Despite the heavy reviews and the public's disinterest, it's not as bad a movie as they say, and it was able to end the franchise on a positive note.
After three very interesting films, the “Karate Kid” franchise had to continue, and a fourth film was made, this time with a young girl in place of the apprentice (Ralph Macchio was too old for the character, and he had no interest in calling more his image and career to the universe of martial arts films). It was a risky move, but necessary if they wanted the franchise to continue... but the public didn't buy in, despite the movie itself not being as bad as they say. In fact, I even consider it to be better than its immediate predecessor. With a weak box office result, largely as a result of the public's loss of interest in karate films, the film killed the franchise for a few decades, but I have no doubt that it was able to end it on a positive note.
The script is simple, but not without its flaws: Miyagi attends a military ceremony honoring the dead of his military unit, and ends up meeting the daughter of an ex-comrade-in-arms, Julie. She is a withdrawn young woman, with problems and angry due to the death of her parents in an accident. He decides to take her as a karate apprentice, it being obvious that she has a series of problems with other violent teenagers and will have to use martial arts to defend herself, but predictability is an agenda present throughout the film, which is not brings anything substantially new to the franchise. The film basically contains the same ideas and structure as its predecessors. The end of the movie is pretty hard to believe.
Despite the problems, the film brings back Pat Morita, who has already won us over with the friendliness and good humor of his character, and with an always very committed interpretation. He has always been fundamental to the success of the films in this franchise, and his funny and charismatic presence is even more important here, in a film where he assumes even more presence and protagonism. Hillary Swank is still extremely young in this film and is a long way from the glory days she will live in years to come, but she shows charisma and presence, and a latent talent that needs to be polished. The film also has the participation of Michael Ironside and Michael Cavalieri, in the role of the two main villains, both of which are predictable, flat and underdeveloped, but still worthy of our dislike.
Technically, it is a very discreet film, which invests more in discreet effects and in a clear sound and image than in more flashy things. The movie's pacing is slower than its predecessors, and that takes some of the fun out of the movie, makes it more sleepy, but it's not a serious problem. The cinematography and editing are good enough, as are the choice of filming locations, the design of the sets (in particular the monastery) and the costumes. Finally, but just as importantly, the action and fight scenes were good enough and very well choreographed, and while some thought they were too sparse, I thought they were more interesting than the two preceding films in the franchise.
