FIlms I Loved - Karate Kid Part II (1986)

By Ephraim Belnap

Directed by: John Alvidsen

Starring: Ralph Maccio, Pat Morita, Nobu McCarthy, Danny Kamekona

Gosh, I love Karate Kid Part II so much. It hits this perfect Shakespearan angle, where about 50% of what you watch has GOT to be totally made up, but it dramatizes the other 50% so semi-believably that you are just on-board all the way. Avengement was a recent good example of this. Realistic when you really think about it? Heck, no. But gets you so hyped and invested you don't think to notice. 

It has this interesting place in the history of orientalism, in that it kind of indulges the foreign fantasy, honor-laden, Asian girlfriend, martial arts-loving stereotypes. But having seen a lot of classic martial arts films since this, like Enter The Dragon or Bloodsport, this looks positively tame in comparison. At least there’s no sex, the woman has autonomy, and the honor is really just this one guy being a bully. If you're worried about teaching your kids the wrong lessons, you can just point out the bits that are a little silly. And if you want a film that teaches how fighting actually works, just watch one of the Rocky films.

Karate Kid Part II is great. It builds on everything the first film did. It hits this new level of cool by going foreign. It makes the love interest better than the first one. It builds better tension by making the fighting REAL. It builds on Miyagi’s character by revealing his history. It builds Daniel’s character by giving him new challenges. The only complaint worth making is that it’s the second film, not the third one. The third one is so mediocre in comparison, it would’ve been better off being the second and leaving II as the grand finale. But that’s a small complaint, all things considered. Recommend, recommend, recommend.