Oh, wow, this is quite instrumental to understanding the backstory to the Cobra Kai TV show! A lot of things are clearer now / make much more sense :)

It's cool that "Cobra Kai" kept the song from the intro of this movie. It's a cool song and the modern version that is sped up is even better. I'm not quite sure if that song was also in the first two parts.

I was then a bit confused by the beginning for a moment but it quickly made sense once I realized that it started with some flashbacks (and that was quite useful since this third movie wasn't available on Netflix for a while...). And that Kreese vs. Mr. Miyagi fight is definitely something worth watching twice :) ("Honk" :D)

Lots of really nice quotes in this move, e.g., about forgiveness. Especially Mr. Miyagi has lots of funny and meaningful quotes, e.g.:

- "Then Myjagi take bus." xD
- "Everything can heal, Daniel-san. It just take time. Take patience."

And now I also know what happened with Kumiko and who Terry Silver (Kreese's war friend) is.
Mr. Silver really has quite some dedication! I obviously don't like him but I gotta admit that he really planned that well... :o But man, that effort it took...

It's also no wonder that Daniel ends up becoming a car salesman. The way he "sold" Mr. Miyagi that store (how it's a good idea and how he visions everything) and that energy. It's just perfect :) Mr. Miyagi certainly must've seen his potential for becoming a salesman. And it was so sweet when Mr. Miyagi offered him a partnership.

After that it became kinda really frustrating as I could only stand by and watch how they started bullying Daniel. And they couldn't even leave Mr. Miyagi and Jessica alone... At least Mr. Miyagi could keep his balance/zen (singing happily because the bonsais are safe at their home and going fishing after realizing they've been stolen - what a legend! :D) and Jessica didn't get hurt as much as I feared.

At least we got to see Mr. Miyagi beat Terry and Kreese in a fight <3

After that final fight it is no wonder at all that Cobra Kai was banned permanently from the All Valley Tournaments. I'm just glad that Johnny Lawrence wasn't part of that Cobra Kai anymore. This also really explains how Daniel is so triggered by Johnny reopening Cobra Kai. And Johnny probably doesn't even know about that last part so it's no wonder how he doesn't get why Daniel is so out of balance due to it.

Btw: I find Daniel's walking, acting, and energy really familiar from the older Daniel in Kobra Kai :D It's so cool that they kept the original actors <3. The actor (Ralph Macchio) looks quite different now but there are also so many similarities / things to recognize.

PS: The older Daniel seemed ashamed of the fact that he temporarily joined Cobra Kai and thankful that Mr. Miyagi took him back. It's understandable that he isn't proud of that but he also doesn't have to be ashamed of it (but maybe he just made it a bigger deal for making his point that people can change). He was basically bullied into joining Cobra Kai and then he was a bit of a stupid idiot (or just too desperate). But he didn't feel hungry for power and he even burned that letter. So I wouldn't say that he was weak and gave in too easily.

I totally forgot about this one until someone at work made an obscure reference about it... and suddenly I was faced with memories I'd rather forget. Honestly, when you remember The Next Karate kid and not Part III, it should tell you something.

Anyway, he was right, it did have Robyn Lively in it and I think this is one of her early roles... and this and Teen Witch are kind of a shame because she can do a good job, a Twin Peaks quality job here and there but otherwise lingers in obscurity and really only surfaces for people like me who see her here and there in television roles and have fond memories of some of her better roles.

Anyway, it also has Ralph Macchio doing a job that kind of makes sure to tell the audience that he does not want to be there, he does not think III is a good idea, and otherwise convinces the audience not to like it.

And he was right, the script wasn't there. It was nice that he had a platonic interest and not a love interest, it was unique, it fit his character, it worked with the story... but the story otherwise wasn't there.

It's kind of a revenge tale that you have seen a thousand times over and this one doesn't say anything more than low budget Canon Pictures quality film.

**The weakest of them all in the Karate Kid franchise.**

After an excellent initial film and a sufficiently honorable sequel, this film comes to us… and there is no way to hide that the quality of the material presented is substantially lower and that the film works badly.

The biggest problem with this film is the script, quite weak, poorly written and full of holes in which the lack of logic and credibility are closely associated with a dose of predictability that makes the film tiresome. The characters were also frankly poorly developed, the villains are stereotyped and loaded (the movie does everything it can to not like them) and the material given to the actors wasn't enough to guarantee a good job.

Even so, it is necessary to recognize that Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio did everything possible to rise to the challenge, and to live up to what the audience expected from their respective characters. Morita remains a sympathetic presence and Macchio is not as immature and stubborn as in previous films, which shows some maturity in the character (although I don't know if this was intentional). The disappearance of Macchio's character's mother from the scene is justified in the most stupid way possible, and the place that was supposedly leased for the bonsai shop looks more like a warehouse than a commercial space.

In the midst of these problems, the film compensates us with regular cinematography, good editing, a pleasant pace and no room for dead moments. Filming locations are satisfying enough. This being an action movie, a fight movie, karate, I expected to have seen some more fights, it has a lot less fights than the previous movies, and the tension is not as palpable, but what was done is quite well done, and the fight choreographies were well rehearsed and carried out.

Considering the second karate kid movie is one of my personal favorites of all time I can say I was very excited to see where the story would go. But after watching this film I can confidently say that the second film should have been the end of the franchise. This film feels lazy, over the top, stupid and completely unneeded. My biggest issue with this film is that it really does not raise the stakes all that much. The first two films felt like they had a progressive build up with the first being a tournament that Daniel fights in for respect and to get bullies off his back. The second film is about bad blood between families that culminates in a bloodspot style battle to the death that in my opinion in one of the best endings in a film ever. This film is simply just a rehash of the first one they bring us back to a tournament which feels like a step down its not new its not interesting. The third karate kid movie is completely worthless apart from fun and interesting three vs one fight towards the end of the film. That one fight is where the movie four points come from. If that scene was not in the movie I would probably give this movie a zero if I could.