Second parts of trilogies always seem to spark the strongest feelings in viewers. "The Empire Strikes Back" is widely considered the best of the old Star Wars Trilogy, while "Back To The Future 2" bears the brunt of what little criticism is delivered in that direction.

Karate Kid 2 is one of those great sequels that not only surpasses the original, but also stands up against the presence of the third installment. Not that that was much competition.

Karate Kid 2 succeeds on many levels despite a huge difference in setting. In many ways, it is also because of this difference that the movie succeeds. The first movie introduces us to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), a New Jersey kid having just moved to urban California. He meets a girl and gets his head handed to him by her boyfriend Johnny and his homies from the local karate school, Cobra Kai. Then, one day, he meets the best friend he would ever make, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who just so happens to be from Okinawa where REAL karate originated. Daniel ends up in the karate tournament and, using what he has learned, takes it all the way to the top and beats all their butts.

Karate Kid may seem like a movie about fighting and beating people up, but in reality, the movie is about integrity and earning respect. Mr. Miyagi has more than a buttload of wisdom up his proverbial sleeve -- Karate for defense only. Lesson of balance not just for karate, lesson for whole life. Always look eye. Wacko teacher's attitude rest in fist; stupid, but fact of life. Win, lose, no matter. You make good fight, earn respect, then nobody bother.

The beginning of Karate Kid 2 takes us through flashbacks of many of the best moments from the first movie. If you haven't seen the first, well you're about to in five minutes! It is a wonderfully arranged review of what has happened up to this point, set to some great new music from Bill Conti. That guy is right up there with John Williams if you ask me.

So we pick up where the tournament ended, with Daniel in the shower talking about his future tournament career, to which Mr. Miyagi suggests, "Early retirement." Outside, Daniel gets congratulated and much to his delight, signs a couple autographs. Elsewhere in the parking lot, Johnny's instructor Kreese is fussing him out. Second place is no place, you're off the team. It's one of those scenes I'm dying to just lay out for you line by line, it's that great. Anyway, Miyagi goes over there and gets into it with Kreese. It is one of the most anticlimactic yet intense and utterly hilarious scenes in the entire trilogy. Needless to say, the Cobra Kai students walk away from "the way of the fist", and all is well.

On a side note, I remember seeing Martin Kove, the guy who played Kreese, on an episode of the game show Win, Lose, or Draw. He was talking about the shooting of his "fight" with Mr. Miyagi, and how when he punched through the second car window, the stunt fell through and he ended up punching through real glass. What a riot, huh?

Well, it's six months later, and here's where the movie truly begins. Daniel's coming back from the senior prom, his car's wrecked and his beyotch has got it for someone else. Miyagi helps him to regain his focus by hammering nails in with one blow. Then, here comes the mailman with a letter for Mr. "My-ajee" from his homeland of Okinawa. Miyagi learns that his father has taken ill, and so it's off to Okinawa. Daniel makes a last minute decision to go with his friend, but little does he know what he's in for.

Next to the other two movies, Karate Kid 2 is relatively slow-moving. There are the typical fight scenes, which are only intensified by the otherwise serene atmosphere of Tome Village where they are staying. But there are now two love relationships blossoming, one between Mr. Miyagi and Yukie (Nobu McCarthy) and the other between Daniel and Kumiko. Of the three relationships Daniel has, this is his sweetest and most believable. And she is the hottest :) But don't think that this movie is about Daniel as the first was, this one is all about Mr. Miyagi.

Karate Kid 2 introduces one of the most complex characters of the trilogy, Sato (Danny Kamekona). Sato was Miyagi's best friend back in the day, but they both had feelings for Yukie. Yukie's parents arranged for her to marry Sato, but Miyagi continued to court her anyway. Sato was disgraced, so he challenged Miyagi to fight to save his honor. Miyagi went *POOF* instead, and this is his first time back to Okinawa since then. Karate Kid 2 has some interesting revelations about how this all worked out.

Karate Kid 2 has great chemistry amongst its characters. If I didn't know better I'd have thought Miyagi and Yukie were married in real life. They can speak volumes without saying a word. Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita.. you say "Tomita", I say "Tomata") has an obvious calming effect on Daniel; and he has her from the moment he smiles at her over Miyagi's shoulder and she nearly forgets what he just asked her. (Never noticed that one before!)

What I found especially surprising is that I had become desensitized to the song "Glory of Love", and yet when I heard it in this movie, it sounded just the way it used to. Maybe because of the way it's stuck there with all that Japanese music.

The music is the real highlight of Karate Kid 2. There are all kinds of Japanese music, from the theme that bursts behind the title screen to Ichiro's little "concert", to Kumiko's dance theme, to the orchestral explosion when Daniel looks out the airplane window (chilling!!!) to Mr. Miyagi singing for Yukie. I always thought it was kind of funny how it sounds like he is saying "Macchio" at the end of his song. I also found the funeral theme more moving than I ever remembered. The first time I heard that after so many years, I was breathless.

Sato's nephew, Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), gets to be the Johnny Lawrence of this film, but he is ten times more menacing. Karate is not something he does off on the side the way they do in the USA, it is practically his life. He's got experience, and of course Sato is his teacher. Not even the seemingly invincible Mr. Miyagi believes he would win in a fight against Sato, so there is real potential for a problem there, wouldn't ya say? Fortunately, even the crane kick gets a counterpart for this sequel. It comes in the form of "the drum technique", the secret to Miyagi's family karate.

There is a real primitive law of honor out here in Okinawa. Even if you cheat people and bully them around, AND someone calls you on it, your honor remains intact until that person can substantiate the claim by beating you in a fight to the death. It's not something we as civilized individuals can expect to understand. And yet for some reason, countries still operate this way and it all makes perfect sense. It's only when the rest of the village is threatened that Miyagi caves in to Sato's incessant demand to "finish". Otherwise, he practically lets Sato walk all over him. But, he keeps his honor and trusts that the rest of the village is smart enough to know who deserves their respect.

So who comes out of the fray with the honor? Does Chozen get his comeuppance? Does Daniel kill him? Does Chozen kill Daniel? (Uhh, I don't think so unless Daniel had a clone. Damn, they should've called these movies Karate Kid 4, 5 and 6...) What happens with Mr. Miyagi and Sato? What about him and Yukie? For answers, ask your local Blockbuster.

Guess what, I got a DVD Player. Woohoo! :)
I was totally unaware that DVD's could have two "sides" until I bought this one. As far as I can tell, both sides contain the same thing -- the movie, subtitle options (Whoa, they're yellow!), language options, and a six-minute cast interview. At least you don't have to worry about putting it in upside down :)

So, for the uber-picky... I've taken the liberty of digging for something to not like. Came up with these three things.

1.) On the DVD Main Menu, the picture shown behind the options is from Karate Kid 3. Small thing for some, big for others. Doesn't bother me too much.

2.) SPOILER ALERT: We never get to see Sato fight.
END SPOILER

3.) In the movie, the fight with Chozen goes by too fast for all the building up they create for it. When Daniel uses the drum technique on Chozen, you can't see much of what he is doing and how the technique is working. When I was a kid, I didn't grasp the connection between the drum and the move; it looked like he had folded his hands as if to pray, and then just swung them back and forth. Nowadays, it still looks like that because of how close-up the camera shots are. It would have been nice to see it from farther away, or even in an overhead shot. It's not that I mind seeing the stunned look on Chozen's face, but I wouldn't have minded seeing more emphasis on the "around" part of his getting knocked around! But I'm not exactly an expert in Karate, so maybe I misunderstood the whole thing.

Well, other than all that, I cannot think of one thing I don't like about Karate Kid 2. It's a true classic, no question about it.

Top 10 Karate Kid 2 Quotes (Or, Mr. Miyagi's sweep)

10.) "Lie becomes truth only if person want to believe it." Mr. Miyagi
"What is that, another old Okinawan saying?" Daniel
"Nope, new Okinawa saying." Mr. Miyagi
"How new?" Daniel
"'Bout ten seconds." Mr. Miyagi

9.) "If you fought Sato, you think your father would've been referee?" Daniel
"No referee." Mr. Miyagi
"Well how do you know who wins?" Daniel
"The one who dead doesn't." Mr. Miyagi

8.) "What you did was right." Yukie
"Except for one thing. I should've taken you with me." Mr. Miyagi

7.) "Honk." Mr. Miyagi/Daniel

6.) "For person with no forgiveness in heart, living even worse punishment, not death." Mr. Miyagi

5.) "Hey, can you break a log like that?" Daniel
"Don't know. Never been attacked by tree." Mr. Miyagi

4.) "Now, to you, I am dead." Sato

3.) "Sometimes what heart know, head forget." Mr. Miyagi

2.) "Never put passion before principle. Even if win, you lose." Mr. Miyagi

1.) "Never stop war by taking part in one." Mr. Miyagi

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12