The Karate Kid- Part 3 -

C+ Final Grade (2025, post- Cobra Kai ): A- (for ambition, weirdness, and accidental genius)

By a Senior Contributor

For a full act of the movie, Mr. Miyagi abandons his student. It’s painful to watch, but it’s real. Miyagi is tired. He saw his wife and son die in an internment camp. He has no patience for revenge. The film’s emotional climax isn’t the final fight—it’s the moment Daniel breaks down in tears at Miyagi’s doorstep, admitting he was wrong. The tournament is a bloodbath. Mike Barnes plays with Daniel like a cat with a half-dead mouse. The rulebook is thrown out. Barnes commits multiple fouls (headbutts, chokes, throws over the judge’s table). The referee does nothing. It’s less a karate match and more a legalized assault. The Karate Kid- Part 3

Two years after Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) swept the leg—no, won the All-Valley Karate Championship—the Valley was supposed to be peaceful. Instead, The Karate Kid, Part III arrived like a shuriken wrapped in a friendship bracelet. C+ Final Grade (2025, post- Cobra Kai ):