Film #44: The Karate Kid Part 2 (1986)

Plot - This really ought to be subtitled Mr. Miyagi's Family Reunion. They go to Japan, have some fun, and get into a fight to the death over a very stereotypical ideal of "HONOR". They even threw in one of those renowned Japanese hurricanes.

Form - Good! A lot more action than the first one, so a lot more cool sequences to break up the generally straight-forward approach.

F/X - More kicks!

Acting - Most of the actors are "Japanese", which means they all can speak fluent English. It gets a little tedious.

Mise en scene - Japan must be the greenest place on Earth. Sometimes they really need to relax on giving the sets that island feel.

Quotables - Whoever wrote Mr. Miyagi's dialogue should write self-help books.

Cool stuff - Most of the film's over-the-top silly, sort of like the Rocky IV of the Karate Kid series. Unlike Rocky IV, the original actually IS better.

5.5/7