The Next Karate Kid

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: September 9, 1994

5.9	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Ratings

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AlexandreBarataApr 9, 2020

TL;DR: Is it a great movie, or it will go down in history as a classic? Hell no! Does it deliver, as a remake of a classic? More less. For this movie, Pat Morita got paired with Hilary Swank, instead of Ralph Macchio, which had paired withTL;DR: Is it a great movie, or it will go down in history as a classic? Hell no! Does it deliver, as a remake of a classic? More less. For this movie, Pat Morita got paired with Hilary Swank, instead of Ralph Macchio, which had paired with him during the 80's making one of the family friendly classics of the decade. Hilary Swank does her role without much of an hiccup (she acted way more convincingly than Ralph did), but the role is so weak it makes it hard to come above water. Pat Morita is Mr. Miyagi, and does Mr. Miyagi things, without anything fresh on the character.
The antagonists are a replica of the single minded ones from the 1st movie. And the story is, more less what you'd expect from The Karate Kid if it was done with a girl in mind for the "kid" role. It's full of clichés, it's overly long, and it's predictable, in all accounts.

Why a 5 then? It has some funny parts, it's a light family friendly movie, full of cliché good messages about friendship, goodness and life. Although as an original movie it fails in all accounts, as a remake, full of female empowering pitches for the teen girls it does its job, and although it seems it was recorded with '84 in mind, although being released one decade later, the message is timeless enough to be relevant in today standards still.

Not a must watch, but a pleasant watch for teen girls and boys alike.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Kai82Apr 20, 2021

Because the last movie of the franchise failed at the box office and was disliked by many fans and critics they tried a fresh restart with a new story-line. Of cause they do not replace Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi as this would be much tooBecause the last movie of the franchise failed at the box office and was disliked by many fans and critics they tried a fresh restart with a new story-line. Of cause they do not replace Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi as this would be much too harmful. He is the focus point of the franchise and Daniel LaRusso’s story can be considered finished as he has mastered the critical (life) lessons in the last 3 movies (Until Cobra Kai at least;-). I am in the minority that thinks this is a quite good movie with some mistakes that drag it down. Also I think the first movie which is a cult classic set the bars to high for all the prequels. Sometimes there is a peak that is nearly impossible to surpass or even reach. Again the movie uses themes from an underdog story, teenage drama, clashing philosophies and martial arts. The story starts with Mr. Miyagi traveling to Boston to attend a commendation for Japanese-American soldiers. He visits Louisa Pierce who is the widow of his friend and former commanding officer. He meets Julie who is his friends granddaughter and struggles because of dealing with her parents death. He decides to help her which is the start of a new adventure. The set up is nice and fitting. The later parts are weaker with some exceptions. I would say they try their best but could not reach the appropriate levels to make this a hit or like the first movie. It is not a failure more a case of to much use of the fast forward button for the viewer. Character wise we got good and bad performances. For Hilary Swank this was her first big role and breakthrough. She got recognition and many praised her performance. I agree to that as she fully delivered her role and is a highlight of the movie. Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi is a staple of the franchise. Always delivering a truly good performance. I cant remember a weak moment in all movies. I am divided for Michael Ironside as Paul Dugan. He does a good job but his character does not fit that good into the movie. Maybe a bit to overdone or cliche (or not enough if you go more into parody territory). I like the monks, Louisa Pierce played by Constance Towers and Michael Cavalieri as Ned Randall with some bad scenes. In total it is a solid performance but in combination with the script there are too many weaknesses. To be fair other were far more critical here and I see their points. Maybe I am far less critical but I can not prove that my opinion is more valuable than theirs and vice versa. Overall the movie was not strong enough to safe the franchise. I liked it but it has some weaknesses that drag it down. I think that I enjoy the two main characters saved the movie for me. I am however not sure if I can recommend it to others.… Expand

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DunkaccinoDec 1, 2022

If anything, this last instalment gives a new light to the franchise by introducing the wonderfully played Julie. There is something to be said for The Next Karate Kid going for some other directions after 2 sequels of the same formula.

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