Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Powerful

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

That Mr Miyagi guy is really something. He is my fav character and this one is about him and his awesomeness. And just for that this is a worthy follow up to the first one. You get to know about Miyagi's Past and you also get a nice continuation of the story.

The location is exotic.The characters are beloved.But that is kind of where it ends. It is beautiful and has a nice appeal because of the backdrop and the characters but...The story you sort of fall asleep in the middle of, the mind starts to wander and all real focus is lost. Something about Rocking Around the Clock and Fighting for your Honor and....yeah...I give up.It is miles above the third one and the main characters can both act...the director can direct...the problem is that the writers can't write.

The first Karate Kid film - which was extraordinary - had a lot of little elements which American teenagers could relate to. This sequel does not. But it has some other good aspects that work in a different way.The basic story is that Miyagi learns his father is dying in Japan, so decides to travel there and see him one final time. Daniel decides to accompany Miyagi, partially to study Japanese cultures, but also to spend time with his friend Miyagi. When arriving in Japan, Miyagi runs into a childhood friend who later turned into his enemy, Sato, who holds a lifelong grudge against Miyagi for stealing his girlfriend as a teenager. Sato wants to arrange a fight to death against Miyagi, but is willing to wait until the death and mourning of Miyagi's father, out of respect. During this time, Daniel meets Sato's nephew Chozen (a Karate expert about Daniel's age) and major tension starts between the two of them. Also, Daniel meets a girl his age named Kumiko, and romance is started between them.This movie has some beautiful scenery (although not really filmed in Japan, but Hawaii), some interesting words of wisdom from Miyagi, good music, strong performances, and decently choreographed fight scenes. I also enjoyed the story, I'd just note that - unlike the first movie - this movie is really more about Miyagi than Daniel.But as a fan of the first movie, I really liked Elisabeth Shue's character, Ali, in the first movie, and wish she could have been included in this. I don't think Kumiko is as interesting a character as Ali, nor is her chemistry as strong with Daniel... The writers should have been able to think of some way to include her. Maybe Ali could have come to Japan to study Japanese cultures with Daniel? And spend time with her boyfriend? That's just my quick idea of how she could have been included in this movie. But it's too bad she wasn't.In summary, I'd say if you really enjoyed the first movie, and grew fond of the two main characters (Daniel and Miyagi), then you'll enjoy seeing them together in a different interesting story (as long as you don't expect this to be equally as good as the first). But if you did not love watching the chemistry between them in the first film, then it's highly unlikely you'd enjoy this one any better.

The conflict in this movie ALL originates from Miyagi, Daniel is treated as a side character, which completely inverts the original relationship... This is fine if you want to tell a different story, but at least change the title to reflect the new direction! It's not part two of the same story, it's a completely separate beast, and as such, a poor sequel for a supposed continuation.It also has the added negative effect of diluting the conflict from the first movie, so that when it's returned to again in the third, it seems anticlimactic, given that the writers needed to show how time had passed... If you're humiliated in a parking lot, who is still fixated upon it, a year later?! Apparently, we're asked to believe that Kreese is, which completely changes the dynamic and just makes him a sad man, rather than the ruthless villain of the original. It's a lesson in how to screw up a franchise by straying too far from your roots, too soon.