The Next Karate Kid

Miyagi's last outing

The fourth Karate Kid film leaves Daniel LaRusso behind. Ralph Macchio and John G. Avildsen are gone, and for the first time the script is by Mark Lee rather than Robert Mark Kamen. Christopher Cain directs and Bill Conti returns for the score. The link to the earlier films is Pat Morita, playing Mr. Miyagi for the fourth and last time.

Opposite him is a then unknown Hilary Swank in her second film. She plays Julie Pierce, a Boston teenager at odds with her grandmother and her teachers who secretly nurses an injured hawk. She later won two best actress Oscars, for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), where she plays a boxer.

Karate as therapy

The formula is familiar: a teacher, a troubled student and stronger opponents. This time the opponents are a student security fraternity run by Colonel Dugan (Michael Ironside). Miyagi teaches self-control first and takes Julie to a Buddhist monastery, where training is about focus and balance as much as technique. Practitioners will recognise the saga's core idea: karate is there so you don't have to fight. The fights are few and simple.

Reception

With $8.9 million at the US box office against an estimated $12 million budget, it was the least successful entry in the series, and reviews were harsh (20% on Rotten Tomatoes), though Morita and Swank were often spared.