Aside from The Next Karate Kid (1994), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) is easily the least-favorable movie in the franchise. In addition to its dismal 15% Rotten Tomatoes score, the film currently holds a 36/100 Metascore and 5.2/10 IMDB-rating. Beyond its critical failures, the movie became the lowest-grossing entry in the series by grossing roughly $39 million on a budget of $12.5 million.
The Karate Kid Part III was released on June 30, 1989. The story finds Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) hell-bent on serving vengeance to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) by enlisting the help of Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), a karate expert and fellow Vietnam veteran. For more, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Karate Kid Part III.
Ralph Macchio's Difficulties
According to star Robyn Lively, who plays Jessica in the film, Ralph Macchio was extremely difficult to work with on the set of The Karate Kid Part III. Macchio would often show up to work late and grouse about various aspects of the movie.
Macchio would later admit to being unhappy with the script for the movie and, as a result, that making the movie was an unpleasant experience. He also claimed to dislike the final cut of the film, likely causing him to leave the franchise until nearly two-decades later with the YouTube Original Cobra Kai.
Romantic Storyline Nixed
In the initial drafts of the screenplay, Daniel was supposed to forge a romantic relationship with Jessica in the film. However, Macchio had the sequence removed himself so not to make his wife Phyllis jealous.
Also, it would have been incredibly inappropriate to depict a sexual relationship between Lively, who was 16 years old at the time the film was made, and Macchio, who was 27 years old at the time. Despite the nine-year age gap, Macchio still plays a teenager in the film.
Thomas Ian Griffith's Age
Speaking of the actors' ages in the film, Thomas Ian Griffith made his feature film debut in The Karate Kid Part III. He plays Terry Silver, the devious Cobra Kai sensei who trains Daniel's primary foe, Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan).
Despite playing a much older character than Daniel LaRusso, Thomas Ian Griffith is actually four months younger than Ralph Macchio in real life. Terry also has served in the Vietnam War, according to the film, but Griffith would have been just 13 years old at the time the Vietnam war concluded.
Terry Silver's House
Speaking of Terry Silver, his house is not only a famous piece of architectural history, but it's also been featured in several other high-profile motion pictures.
Terry's abode is none other than the Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924. In addition to the classic B-horror movie House on Haunted Hill, the manse has been used in such films as Blade Runner, Day of the Locust, Black Rain, The Thirteenth Floor, as well as the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Daniel & Lucille's Phone Call
In the original script, Daniel's mother Lucille (Randee Heller) was completely excluded from the story. It was Ralph Macchio's idea to bring her back in one scene to explain her absence.
Macchio conceived the idea to have Daniel share a telephone conversation with his mother, during which she explains that she had to return to Newark, New Jersey to take care of an ill relative. Randee Heller also reprises her role as Lucille LaRusso in both seasons of Cobra Kai so far.
Sean Kanan's Audition
To win the role of chief rival Mike Barnes, Sean Kanan beat out roughly 2,000 other actors/martial artists. Not only had Barnes admittedly seen the first two The Karate Kid movies ten times each, but he was such a fan of the franchise and determined to be a part of it that he took his audition to the extreme.
When Kanan was called-back to audition, he wanted to make such a strong impression that he backed Macchio into a corner and began intimidating him for real. A green-belt at the time, Barnes has also expressed the desire to reprise his role as Mike Barnes on Cobra Kai. Also, Kanan improvised the part where he constantly taunts Daniel to "get up" for the final battle.
Sean Kanan's Abdominal Injury
Sean Kanan was so determined to make a lasting impression onscreen that he performed all of his own stunts while making The Karate Kid Part III. In one instance, he badly injured an abdominal wall.
One stunt sequence required Kanan to vault aggressively onto his stomach. After performing the stunt 20 times or so, Kanan began to take acetaminophen for the increasing pain. Four days later, Kanan fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital and told he tore an abdominal wall and began to suffer from internal bleeding.
Paula Abdul Choreographed
Paula Abdul was hotter than the sun in 1989. As such, she took a role as a "Dance Choreographer" on The Karate Kid Part III, although no specific dance scenes come to mind.
The role was not a new one for Abdul, who served in the same role in such films as Private School, Can't Buy Me Love, The Running Man, Action Jackson, Big, Coming to America, and more. A year after The Karate Kid Part III, Abdul choreographed the 62nd Oscar Awards ceremony.
Jonathan Avildsen's Audition
John G. Avildsen directed the first three Karate Kid movies. For the third entry, he auditioned his own son Jonathan Avildsen for the role of Cobra Kai fighter Mike Barnes. As mentioned above, Sean Kanan beat him and 2,000 others out for the part.
However, Avildsen's audition was so strong that the character of Terry's son, Snake Silver, was written directly for him prior to production. The film marked the screen debut for Avildsen, who would go on to play the role of Druggy in Rocky V the following year.
Disliked By Star & Director
John G. Avildsen and star Ralph Macchio were both extremely unhappy in their time making The Karate Kid Part III and did not think much of the final result when it was released.
According to an interview Avildsen gave in 2000 and since reiterated in 2015, he felt the movie was a cheap imitation of the first film that would confuse those who never saw the original and insult those who did. He also agreed with Macchio's assertion that the script was slapdash and suffered too many rewrites. Avildsen also publicly called The Karate Kid Part III "a horrible movie."