The Karate Kid, Part II is a 1986 American
martial arts filmMartial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
and is a
sequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to 1984's
The Karate KidThe Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts romantic drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita and Elisabeth Shue. It is an underdog story in the mold of a previous success, Avildsen's 1976 film Rocky...
.
Ralph MacchioRalph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
and
Pat MoritaNoriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, respectively. The original music score was composed by
Bill ContiWilliam "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
. Like the original film, the sequel was also a success, and earned even more at the box office than its predecessor, although it received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
The film picks up almost directly after the end of
The Karate Kid; John Kreese (
Martin KoveMartin Kove is an American actor who has appeared in feature films and television series.-Film appearances:His best-known roles may have been on the 1980s hit CBS television series Cagney & Lacey as Detective Victor Isbecki and in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese...
), furious over his star pupil Johnny Lawrence's (
William ZabkaWilliam Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
) second place finish in the All Valley Karate Tournament, viciously berates and humiliates Johnny in the parking lot. Miyagi, who is leaving the venue with Daniel, rescues Johnny, passively immobilizes Kreese, then comically tweaks Kreese's nose instead of dealing him a fatal blow. As Johnny and his friends quit the Cobra Kai dojo en masse, Miyagi explains his actions to Daniel: "
For person with no forgiveness in heart, living even worse punishment than death."
Six months afterwards in 1985, it is revealed that Ali has dumped Daniel for a football player from UCLA. Daniel now lives in a guest room at Miyagi's house, his mother having gone to
FresnoFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. Miyagi receives a letter telling him his father is dying. He intends to return to Okinawa alone, but Daniel decides to accompany him. When Daniel asks Miyagi why he left Okinawa in the first place, Miyagi answers that he loved a woman named Yukie, who was arranged to be married to Sato, son of the richest man in town, and Miyagi's best friend. Sato and Miyagi studied
karateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
together under Miyagi's father, in defiance of tradition. One day, Miyagi announced before the whole town that he wanted to marry Yukie. Sato was insulted and challenged Miyagi to a fight to the death. Rather than fight his best friend, Miyagi fled Okinawa.
When they arrive in Okinawa, Miyagi and Daniel are greeted by a young man, Chozen Toguchi (
Yuji Okumotois an Japanese-American actor best known for his intimidating movie roles, such as Chozen in The Karate Kid, Part II.-Early life:...
), who is Sato's (Danny Kamekona) nephew. Sato has neither forgiven nor forgotten his feud with Miyagi and once again demands to fight Miyagi. Miyagi refuses, so Sato calls him a coward.
Miyagi and Daniel are welcomed to Tome village by Yukie (
Nobu McCarthyNobu McCarthy was a Japanese Canadian actress, stage director, and fashion model.-Early life:McCarthy was born Nobu Atsumi in Ottawa, Ontario, the daughter of Yuki and Masaji Atsumi, a Japanese fashion designer and diplomatic attache stationed in Canada at the time. She was raised in Japan, where...
) and her niece Kumiko (
Tamlyn TomitaTamlyn Naomi Tomita is an actress, who has appeared in many Hollywood films and television series.-Early life:Tomita was born in Okinawa, the daughter of Shiro and Asako Tomita. Her father then later became a Los Angeles Police Officer, rising to the rank of sergeant. He succumbed to cancer in...
), to whom Daniel is immediately attracted. They learn that Sato is now a rich industrialist, whose supertrawlers have destroyed the local fish population, impoverishing the other villagers, who have turned to small farming to survive. Worse yet, the villagers all rent their property from Sato, who now actually owns the entire village. Yukie also reveals that because she truly loved Miyagi and carried a torch for him, she never married Sato.
Despite Miyagi's father's dying wish for his son and student to make peace with each other, Sato still insists on fighting Miyagi, though after his sensei's passing, he gives Miyagi 3 days to mourn. Soon, Daniel comforts Miyagi stating that when his father died, Daniel thought he wasn't a very good son, but then one day, he realized he did the greatest thing before his father died, he was there with him, held his hand, and said goodbye. Miyagi teaches Daniel that the secret to his family's karate lies in a
handheld drum that beats itself when twisted back and forthThe den-den daiko is a Japanese pellet drum. It has two heads and is suspended on a rod, with beads or pellets hanging on threads on either sides of the body of the drum...
. This "drum technique," as Miyagi calls it, represents the block-and-defense that Daniel begins to practice diligently. Miyagi warns him that the powerful technique should only be used as a last resort. Later, Yukie and Miyagi perform the
tea ceremonyA tea ceremony is a ritualised form of making tea. The term generally refers to either chayi Chinese tea ceremony, chado Japanese tea ceremony, tarye Korean tea ceremony. The Japanese tea ceremony is more well known, and was influenced by the Chinese tea ceremony during ancient and medieval times....
together, which, Kumiko explains to Daniel, is a sign that they are renewing their love.
Daniel angers Chozen and his cronies, Taro and Toshio, by inadvertently revealing that their grocery business has been defrauding the villagers. Because of this, Chozen and his gang begin to harass Daniel and Kumiko almost constantly, with Chozen accusing Daniel of being a coward like his sensei. Meanwhile, Daniel and Kumiko begin to fall in love.
When Sato threatens to destroy and redevelop the village if Miyagi continues to refuse to fight, Miyagi reluctantly gives in, but only on the condition that no matter who wins, Sato must relinquish the titles to the villagers' homes to them. On the day the fight is to take place, Daniel and Kumiko, like Yukie and Miyagi, perform the ancient tea ceremony together, also sharing a kiss, soon, the village is hit by a typhoon. When Sato's dojo is destroyed by the storm with Sato trapped inside, Miyagi and Daniel rush to free him from the wreckage and bring him to safety at the local storm shelter. In a critical moment, Sato believes that Miyagi is going to strike with a killing blow, but he instead only breaks a large piece of wooden rubble that had been pinning Sato in place.
After the three return to safety, Daniel goes out to rescue a child trapped in the bell tower, and Sato orders Chozen to help him. Chozen refuses, unwilling to assist his enemy in even performing a good deed. Sato then goes to assist Daniel himself. Afterward he tells Chozen that he is dead to him, and the boy runs off into the storm.
The next morning, Sato and his workers sets about rebuilding the village. Not only does Sato hand over the titles to the villagers' homes, he also humbly asks Miyagi for forgiveness. Though Miyagi insists that there is nothing to forgive, he accepts his old friend's apology. Daniel decides to ask Sato if the village may hold their upcoming O-bon festival on the castle grounds. Sato agrees, asking Daniel to join him and the other villagers in the celebration.
At the O-bon festival, Kumiko is on stage performing a traditional dance when a now-deranged and vengeful Chozen interrupts, taking her hostage at knifepoint. Sato tells Chozen that he was wrong to hate Miyagi and implores Chozen to similarly let go of his hatred for Daniel. Chozen refuses, threatening to kill Kumiko if Daniel does not step up to fight him. Daniel agrees, in spite of Miyagi's warning that now this is no tournament--this time, the fight is very much real, and possibly to the death.
Chozen proves to be a much more formidable opponent than any other that Daniel has faced before (even the "crane kick" used at the end of the first movie is unsuccessful here), and the tide of the battle begins to turn in Chozen's favor. Miyagi then brings out his hand drum and beats it. The other villagers follow suit, which allows Daniel to realize how he can win. As Chozen closes in for the kill, Daniel successfully utilizes the drum technique to deflect Chozen's attacks and land his own devastating counter-attacks. Daniel, realizing for the first time in his life that his karate skills are sufficient to kill another person, grabs the vanquished Chozen by his hair and cocks his hand back for the fatal blow, asking Chozen if he wishes to live or die. When Chozen responds with "die," Daniel responds the same way Miyagi did against Kreese; he fakes out Chozen before tweaking his nose and dropping him to the ground. Daniel embraces Kumiko, while Miyagi looks on proudly.
Cast
- Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
as Daniel LaRusso
- Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
as Mr. Kesuke Miyagi
- Martin Kove
Martin Kove is an American actor who has appeared in feature films and television series.-Film appearances:His best-known roles may have been on the 1980s hit CBS television series Cagney & Lacey as Detective Victor Isbecki and in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese...
as John Kreese
- Nobu McCarthy
Nobu McCarthy was a Japanese Canadian actress, stage director, and fashion model.-Early life:McCarthy was born Nobu Atsumi in Ottawa, Ontario, the daughter of Yuki and Masaji Atsumi, a Japanese fashion designer and diplomatic attache stationed in Canada at the time. She was raised in Japan, where...
as Yukie
- Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita is an actress, who has appeared in many Hollywood films and television series.-Early life:Tomita was born in Okinawa, the daughter of Shiro and Asako Tomita. Her father then later became a Los Angeles Police Officer, rising to the rank of sergeant. He succumbed to cancer in...
as Kumiko
- Yuji Okumoto
is an Japanese-American actor best known for his intimidating movie roles, such as Chozen in The Karate Kid, Part II.-Early life:...
as Chozen
- Joey Miyashima
Joey Miyashima is a Japanese American television and film actor. Miyashima played Pee-wee Herman's Japanese pen pal, Oki Doki, in "Accidental Playhouse", an episode of Pee-Wee's Playhouse...
as Toshio
- Marc Hayashi as Taro
- Danny Kamekona as Sato
- Tony O'Dell
Tony O’Dell is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as preppy Alan Pinkard on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class from 1986 to 1991.-Early life and career:...
as Jimmy
- William Zabka
William Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
as Johnny Lawrence
Other notable cast appearances include
Clarence GilyardClarence Darnell Gilyard, Jr. is a former American actor and a current college professor who has been featured in movies and television since 1980. He is sometimes credited as Clarence A...
appears as an American serviceman in the ice-breaking scene, and B. D. Wong shortly before, as an Okinawan boy who invites Daniel and Kumiko (credited as "Bradd Wong") to a dance club.
Production
Filming locations were shot on the island of
OahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
,
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Hawaii location was chosen due to the similar climate and the island's large Okinawan population as well as the convenience of shooting in the U.S.
The opening scenes for this movie take place immediately after the finale of the first movie and appear to seamlessly tie the two together. Although the opening scene of
Part II was the originally planned ending of the first film, the parking lot confrontation scene was shot during the
Part II schedule.
Soundtrack
The film's signature tune was
Peter CeteraPeter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
's song "
Glory of Love"Glory of Love" is a 1986 Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit song written by Peter Cetera, David Foster and Cetera's wife at the time, Diane Nini, and recorded by Cetera shortly after he left the band Chicago to pursue a solo career. The song was Cetera's first hit single and was included on his 1986 album,...
", which was a #1 hit in the U.S. and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
When Daniel and Miyagi are being driven by Chozen and his friend after they arrive in Okinawa, Chozen tunes in the radio of the car until he reaches a station playing "Fascination", the same song to which Ali and Johnny were slow dancing at the high-end country club in the original movie.
The soundtrack is also noted as being the final release on
United Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
.
- Glory of Love
"Glory of Love" is a 1986 Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit song written by Peter Cetera, David Foster and Cetera's wife at the time, Diane Nini, and recorded by Cetera shortly after he left the band Chicago to pursue a solo career. The song was Cetera's first hit single and was included on his 1986 album,...
(Peter CeteraPeter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
) 4:18
- Rock N Roll Over You (The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
) 4:45
- Fish for Life (Mancrab) 3:58
- Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...
(Paul RodgersPaul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
) 2:18
- Let Me At 'Em (Southside Johnny) 3:54
- This Is the Time (Dennis DeYoung
Dennis DeYoung is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer best known for being a founding member of the rock band Styx, a tenure that lasted from 1970 to 1999.-Early life:...
) 3:54
- Earth Angel
"Earth Angel " is an American doo-wop song, originally released by The Penguins in 1954 on the Dootone label , as the B-side to "Hey Señorita." The song became a major hit for The Crew-Cuts in 1955, reaching the Billboard charts on January 29, 1955. It peaked at #3 on the Disk Jockey chart, #8 on...
(New EditionNew Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...
) 4:03
- Love Theme from Karate Kid II (Bill Conti) 2:56
- Two Looking at One (Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
) 3:38
- The Storm (Bill Conti
William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
) 3:26
In popular culture
The character
Ellie BartowskiEleanor Faye "Ellie" Bartowski Woodcomb, M.D., Ph.D., is the older sister of title character Chuck Bartowski on the television series Chuck. She is portrayed by actress Sarah Lancaster.-Biography:...
on the television series
ChuckChuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
claims that a love-struck recital of "Glory of Love" for her by
Morgan GrimesMorgan Guillermo Grimes is a major character on the television series Chuck. He is portrayed by actor Joshua Gomez, and is the best friend of Chuck Bartowski....
ruined
The Karate Kid, Part II for her.
In an episode of
Yes, DearYes, Dear is a television sitcom that aired from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, on CBS. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Louisa Kelly, Mike O'Malley and Liza Snyder....
Greg Warner remembers getting into a fight with Kim's Ex boyfriend and losing. Every time he keeps trying to fight him, he hears the song "Glory of Love" to give himself confidence. Pat Morita guest starred near the end of the episode to teach Greg karate for a rematch; however, as in
The Karate Kid, Part II, even the crane kick did not work.
Also in the "Clum Babies" episode of the animated series
Drawn TogetherDrawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
, when Ling-Ling and Ni-Pul battle, "Glory of Love" plays in the background.
Reception
Movie-gazette.com writer, Scott Tanski, gave the film a positive review, stating the film to be a 'Worthy follow-up to the first 'Karate Kid’ film, with added interest provided by its exotic locations and characters.' The film has a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie got one moderate review from the Los Angeles Times , and another from motion picture historian
Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
; the latter called it "Purposeless...Corny in the extreme — all that's missing from the climax is hounds and ice floes — but made palatable by winning performances. Best for kids."
Awards and nominations
At the 1987
ASCAPThe American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization that protects its members' musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them...
Awards,
Bill ContiWilliam "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
won Top Box Office Films for the original music, which was released on
United Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
. It also received a different Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Glory of Love".
External links