the whatever stuff thathe used when he when he caught
Daniel coming in with limp and he's like, what's wrong with
your foot? You know what foot that foot is
like, Oh, no, that happened. And he like puts the bowl with
(33:27):
the hot water and whatever, whatever the spices or whatever
he put in the bowl and he's like, what's tonight Better you
not know. And then you know that you got
to have some of that little, that ancient or you know, the
ancient magic to, to quickly heal him as he needed.
Alright, let's jump into some trivia.
(33:49):
There's not a lot in here either.
I didn't. There just wasn't a whole lot on
this movie, unfortunately. But I will mention this.
According to star Robin Lively, Ralph Macchio was extremely
difficult to work with on the set of the movie.
Macchio would often show up to work late and complaining about
various aspects of the movie. He would later admit to being
unhappy with the script for the movie and as a result, that
(34:12):
making the movie was an unpleasant experience.
He also claimed to dislike the final cut of the film, likely
causing him to leave the franchise until nearly two
decades later with the streamingseries Cobra Kai.
According to director John G Evelson in a 2000 interview, he
himself was no fan of the movie.He considered, quote UN quote,
horrible imitation of Part 1, which will baffle those who
(34:35):
hadn't seen the first two films and insult those who have.
UN quote. He agreed with star Ralph
Macchio that making the picture was a miserable experience,
largely because the screenplay was hastily written and sloppily
rewritten, which is a risky procedure at best.
And for us, it was deadly. I don't know about deadly, but
yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't the best, wasn't the
(34:56):
best. Yeah, I mean, like I said, I'm
there's still some redeeming qualities too.
Yeah, it's just. I mean, yeah, I say one thing I
can say about it, it for a movietrilogy, it does hold good
consistencies because you have the same writer and same
director for all three films. So I could see this, you know,
(35:19):
them coming back to part three with a totally different writer,
totally different director that didn't understand the nuances of
the character as much, even though, you know, we know it's
it lacked a lot of what the first two had, but at least it
still fits in the, you know, still fits with the other two
movies. It doesn't seem like a huge
departure from what you came to expect from the 1st 2:00.
(35:43):
Yeah, and you don't see a lot ofthat either as far as the same
having the same director for I mean, what what the Indiana
Jones movies is the only ones I could think of that really has
the same directors throughout the entire future.
Yeah, that's true. Back to the Future.
Yeah. So, but yeah, it's there's a lot
to be said about that. They all kind of fit in there to
(36:03):
the the the director's vision, so.
This is something I did not knowuntil doing the research here,
but Paula Abdul took on a role as dance choreographer on The
Karate Kid Part 3, although there were no specific dance
scenes in the movie besides Ralph Macchio doing twirls at
the dance club. I mean all he did was like move
(36:24):
side to side and then do it, do it, do it.
I wish I was laughing. He just turned, does a big turn
around or whatever. But this role as dance
choreographer was not new for Paula Abdul.
She served in the same role in such films as Private School,
Can't Buy Me, Love, The Running Man, Action Jackson, Big, Coming
to America and more. A year after The Karate Kid Part
3, she choreographed the scent Oscar awards ceremony.
(36:48):
I know we talked about her beingthe choreography and coming to
America way back when. But yeah, I think that's, you
know, how she get the job. She can do it.
So as a little dancing, I thought maybe she choreographed
some of the fight scenes, like add a little twirl here, add a
little, you know, move your hipsthis way.
Was that he's telling Daniel like move your hips, move your
hips. That's where the power is.
The power's in your hips. Well, let's see.
(37:09):
Do I have anything else in here?I last one just about we'll
mention the Snakes character again.
Jonathan Evanson's character Snake was announced to have died
in the sixth season of Cobra Kai.
This was done because he retiredfrom acting in 2002 and was not
interested in reprising the rolewhen asked, so he just chose not
(37:29):
to come back. Cobra Kai came came out just a
few years after his dad died. Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, His dad died in 2017. Yeah, that's true.
A problem I mean, I don't think I would want to either like.
Yeah, yeah, I can. That's totally understandable,
for sure. Sure.
(37:50):
All right, let's jump in the boxoffice.
Karate Kid Part 3 debuted in American theaters on June 30th,
1989, and failed to take the topspot at the weekend box office.
Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids maintain the number one and
#2 spot, respectively, for the second week in a row.
The only other two new releases that week?
(38:10):
The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic GreatBalls of Fire, which debuted at
#7, and the critically acclaimedSpike Lee drama Do the Right
Thing debuted at #8. So like I said, summer of 89 was
tough to be, you know, trying tomatch the success of Batman,
Lethal Weapon 2, Ghostbusters 2,Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
(38:33):
I mean, there were just so many huge movies that summer.
So I can I can see why this one failed to?
Is it the top spot? Didn't back to the feature 2
come out in 89 as well? I think it was 80.
Was it 89 or 88? Because the third one came out
in 90. Right.
So I was thinking, I thought they did them.
It might have been, Yeah, I think it was 89 because Who
(38:53):
Framed Roger Rabbit was 88 and then, yeah, back to Feature 3
was 89. You're right.
You're absolutely right. Good call back.
All right, it's time to take a look at how well this 80s movie
holds up today and the all new rewatch ability.
Nostalgia meter is our way of measuring how enjoyable movie is
for repute, for repeat viewings along with the waves and
(39:13):
nostalgia brings. Here's how it works.
It's a one to 10 scale. Any number between 1:00 and
10:00 will do, but here are a few parameters to help you
decide. At the bottom of the meter, a #1
means I saw it once and that wasenough.
Right in the middle is A5, whichis considered a good rewatch
every couple of years. And at the top, the highly
(39:34):
coveted #10 is highly rewatchable and full of
nostalgia. So JB Huffman of Manly Movies,
where does Karate Kid Part 3 land for you on the rewatch
ability nostalgia meter? A lot lower than the first two
the 1st 2 are easily 10s yeah this one, this one would
(39:56):
probably fall somewhere in the middle around maybe a 5 or 6.
But The thing is like I'm I'm such a completionist.
The 1st 2 are so rewatchable that I'm, I'm probably going to
watch the third one as well. Yeah yeah, it's.
I mean if if it was a stand alone movie I wouldn't rewatch
it very much. Since I like the first 2 so
(40:16):
much, I'm going to rewatch them every few years because every
time I rewatch the other one so.Yeah, I agree with that.
Yes, I was going to say A6 is kind of where it was landing for
me for a lot of the same reasons.
But like you, if it was a stand alone movie, probably not.
It'd probably be much like a twoor three, but because, like you
(40:37):
said, because how much I enjoy one and two and knowing it is
like a real continuation of the story.
Like it literally picks up from where two leaves often pretty
much. Or, you know, happens right
after two it you kind of have towatch it just to like finish the
story. So Oh yeah, yeah, I agree with
that. I'd give it a six because it's
(40:59):
it's worth pretty is worth revisiting every so often, but
definitely not one I'm going to want to watch every year like I
would the first or the second one for sure.
All right, well, let us know where you think The Karate Kid
Part 3 should rank on your rewatchability nostalgia meter.
You can send us an e-mail or tell us on social media,
Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, or you can leave a comment in
(41:23):
YouTube if you're watching the podcast on YouTube with us as
well. All right, JBI think we've
covered this one as well as we can.
Thanks so much for joining the show.
I'd hate to keep beating a dead horse, but it's manly movies
ever coming back Or is a resurrection possible?
It's it's possible. It's just like everything keeps
happening. Like I, I told you before we
(41:44):
started this that I started a new job and now it's like I
don't have any free time at all.So yeah.
So it's, it's going to come at some point once things kind of
settle in a little bit more. I want to do it.
It's just I've got so much goingon.
So Oh yeah, it'll get there eventually.
(42:04):
Yeah, well, I appreciate you taking the time to be on this
one. Always a joy to have you on the
show. Thanks for always being
available to talk about these fun movies from the 80s.
Absolutely, man. And this is like quite a kid,
man. Like this franchise is something
when you said that were that youwere doing, because I'll say I
was really upset that I didn't get to do Back to the Future any
(42:26):
of those. And, and The Karate Kid, like
the first two that you did and Ihad forgotten that you didn't do
3. But one, if you said that you're
going to do karate, dude, 3 is like, yes, that's me, me, me,
me, me. Yeah, now you.
Did jump on that one pretty quick so.
Now I'm excited that you're doing Rocky too, because that's
another franchise that I grew upon, so.
(42:47):
Yeah, yeah, I've been wanting toget, it's like, I want to get to
4 so bad because it's like that's literally like one of my
favorites. Not the best of the franchise,
but a favorite. But I like, I knew I had to
start at 3. And so just to kind of, you
know, I think I think I might have mentioned it on one of the
other podcasts. If not, it'll be your first time
mentioning it. But when I was putting my
calendar together originally, I got my weeks mixed up and so I
(43:09):
only planned 6 for the summer. But there's actually seven of
seven release dates for June, July, and August.
So my bonus sequel is going to be Rocky 3 because it's the
first one in the series and it'sa part three.
I was like, well, that's perfect.
Now I can do Rocky 3 and then that way I can continue on with
I guess 4, Five I don't think came out in the 80s, right.
(43:32):
Didn't 5I. Think it came out in 90.
Yeah. So we'll get 2 and we'll get 3
and four. And of course we'll talk about,
you know where, if you like, we'll talk about 1:00 and 2:00
when we get into three. But so so if you want to jump on
Rocky three, I can go ahead and put you down.
Just let me know. Think about it, I kind of would
like to do 4 but. But you can do both.
(43:54):
Just because you do 1, I mean you can't do the other.
One that's true, yeah. I don't want to be a hog, but
you know, this is like my absolute favorite franchise, so
so I'm probably going to want todo both.
Yeah, yeah. Well, let's do it.
All right. Well, thanks everybody for
listening. Yeah.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a five star
review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to follow or subscribe
(44:16):
so you never miss an episode. Jump online and visit the
website 80s flickflashback.com and RT Public Store for some
awesome 80s Flick Flashback merch and original designs.
I just launched a a new collection of designs inspired
by previous episodes like Caddyshack, UHF and Weird
Science. Thanks again for tuning in.
I'm Tim Williams for the 80s Flick Flashback podcast.
(44:37):
They made you suffer, so I'm going to make them suffer and
suffer and suffer. And when I think they've
suffered enough, then I start with the pain.
Daniel Larusso is no longer a disciplined karate student, but
a pawn in a game of revenge by amaniacal millionaire.
On this episode of The 80s FlickFlashback, I'm joined by guest
Co host JB Huffman to discuss the 80s flick sequel that Crane
kicked the franchise into oblivion with its cartoonish
(00:20):
villains and lack of Miyagido heart.
We'll break down Daniel Larusso's baffling decision to
forget every lesson he's learnedand try to make sense of an
elaborate revenge scheme centered on terrorizing a
teenager. Stay tuned as we continue our
Summer of Sequels 2 series with our nostalgic views and rad
review of The Karate Kid Part 3 from 1989 on this episode of The
(00:44):
80s Flick Flashback Podcast. Well, welcome to the show
(01:21):
everybody. I'm your host Tim Williams.
I am thrilled to have back returning Co host who's back in
the Dojo for this episode. He's a man who understands that
to analyze a film, you can't just watch it.
You have to paint the fence, sand the floor and prune the
bonsai tree to understand what'sbeneath the surface.
Please welcome back the all Valley champion of podcasting,
(01:42):
JB Huffman for Manly Movies podcast.
How you doing JB? I'm doing great man.
Ready to ready to talk about oneof my favorite.
I wouldn't say it's my favorite movies if it's definitely not
one of my favorite franchises for sure.
Yeah, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Love the franchise, not a lover
of this movie necessarily. We're not not one of the better
(02:03):
entries of the franchise. Not the worst, but definitely
not, not one of the best. So of course you can go back to
think season 1 or season 2 of the show.
And we covered Karate Kid one and two.
I think we did like back-to-backepisodes, and so go back and
listen to those. But we're here in the summer of
sequels. We're tackling the Part 3 of
movie franchises that we coveredalready on the podcast.
(02:24):
So let's jump right in. JB, when did you see The Karate
Kid Part 3 for the very first time, man.
This is a franchise that I grew up watching.
It's right up there with with the Rocky series and the Yeah,
Back to the Future franchise. I just remembered I can't
remember not watching this movie.
And yeah, it's must have been a really, really little kid.
(02:46):
I mean because it came out in what, 80 this?
One came out, this came out in 89, the first one was out in 84,
and I think Part 2 was 86 and then this one was 89.
So yeah. Yeah, so I would have been 4
when it came out, but I rememberwatching it when I was really
little and yeah, not really fully grasping all the concepts
until I was older. Of course, yeah, I was
(03:07):
definitely older. I mean, I, I remember seeing
Karate Kid one. I think I saw it in the theater.
I know I saw the second one in the theater.
I'm not sure if I saw the first one in the theater necessarily,
but this one I know I did not see in the theater.
This is one that I'm sure I caught on VHS like when it came
out, because it came out in the summer of 89 when all the other
(03:29):
big blockbusters came out and itdid not last in the theater very
long at all. So it wasn't at the top of my
list. And so I want to say I don't
even think I rewatched this one a lot.
Like I've seen the 1st 2 so manytimes I almost know them almost
by heart at this point. This one not as much.
So that kind of tells you where it stands with me on phone on
rewatch ability. But how long has it been since
(03:50):
you watched it before rewatchingit for the podcast?
Start to finish was probably 2021.
OK AI got COVID and I was I was off work for a week.
Right, right. Course, I was just, I watched
all The Karate Kid movies and, you know, and then probably 10
or 15 other movies that week. Right, right.
(04:12):
Yes, I remember watching it and listening to your podcasts on
the 1st 2 like that. Really, of course, I'd kind of,
I'd grown up on them, but the rewatch really like and I and I,
I did go back and watch The NextKarate Kid, which we're just not
(04:33):
going to talk about that one. No, no, Thankfully that one came
out in the 90s, so I don't have to, I don't have to talk about.
That you don't have to talk about that.
You wouldn't have to anyway, even if it wasn't 80s but.
Right, right, right, right. I choose not to.
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, that was the last time
I think I watched it start to finish.
Since then, anytime I'm somewhere and I see that it's
on, I'll probably flip it on. Don't matter which one it is,
(04:54):
1-2 or three, right? I'll turn them on and watch
them, and then I'll. Of course, I watched it again
just yesterday. So the times, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, it's been a while for me.
I want to say that when I finally got into Cobra Kai,
which is around the time that wedid the episodes on Karate Kid
one and two, I think I went backand watched all The Karate Kid
(05:16):
movies around that time, so I'm sure I watched it then.
I don't. Yeah.
Honestly, I don't know if I've ever seen in the Next Karate
Kid. I don't think I've seen the 4th
1. I think I've seen bits and
pieces, but I've never watched all of it.
But this one I still because it's Miyagi and Daniel.
Daniel, like I feel like it. If you're going to watch the
first two, you should watch thisone as well.
Like it's just, you know, it doesn't necessarily close out
(05:38):
the story, but just because it'sthe last one of the two of them
together, it had been because that kind of special, special
part of it. But.
But yeah, but it's been a while even before they had probably
been. I mean, it might have been when
I watched it on video that firsttime, maybe caught it on cable a
few times after that just because it was on.
I watched it but yeah that's wasit isn't one that I've rewatched
(05:59):
a lot. Like I said, I've seen the 1st 2
so many times but. I mean, it still has its
moments. It's not like Rocky.
It's not like Rocky 5 or anything, you know?
Gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the Rocky we'd all like to forget.
Yeah. So, but yeah, I'm about to, I'm
about to jump into the Rocky franchise that's coming up soon.
So, so get ready. Yeah, it's hard.
(06:22):
That's hard. You know, it's hard to jump into
a franchise in the middle in the80s because the 1st 2 came out
in the 70s. I was going to start.
With you'll start from the beginning.
No, I'm going to start with Rocky three.
I mean, we'll talk about the first two, but yeah, so anyway,
all right, come that's coming later.
You'll you'll hear more about that later.
But anyway. So let's jump into story origin
and pre production. Not a lot to cover here because
once again, it's a sequel, so you kind of know what they're
(06:44):
trying to do. But Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote
the first two Karate Kid movies,had originally wanted to write
the third installment and he wanted to be a prequel with the
2 main leads still involved, which is kind of weird.
This is a very strange concept. The original plot would have
involved Daniel and Mr. Miyagi traveling to 16th century China
(07:06):
in a dream and meeting Miyagi's ancestors.
Came and envisioned the sequel to resemble a Hong Kong style
Wexia film and would also have afemale protagonist.
But the producers balked at the idea and came in reluctantly.
Was reluctant on rehashing the same story all over again.
He only returned after the studio agreed to pay him a lot
(07:28):
more money, which is usually what the case is.
But yeah, so he was the other studio was like no, we want more
of what we had in the first one,which is pretty much what this
is. It's very much, you know, kind
of a not a total rehash, but it's a lot of similarities
between the 1st between the first one.
But yeah, they brought him back with, you know, enough money,
you'll, you'll write anything. Yeah.
(07:49):
But yeah, that that's pretty much all I got for pre
production. He just had to write this, this
story. How do you feel about it going?
Like, so first one was, you know, there in California and of
course, all the meeting togetherand then Part 2 of them going to
Okinawa, which I love. That's, you know, there's parts
of me that love the second one alittle bit more than the first
(08:09):
one just because of the setting and like the ancestry and the
history. It just seemed to like it was,
it was really, really good. But this one, to go back to LA
and kind of back to Cobra Kai, back to crease, you know, How
did you feel about them going back to the setting of the first
one? Well, first of all, I like the
(08:30):
the Vietnam flashbacks of of crease and silver just kind of
getting a little bit more depth on that character.
I like the way they did that. I think, wow, there may not have
been many flashbacks in them. I might be thinking of Cobra Kai
actually, but. You are.
There's a lot of that in one. Of the season, but they did talk
(08:51):
about. Being, yeah, yeah.
But yeah, but it was, yeah. It's established in this movie
that that's where they know eachother from.
So to get a little bit more background on him was cool.
The going back to Lai feel like they needed to do that because
they kind of went way off going to, which was a great movie
about the way like The Rock. I mean, Karate Kid twos is like
(09:14):
phenomenal film. But yeah, to kind of re
establish it and get more grounded, I feel like it's
something that they should have done to get to.
And yeah, it's kind of rehashingthe same story a little bit, but
I mean, when when something works, why would you mess with
it? So I felt like they did a good
(09:34):
job with it. Terry Silver, which we can talk
about that more later. Yeah, we're yeah.
The baddest of the baddies, Yeah, so.
Yeah, it's it's interesting. I think didn't.
Here's my thing. I didn't mind them going back to
LA. I just, I don't think I like
that 1-2 and three all kind of happened or at least the end of
(09:55):
1 going into Part 2. And then Part 3 is like right
after they get back from Okinawa.
So all of this essentially happens like within let's say,
you know, 16 months of each other.
So it's kind of weird like in 89having to think going back to 85
essentially, you know, it's justkind of I I wish they I wish
(10:17):
they would have fast forwarded alittle bit more where it wasn't
him coming right back to. But you needed that for him to
be, you know, regain, you know, to to defend his title as
though, you know, the the champion.
So that I mean, that was essential to the movie, but it
it was that was a little tough to even watching it again.
I think I forgot like, oh, this does really take place like
(10:39):
literally right after Part 2. Yeah, so.
It's like like one year because he defended his title so.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
So, all right, well, let's jump into casting, as I mentioned on
our Superman 3 episode, not going to cover a lot of the
cast. I mean, we'll talk about him,
but I don't have to go into, like, their filmography because
we've covered them on the previous episode.
So we know Ralph Macchio, of course, played Daniel Larusso as
(11:01):
he did in the first two, nor Norika.
Pat Morita just calling Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi.
Rest in peace. One of the greatest to do it.
Martin Cove, kind of a cameo. You know, he's there at the
beginning and there at the end as John Crease.
I will have this do have this little blurb.
Crease was initially intended tohave a larger role in the film,
but due to his filming schedule conflicts with hard time on
(11:24):
planet Earth. Yes, that's the name of a real
movie that he did. And I and the character of Terry
Silver was written into the script.
But I will honestly say that wassmart.
If you're going to go back to Malay, give us a new villain.
Like I mean, you know, you didn't have crease in the second
besides just the beginning of Part 2, which is literally right
after the end of Part Part 1. But having Terry Silver come in
(11:48):
I think was smart to have a new protagonist.
That's even though I think one article said it's like he's
crease to the 10th power. Like he's just even even more
outrageous, which becomes comical at some point.
Like it's almost he does over. He's really over the top, which
really annoyed me watching at this time.
(12:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he he plays the part
well, but some of it's just likeit's so over there.
I liked him better when he was playing when he was playing like
the like trying to get winning Daniel to his side and being the
Mr. Nice Guy. And you kind of seen that two
faced thing when you first meet him.
He's just so over the top, like,you know, the way he's, you
(12:31):
know, I don't care it takes to get it done.
And you know, I'll just bribe this guy and it's like, OK, this
is this is not real life. I mean, this is not, you know,
it was just he was just like overplaying that character.
Anyway, that's my, my, my take on that.
But let's talk about the man whoplayed Terry Silver, Thomas Ian
Griffith. Of course, he's best known for
this role. He later reprised it in the 4th
(12:52):
through 6th and final season of Cobra Kai, as well as voicing
the character in the video game Cobra Kai 2 Dojos Rising in
2022. He was also the head vampire and
John Carpenter's movie Vampires.He was also in the sword and
sorcery picture Call the Conqueror 1997, and he had a
recurring role on the WBS teen drama series One Tree Hill.
(13:17):
He also did some soap opera workas well.
And although he plays a Vietnam veteran who is roughly 20 years
older than Daniel Daniel Thomas Ian Griffith is actually a few
months younger than Ralph Macchio.
Ralph Macchio was 27 when he filmed this movie, and that
means that they're roughly the same age.
Wow, that kind of obliterates myopinion from watching.
(13:40):
When I when I rewatched the first one, I felt like Ralph
Macchio looked like a total kid and I was like.
Yeah, how much? Older is Elizabeth Shue than
him, but apparently she's probably younger actually.
Yeah, she was, yeah. I think he was like, yeah, so he
was 20. He's either 21 or 22.
So she wasn't that much younger.I think she was like 1819.
Like they both played younger. But yeah, I mean, that was the
(14:02):
whole thing about that. I mean, that's Ralph Macchio.
Like how he got into The Outsiders was because he looked
like he was 14 and he was, you know, 17 or 18 or whatever.
So it's. Like Michael J Fox, man, he
looks like he's 12, you know? Oh yeah, yeah, babyface.
But yeah. So how did you, what did you
think about Terry Silver? Her The trail was it?
(14:24):
Was it too over the top for you like it was for me?
It was definitely over the top and what's funny is like of
course now watching Cobra Kai, which I haven't watched the last
part of that yet. Yeah, I haven't.
I haven't. Been holding off on it because I
don't want, I don't want to be done, you know?
Like I'm just, it's just sad. I do.
The same thing, like when I knowit's the final season, like I
don't really want to watch it because I don't want to know it
ends, Yeah. But it's funny that you
(14:48):
mentioned the One Tree Hill, because I've seen One Tree Hill
three times. And this last time that I
watched it is when it finally clicked with me who he was.
I was like, Oh my gosh, he's such a good guy in this show.
But anyway, yeah, as far as Terry Silver goes, man, like, so
ridiculously over the top. And when I said the baddest of
(15:09):
the baddies, I mean, he's bad inmore than one way.
Yes, he's definitely a bad bad guy, right?
But he's also a really bad actorin this movie.
Like he's just wow, just mustache twirling like.
Yes, yeah. Yeah, it's.
It's just weird but. Overly maniacal, yeah.
(15:32):
But I mean it fits with a lot ofthe themes of the the 80s movies
too though. So like, I mean, yeah.
That's actually the only movie I've seen with him other than I
have seen Triple X but he had a very very small role in.
That Oh yeah. And I've watched Vampires, but I
don't think I remember. I don't think I put I might have
like he looks familiar. I might have looked on IMDb and
realized it was the same guy, but it didn't stick with me
(15:54):
going back to think about it. But yeah, all right, let's talk
about Robin Lively as Jessica Andrews.
She's known for her roles in the89 movies Teen Witch that came
out the same year as this movie,as well as TV shows like Doogie
Howser, MD, Twin Peaks, Savannahand Saving Grace.
Of course, we covered her in hersmall role in The Best of Times
(16:16):
Jamie and I did as well as Wildcats that were both made in
1985. After she was cast as Jessica
Andrews, producers were forced to modify her role of
protagonist Daniel Russo's new love interest because she was
only 16 at the time of filming and still a minor, while Ralph
Macchio was 27, although his character was supposed to be 17.
(16:37):
This this situation cause romantic scenes between Jessica
and Daniel be rewritten. So the pair only developed a
close friendship and also read adifferent blurb that Ralph
Macchio's wife was like, no, no more love interest for you.
She can be your friend this time.
Tired of saying you kissed otherwomen on film.
But I mean, I thought she was a good addition to the to the
role. I mean, to the to the part, to
the movie, to the franchise. I can talk.
(16:59):
But not not kissing other women on film.
That's, we'll call that the KirkCameron effect.
There you go. But no, he, yeah, I thought she
did a really good job. I did find it a little bit weird
that it wasn't a love interest, that it was just like a
friendship. And she had a boyfriend who I
guess lived in Canada. You wouldn't know him.
(17:21):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, she, I mean, she
basically asks him out when theyfirst meet and then all of a
sudden she find out she has a boyfriend.
Like, yeah, it, it feels weird because like I said at the
beginning, you know exactly where it's going.
OK, here, this is the new love interest.
And then she's packing up and leaving like halfway through the
movie. And I'm like, this feels really
(17:42):
weird to me. That whole scene of like after
they're at the club and they're dancing and then she gets mad
and then next thing you know, she's packing and leaving.
I was like, OK, this seems it was just, it was just weird.
It was just a weird plot line togo.
It's it's a weird thing too, in that like he has a different
love interest in every movie. Like, why couldn't him and him
and Ally stay together? You know, like.
(18:03):
Yeah, exactly like I would have,I would have preferred for her
to come back in the picture and the third one, you know, yes,
rekindle something from the fromthe past because like obviously
you're the problem, dude. Like the end of, you know, at
the end of the first one, he's like, you know, he's mad at Alli
because I think she met somebodyat college and then at the
beginning of this was like, Oh no, she's not coming because she
(18:24):
got a dance studio job somewhereelse.
And so it's like, dude, OK, you're the problem.
You. Suck dude, just just admit it.
But well, you know, like I said in the in the opening, and I
think I felt this way watching it too, is like and and we'll
get to it. Like when we talk about Ralph
Macchio was not happy with this movie at all because there was
(18:47):
no he felt like his character hadn't grown any.
And it's true. Like he's making the same.
He's still acting like a which of course he has a kid, but
still, it's like you've already kind of gone through this twice
already, you know, you know, kind of learn from mistakes, but
you know, just a hot headedness and like him going off the hand.
I'm like, yeah, this this shouldn't like you should be
(19:08):
passive. Have a different challenge to
overcome by the third movie instead of just rehashing the
same the same things over again.It just that got a little
irritating about halfway through.
It's like, come on, man, We've we've seen you do this too many
times already. Like, you know, just wise up.
Yeah, you also have to consider he's 19, so yeah, yeah, yeah.
(19:29):
So I'm just like, yeah, I mean, I get it.
And he's also trying to understand something that is
being taught by 60 something year old man.
Yeah. And so the the wisdom that he
has gained in his sixty years cannot be replicated into a 19
year old kid like true in one year.
So I think I'll give him a little bit of grace for it, but
(19:52):
yeah. Alright, let's talk about Sean
Kanan as Mike Barnes and Sean Kanan is no relation to the
writer whose last name is Kanan.But as a teenager, Kanan studied
Shotokan karate under sensei William Stoner.
By the time he landed the role, Kanan had a good foundation of
Japanese karate, which would be essential for portraying the
(20:12):
central villain opposite hero Daniel Larusso.
He trained at a school run by karate master Fumio Dumura and
was stunt coordinator and Tang so do master Pat E Johnson.
So, yeah, so he was, I think they sent out of like the 2000
different people that auditioned.
He was like the best in martial arts and he was the only in all
(20:34):
of the movies. He was the only only one that
actually had karate experience before being cast.
So he kind of knew what he was doing.
So and actually, I think I didn't put it, I don't know put
it there, but like even Thomas Ian who played Silver had
training as well. Like he was, he was already, I
don't think he was a black building city was a Greenbelt,
(20:54):
but he had, you know, he actually had karate background
as well. But for Sean Kanan,
unfortunately, during filming, he suffered internal bleeding
after injuring his omentum, A membrane that connects the
stomach with other organs, supplying them with blood along
with physically protecting them.He collapsed to the Las Vegas H4
days after shooting the scene and underwent life saving
(21:16):
surgery. Yeah, crazy.
So, But yeah, he's a he's also aperiod as a bad boy with a heart
of gold on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
He portrayed the same character on the sister show The Young and
the Restless. He also played AJ Quartermaine
on General Hospital. His other most recent movie
credits include 2/20/21 films with Bruce Willis Survived The
(21:37):
Game and The Fortress. But he's still still in the
business. They need to pop up on for like,
what, two or three episodes of Cobra Kai, I think.
And like Season 3, I think he popped up was pretty good seeing
him, you know, still kicking butt.
Was it like a freeze like a furniture salesman or something?
Yeah, he was. Yeah, it's been a while to watch
those episodes, but yeah. And ironic that in this movie he
(22:01):
was destroying furniture. Yeah.
Tables and stuff in that that that store, whatever.
Yeah, the bonsai. Bonsai Tree Store, yeah.
Mr. Miyagi's Little Trees. It's catchy, rolls off the
tongue every every says it. Yeah.
So what are your thoughts on Mike Barnes?
Good. I mean, I think he's another
good antagonist. He's kind of, you know, once
(22:22):
again, Johnny Lawrence to the tothe 10th power.
Yeah, and he has a little bit ofan excuse to be over the top
because he's not an actor by trade.
He's Yeah, he's a martial artist.
But I mean, it has like, what, 20 something credits to his name
other than the TV stuff that he's done.
Yeah, he's, I mean, he did a good job.
And I think you could really tell that he has some training
(22:43):
under his belt, his karate belt,so to say.
But yeah, yeah, I mean, I, I like him.
And if we're going to go, if we're going to go big on the
baddies with Terry Silver, who might as well go big on the
baddies on the young guy too, so.
Right, right. The bad boy of karate.
Yeah, right. So and then we've got Jonathan
(23:05):
Avildsen, a snake. He's actually the son of the
director John G Avidsen. He also appeared in Rocky 5 as
well as the comedy Gone Fishing with Joe Pesci and Danny Glover.
So actually when the character was created, Mike Barnes was
originally written as a skilled but amateur karate student who
came from a family that trained all of their children in karate,
as evidenced by an early screen test with a then cast Jonathan
(23:29):
Avalon. So he was actually cast as Mike
Barnes originally. OK, but Mike Barnes was
originally conceived as more of an obsessed fan of Daniel who
respected his skill at karate and wanted to beat Daniel at the
All Valley Tournament for personal reasons as his two
brothers had in the past. Both had held the title for five
years. This back story would also put
his origin from Los Angeles area, not from elsewhere in the
(23:51):
country. However, instead of simply
winning the tournament, Barnes wanted to win quote UN quote the
right way by traditionally beating the previous champion.
This initial portrayal of Barneswas more of a chosen type honor
focused character who initially seemed who seemed somewhat
unpleasant. In this original version, Mike
was less outright aggressive andmore affably evil, trying to
(24:14):
passively a passive aggressivelymanipulate Daniel into competing
against him by first complimenting him and then
beginning to take a darker tone when Daniel refused.
This back story also mentioned that Mike had been trained to
fight in the tournament since hewas 14.
However, the film makers ended up rewriting the script and it
was decided that Jonathan Avildsen would not workout for
(24:34):
the newer Mike Barnes the film makers wanted because they
wanted a taller, more muscular, physical, imposing and
intimidating nationwide karate champion.
The newer Mike Barnes was written to be more aggressive,
less friendly, and without any motive other than personal
wealth. It's likely they made this
change to raise the stakes to Daniel fighting an unhinged and
greedy professional karate fighter, as well as to cement
(24:57):
the wealth and power that Terry Silver had access to and the
links he was willing to go to humiliate Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
Since the film makers had been previously impressed by Sean
Kanan's intimidating audition, Kanan made sure to intimidate
Ralph Macho to be remembered by the film makers, who had already
seen thousands of other hopefuls.
So they called Shane Sean Kanan back and told him that he got
(25:17):
the role. However, Jonathan did such a
great job on his early Mark Bond.
On his early Mike Barnes screen test, the film makers wrote the
character of Snake for him, a character who was much closer to
Abbotson's original portrayal ofMike Barnes.
OK, that was a lot. So, yeah.
So that was interesting that he is that, you know, the guy that
played Snake was the original Barnes, but a different type of
(25:39):
character, more passive aggressive.
And, you know, I kind of like that other back story better.
But I understand why to have theconnection with Terry Silver
makes more sense for him to be just somebody that Terry Silver
pays to come in from out of town, doesn't know who Daniel
is, doesn't care. Just really, they're just a, you
know, be the bad boy of karate and just, you know, make some
(26:00):
money. Yeah, that that original story
is is a more interesting story, but this one fits with the plot
more. Yeah.
Yeah. I didn't realize.
I didn't, I didn't go and look at the I I was going to be
surprised on all this because I didn't go and look at any of the
ACT. But I didn't realize when you
said Jonathan, the Bills Appleton, I was like, oh, that
must be that must be John's son.But yeah, it really is.
(26:22):
OK. Yeah.
Cool, cool all. Right.
Well, that's that's all I have on the cast.
Anybody else that that we need to mention?
I mean, there weren't really those were kind of the main
characters. Even Snake kind of becomes a a
side care. You know, he's kind of a he's
there at the beginning, but he kind of fades out towards the
end. We're just Silver and and and by
(26:43):
Barnes and I didn't realize thatSnake was actually Terry
Silver's son. Like in the movie, he's supposed
to be Terry Silver's son. I didn't get that connection at
all, but I saw that in some of the notes when I was reading.
I was like, Oh, I didn't I didn't put that together in the
movie at all. That that was supposed to be his
son. Yeah, I didn't put that.
Yeah, I didn't realize that either.
All right, let's talk about iconic or favorite scenes.
(27:03):
So if someone says to you KarateKid Part 3, what's the first
scene that you think of? The rock climbing, yeah, going
down to get the. The bonsai tree.
The bonsai tree, like, that whole scene was just so
memorable to me. And I also have to say the one
where he asked Mr. Miyagi to teach him how to sweep, and he
(27:26):
goes, he gets a broom. Yeah.
So look, you go back and forth like this.
Right, right. I'll always remember that from
when I was a kid. So yeah, those two are probably
the most memorable to me. Yeah, yeah, I was going to say
the the going down to get the bonsai tree is probably the one
that sticks out the most. That's the one that stands out
the most from this one for this one.
(27:47):
And then in the scene where Daniel has to break all the wood
pieces and the like the human frame, whatever with Mike Barnes
picture on the front, you know, it goes back to when creased.
I was like, I want you to make his knuckles bleed When you
remember getting breaking the glass and of course you see
Daniel hitting that that wood, you know, plank or whatever with
(28:07):
Barnes's face on and his knuckles starting to bleed.
And it's like, OK, that you know, I will say is it was a
silver had a great plan, like the plan worked to AT which is
almost irritating. Like there should have been some
kind of something had to have gone wrong at some point.
But I mean, everything played exactly the way he he thought it
(28:28):
would. So, you know, just I guess he's
a smart businessman. He knows how to how to connive
and control. But yeah, he he played well.
The one that I didn't get, though, was why did he show up
at the club to pay the kid to like pick a fight with Daniel
for him to punch him like it, you know, I know they needed
(28:49):
that for like Daniel didn't havethe realization that's not him.
That's not who he who he is, butit just it, you know, that that
was a little that one, that partwas a little weird to me.
Yeah, I mean, that may be the whole where things went wrong
though for him though is becauseI think he was trying to unleash
some some dog in Daniel, you know, like, yeah, yeah,
(29:09):
something inside of him that that would make him want to do
this more and kind of backfired a little bit.
So yeah, I mean, it was it was weird, but I I can kind of
understand what what Silver was trying to do in that
character's. Yeah.
And like I said, I mean, I know why the scene is there because
that's the that's the point of Daniel coming to realize like
(29:29):
that's, you know, I'm, you know,and it's, it's funny because
that scene to me is like what Cobra Kai became.
It was like you. How many of the characters of
Cobra Kai like they, they get, they get involved with Johnny
and when he was all Cobra Kai had no mercy.
And they're like, you know, thisisn't who I am.
I'm not this just, you know, strike first, no mercy person.
(29:52):
I'm, you know, I want to use karate for defense, not offense,
whatever. So I thought we when that scene
played out, I was kind of like, OK, I can see where, you know,
Cobra Kai really kind of how that that show kind of kept
going. But I want to say like, I think
I read some of that but in the notes.
But I think the creators of Cobra Kai said that Terry Silver
(30:13):
was their favorite villain and they did.
They have a lot of, you know, they have a lot of love for Part
3, so I can kind of see where they pulled some of that
inspiration for the show in thismovie for sure.
Yeah, you can see that. Sorry.
I'll let it. I'll let it Theon out.
You're good. Yeah, that's fine.
So you have any favorite scenes?I really like the fight between
(30:36):
Miyagi and Crease and Silver. That was that was that's pretty
cool. And just to kind of see how much
of AA bad dude Miyagi is, like dude never even got touched the
entire time, but it was just like, so yeah, that that was
pretty cool. Of course, you can't discount
(30:58):
the the last part of the the bigfight with with Mike When when
he kind of channels the the katathat that Terry Silver said.
Oh, that's good for breaking a sweat, but it's not good for
karate. Well, he used it to beat your
dude, man. Right, exactly.
(31:19):
You can't, can't, can't throw that one away, but it's always
going to be the the two on one fight, man, because that's
that's pretty awesome. Yeah, even when Miyagi comes in,
when the when Barnes and Snake and the other guy, I don't
remember his name, are like trash in the bonsai tree store,
like he comes to the double doors, like, you know, the light
(31:39):
behind him and like, here he comes, he's coming to like, take
care of business. So yeah.
Yeah, I like that. I like that scene too.
So yeah, it doesn't. This one unfortunately doesn't
have those like memorable sceneslike the first two do because
they just feel like they're morelike I want to go to the
tournament, but it still feels like the first tournament.
You know, it's a lot shorter because you just see that, you
(31:59):
know, he doesn't have to fight to get to the final round.
He just has to be there to defend whoever makes it to the
final round. But but I did like the train.
You know, the training sequencesare still good.
The music is still my favorite. Like, I love the theme music
that they play during those training montage moments.
But yeah, it it it's good. I don't.
Like I said, I don't really havetoo many to mention this.
(32:21):
This isn't one that we can kind of go on and on and on about
scenes, I don't think, unless you've got more you want to talk
about. But there weren't a lot for me
unfortunately. Training montage man.
Like a good training montage waslike iconic in the 80s.
Yeah, of course. Late 70s and 80s so.
Yeah, yeah. This was this definitely one of
the one of the good ones there for sure.
Any favorite lines or dialogue that you remember stood out to
(32:45):
you? Just the sweeping line.
Yeah, that's good. Can you teach me to sweep?
Sure, I'll teach you to sweep. I.
Just said there's one thing and I won't ask for anything else.
Can you teach me to sweep? You just go back and forth to
select this. I'm like.
Yeah, I'm like, you hear yourself, right.
You just said sweep. You didn't say sweep.
Yeah. And there's like he's teaching
you the sweep move. Don't you know that you got
(33:05):
injured in the first one by whenhe told Johnny to sweep the leg
like this is you're you're learning the move that almost
broke your knee. You know, in the first movie, I
did like the whatever stuff thathe used when he when he caught
Daniel coming in with limp and he's like, what's wrong with
your foot? You know what foot that foot is
like, Oh, no, that happened. And he like puts the bowl with
(33:27):
the hot water and whatever, whatever the spices or whatever
he put in the bowl and he's like, what's tonight Better you
not know. And then you know that you got
to have some of that little, that ancient or you know, the
ancient magic to, to quickly heal him as he needed.
Alright, let's jump into some trivia.
(33:49):
There's not a lot in here either.
I didn't. There just wasn't a whole lot on
this movie, unfortunately. But I will mention this.
According to star Robin Lively, Ralph Macchio was extremely
difficult to work with on the set of the movie.
Macchio would often show up to work late and complaining about
various aspects of the movie. He would later admit to being
unhappy with the script for the movie and as a result, that
(34:12):
making the movie was an unpleasant experience.
He also claimed to dislike the final cut of the film, likely
causing him to leave the franchise until nearly two
decades later with the streamingseries Cobra Kai.
According to director John G Evelson in a 2000 interview, he
himself was no fan of the movie.He considered, quote UN quote,
horrible imitation of Part 1, which will baffle those who
(34:35):
hadn't seen the first two films and insult those who have.
UN quote. He agreed with star Ralph
Macchio that making the picture was a miserable experience,
largely because the screenplay was hastily written and sloppily
rewritten, which is a risky procedure at best.
And for us, it was deadly. I don't know about deadly, but
yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't the best, wasn't the
(34:56):
best. Yeah, I mean, like I said, I'm
there's still some redeeming qualities too.
Yeah, it's just. I mean, yeah, I say one thing I
can say about it, it for a movietrilogy, it does hold good
consistencies because you have the same writer and same
director for all three films. So I could see this, you know,
(35:19):
them coming back to part three with a totally different writer,
totally different director that didn't understand the nuances of
the character as much, even though, you know, we know it's
it lacked a lot of what the first two had, but at least it
still fits in the, you know, still fits with the other two
movies. It doesn't seem like a huge
departure from what you came to expect from the 1st 2:00.
(35:43):
Yeah, and you don't see a lot ofthat either as far as the same
having the same director for I mean, what what the Indiana
Jones movies is the only ones I could think of that really has
the same directors throughout the entire future.
Yeah, that's true. Back to the Future.
Yeah. So, but yeah, it's there's a lot
to be said about that. They all kind of fit in there to
(36:03):
the the the director's vision, so.
This is something I did not knowuntil doing the research here,
but Paula Abdul took on a role as dance choreographer on The
Karate Kid Part 3, although there were no specific dance
scenes in the movie besides Ralph Macchio doing twirls at
the dance club. I mean all he did was like move
(36:24):
side to side and then do it, do it, do it.
I wish I was laughing. He just turned, does a big turn
around or whatever. But this role as dance
choreographer was not new for Paula Abdul.
She served in the same role in such films as Private School,
Can't Buy Me, Love, The Running Man, Action Jackson, Big, Coming
to America and more. A year after The Karate Kid Part
3, she choreographed the scent Oscar awards ceremony.
(36:48):
I know we talked about her beingthe choreography and coming to
America way back when. But yeah, I think that's, you
know, how she get the job. She can do it.
So as a little dancing, I thought maybe she choreographed
some of the fight scenes, like add a little twirl here, add a
little, you know, move your hipsthis way.
Was that he's telling Daniel like move your hips, move your
hips. That's where the power is.
The power's in your hips. Well, let's see.
(37:09):
Do I have anything else in here?I last one just about we'll
mention the Snakes character again.
Jonathan Evanson's character Snake was announced to have died
in the sixth season of Cobra Kai.
This was done because he retiredfrom acting in 2002 and was not
interested in reprising the rolewhen asked, so he just chose not
(37:29):
to come back. Cobra Kai came came out just a
few years after his dad died. Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, His dad died in 2017. Yeah, that's true.
A problem I mean, I don't think I would want to either like.
Yeah, yeah, I can. That's totally understandable,
for sure. Sure.
(37:50):
All right, let's jump in the boxoffice.
Karate Kid Part 3 debuted in American theaters on June 30th,
1989, and failed to take the topspot at the weekend box office.
Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids maintain the number one and
#2 spot, respectively, for the second week in a row.
The only other two new releases that week?
(38:10):
The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic GreatBalls of Fire, which debuted at
#7, and the critically acclaimedSpike Lee drama Do the Right
Thing debuted at #8. So like I said, summer of 89 was
tough to be, you know, trying tomatch the success of Batman,
Lethal Weapon 2, Ghostbusters 2,Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
(38:33):
I mean, there were just so many huge movies that summer.
So I can I can see why this one failed to?
Is it the top spot? Didn't back to the feature 2
come out in 89 as well? I think it was 80.
Was it 89 or 88? Because the third one came out
in 90. Right.
So I was thinking, I thought they did them.
It might have been, Yeah, I think it was 89 because Who
(38:53):
Framed Roger Rabbit was 88 and then, yeah, back to Feature 3
was 89. You're right.
You're absolutely right. Good call back.
All right, it's time to take a look at how well this 80s movie
holds up today and the all new rewatch ability.
Nostalgia meter is our way of measuring how enjoyable movie is
for repute, for repeat viewings along with the waves and
(39:13):
nostalgia brings. Here's how it works.
It's a one to 10 scale. Any number between 1:00 and
10:00 will do, but here are a few parameters to help you
decide. At the bottom of the meter, a #1
means I saw it once and that wasenough.
Right in the middle is A5, whichis considered a good rewatch
every couple of years. And at the top, the highly
(39:34):
coveted #10 is highly rewatchable and full of
nostalgia. So JB Huffman of Manly Movies,
where does Karate Kid Part 3 land for you on the rewatch
ability nostalgia meter? A lot lower than the first two
the 1st 2 are easily 10s yeah this one, this one would
(39:56):
probably fall somewhere in the middle around maybe a 5 or 6.
But The thing is like I'm I'm such a completionist.
The 1st 2 are so rewatchable that I'm, I'm probably going to
watch the third one as well. Yeah yeah, it's.
I mean if if it was a stand alone movie I wouldn't rewatch
it very much. Since I like the first 2 so
(40:16):
much, I'm going to rewatch them every few years because every
time I rewatch the other one so.Yeah, I agree with that.
Yes, I was going to say A6 is kind of where it was landing for
me for a lot of the same reasons.
But like you, if it was a stand alone movie, probably not.
It'd probably be much like a twoor three, but because, like you
(40:37):
said, because how much I enjoy one and two and knowing it is
like a real continuation of the story.
Like it literally picks up from where two leaves often pretty
much. Or, you know, happens right
after two it you kind of have towatch it just to like finish the
story. So Oh yeah, yeah, I agree with
that. I'd give it a six because it's
(40:59):
it's worth pretty is worth revisiting every so often, but
definitely not one I'm going to want to watch every year like I
would the first or the second one for sure.
All right, well, let us know where you think The Karate Kid
Part 3 should rank on your rewatchability nostalgia meter.
You can send us an e-mail or tell us on social media,
Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, or you can leave a comment in
(41:23):
YouTube if you're watching the podcast on YouTube with us as
well. All right, JBI think we've
covered this one as well as we can.
Thanks so much for joining the show.
I'd hate to keep beating a dead horse, but it's manly movies
ever coming back Or is a resurrection possible?
It's it's possible. It's just like everything keeps
happening. Like I, I told you before we
(41:44):
started this that I started a new job and now it's like I
don't have any free time at all.So yeah.
So it's, it's going to come at some point once things kind of
settle in a little bit more. I want to do it.
It's just I've got so much goingon.
So Oh yeah, it'll get there eventually.
(42:04):
Yeah, well, I appreciate you taking the time to be on this
one. Always a joy to have you on the
show. Thanks for always being
available to talk about these fun movies from the 80s.
Absolutely, man. And this is like quite a kid,
man. Like this franchise is something
when you said that were that youwere doing, because I'll say I
was really upset that I didn't get to do Back to the Future any
(42:26):
of those. And, and The Karate Kid, like
the first two that you did and Ihad forgotten that you didn't do
3. But one, if you said that you're
going to do karate, dude, 3 is like, yes, that's me, me, me,
me, me. Yeah, now you.
Did jump on that one pretty quick so.
Now I'm excited that you're doing Rocky too, because that's
another franchise that I grew upon, so.
(42:47):
Yeah, yeah, I've been wanting toget, it's like, I want to get to
4 so bad because it's like that's literally like one of my
favorites. Not the best of the franchise,
but a favorite. But I like, I knew I had to
start at 3. And so just to kind of, you
know, I think I think I might have mentioned it on one of the
other podcasts. If not, it'll be your first time
mentioning it. But when I was putting my
calendar together originally, I got my weeks mixed up and so I
(43:09):
only planned 6 for the summer. But there's actually seven of
seven release dates for June, July, and August.
So my bonus sequel is going to be Rocky 3 because it's the
first one in the series and it'sa part three.
I was like, well, that's perfect.
Now I can do Rocky 3 and then that way I can continue on with
I guess 4, Five I don't think came out in the 80s, right.
(43:32):
Didn't 5I. Think it came out in 90.
Yeah. So we'll get 2 and we'll get 3
and four. And of course we'll talk about,
you know where, if you like, we'll talk about 1:00 and 2:00
when we get into three. But so so if you want to jump on
Rocky three, I can go ahead and put you down.
Just let me know. Think about it, I kind of would
like to do 4 but. But you can do both.
(43:54):
Just because you do 1, I mean you can't do the other.
One that's true, yeah. I don't want to be a hog, but
you know, this is like my absolute favorite franchise, so
so I'm probably going to want todo both.
Yeah, yeah. Well, let's do it.
All right. Well, thanks everybody for
listening. Yeah.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a five star
review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to follow or subscribe
(44:16):
so you never miss an episode. Jump online and visit the
website 80s flickflashback.com and RT Public Store for some
awesome 80s Flick Flashback merch and original designs.
I just launched a a new collection of designs inspired
by previous episodes like Caddyshack, UHF and Weird
Science. Thanks again for tuning in.
I'm Tim Williams for the 80s Flick Flashback podcast.
(44:37):
They made you suffer, so I'm going to make them suffer and
suffer and suffer. And when I think they've
suffered enough, then I start with the pain.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.