Customer Reviews

The Next Karate Kid

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Though this film isn't as good as the first two KARATE KID movies, it is just as good if not better than KARATE KID III. In this film, Mr. Miyagi takes a trip out East to receive a special commendation from the President for his unit's extraordinay achievements during WWII. He stays over at the home of the widow of his former best friend. The woman is having a difficult time raising her granddaughter, Julie, who was orphaned after her parents were killed in a car accident. Mr. Miyagi suggests she take a trip to California and stay at his place on a vacation while he stays and takes care of her home and her granddaughter. Other than being fiercely angry at life, Julie is also having problems at school and is being harassed by the school's administratively supported bullies, the Alph Elite. Through the tutoring of Mr. Miyagi, Julie is able to control her anger and find focus in her life.

Hillary Swank pulls off a believable and emotionally-deep performance as Julie Pierce. The role needn't required so much depth, but her character reminds one of the girl next door.

However, as good as Swank is, the real reason to see this film is Pat Morita. It's great to see Mr. Miyagi again. His character reminds me of a real life Yoda. As long as the story is decent, one can't get enough of a great character like him. There are also some great quotes in the movie. My personal favorite is "Never trust a spiritual leader who can't dance." A fun movie that is surprisingly enjoyable.

The Next Karate Kid

Miyagi Yakuga (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) is called on for help, by the widow of an old war buddy.
She doesn't know what to do with her pretty but rebellious teenage granddaughter, after the recently orphaned girl was put in her care.
Meanwhile the girl, Julie, has her own troubles with a gang of local thugs at her school, led by a sadistic sports coach, while keeping her pet, a lame hawk hidden in the school grounds.
Her own love interest, a boy named Eric, is involved in the same battle with the gang called the Alpha elite.
Mr Miyagi knows just what to do, and the first thing is to teach Judy some self-discipline and inner calm.
The best line in the movie comes from Mr Miyagi, and isn't it the truth?

`Fighting no good, but if must fight, win!'

My kids were very happy to find this one at Wal-Mart for $5.50 and so was I. I LOVED this one, mainly because of the girl factor. A young Hilary Swank makes a great karate kid!

There, I've said it. This one is the best, and the last, sequel. Considering its competition, though, that's not saying a whole lot. In fact, I wasn't planning on seeing this one, but my sister was watching it on Disney Channel, so I just sat down with her.

Pat Morita is great as usual as Mr. Miyagi, but the whole monk thing was kind of disturbingly stupid, as was that Colonal Dugan club thing. The fight sequences were not very well choreographed, and the music was basically lifted directly from the first film.

This is, however, a refreshing movie. Hilary Swank is very good as the "Next Karate Kid," an angry orphaned teenager who Mr. Miyagi takes under his wing. She is a convincing actress, and conveyed her emotions pretty well. The movie is worth watching for her alone. Unfortunately, most of the other acting falls on its face.

The first half of the film plays off very well against the first karate kid, and it doesn't bore us with same old, same old in terms of karate instruction (most of the time). It skips over wax the car, etc... in just a few minutes. However, there still isn't that much thats new. Mr. Miyagi is still a veritable fountain of sayings and aphorisms, the kid excels against unbeatable odds against schoolkids, etc...

Still, an enjoyable movie.

It took me forever to finally find this movie and the funny thing is now they're playing it a lot after I haven't seen it for years on the TV. However, I'm so glad that I purchased this movie as it was one of my favorite movies a few years ago and still is.

Of course, Pat Morita is an important integral part to this series, but somehow, Hilary Swank's struggles in her life make for a more compelling story of a teenage girl struggling to make it in a world where she feels that she lost everything that is important to her.

It's become the norm in Mr. Miyagi's life that he has to deal with people who are employed in leadership roles, and who really just abuse their titles and actually be seen as remotely corrupted, badly influential teachers of the weaker (and I guess) lesser intelligent teenagers who are looking for a positive sense of direction in their lives.

Alot of Mr. Miyagi's best comments are presented here in this film. It's not so much that he would have been a great father to a daughter, but he does live a life as that to respect all living things and to respect all God's creatures, including yourself.

This is one of Hilary Swank's first films and she rules the screen immediately and commands presence throughout the film. She's one of those actresses that I don't look at her for her beauty, but I respect her commanding aura of a prominent actress. She is really good as a young female projecting all the struggles that could be in a young girl's mind, of a daughter who lost her parents.

I thought Hilary Swank was great in "Freedom Writers" as a tough teacher in a tough school environment, but this film shows her tough side too. I can't wait for the Blu-ray of this film. I think Hilary Swank is awesome! And, I do believe that she is beautiful too.

My grandson really enjoyed this movie. The movie was in great condition, like new in fact, at an incredible price.

I just caught this on Encore & thought it was very good except the ending. It felt a little forced. It was interesting that the karate kid herself wasn't so much the focus of the bullies (although she was) so much as her boyfriend. In real life the conflict should've been avoidable by going to the police. Internal affairs would have to take such claims seriously. I guess Hollywood needed a final confrontation though so that's forgiveable. I loved the journey until that mess at the end.

This is a def. kid friendly movie with some nice life lessons for the younger audience & maybe even some blockhead adults assuming anything can get thru to them. The teaching of respect for nature is a nice sub-theme with the Falcon etc. although I'd squash a cochroach on my dinner table any day.

During a commemoration for japanese soldiers fighting in the US Army during World War II Mr. Miyagi meets the widow of his commanding officer. He gets to know her granddaugther Julie, an angry teenager. She is full of pain about the death of her parents during an accident and has lots of problems with her grandmother and her fellow pupils. So Mr. Miyagi decides to teach her Karate to bring her back on the right way. This movie has an odd charm about it. Swank and Morita are a joy to watch, and I will watch it again.

As a child, I always watched this movie with my father every time it was on TV. It is an interesting story in which an unhappy, somewhat rebellious teenager learns to deal with the pain of losing her parents. Through her friendship with Mr. Miyagi, she comes to respect herself by learning more about Karate and life in general. The only disappointment was that the "military coach?" at the high school was completely unbelievable. No American school would allow an employee to behave that way! Also, the "Zen bowling" scene was too silly for this type of movie! For these reasons, I gave the movie four stars instead of five. Overall, I thought it was an entertaining, family-friendly movie.