The Karate Kid III

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Bill Conti's third score for The Karate Kid is a curious one. He shows the orchestral progression and the fact that each new movie holds a new theme. And yet, The Karate Kid III feels like a score that succeeds in bringing more but can't quite finish it with a bang; Its strange because I think all the ingredients are there, and yet it slips too easily under the radar when you compare it with a mental mind blowing second score. However, what Bill Conti always does right is going to what came before and add new layers of themes to it, and this one is no different. With 'Main Title' a more suspenseful feel is reached, using the interaction theme and the fact that more orchestra is heard and less synth, especially when the main karate kid theme shines in the middle. Also noticeable is the new theme or approach to determine the Terry character, namely a scherzo of strings and style. In 'Terry Silver' its mostly classical and fun, in 'Terry's Next Move' its slower and more based on suspense, in 'Terry Sneaks In' its the pleasant scherzo that ends the average build up, and so on and so on. What returns however is the ethnic material and the main karate kid theme of the second movie (that cool exploding one) briefly spotted in 'The Last Tree' while the main karate theme is beautifully presented in its finest form during 'The Hidden Tree'. Its one of those moments in the score where a real emotional key note is reached. When the action music arrives, its somewhat different then what came before it, because 'Mike States his Case' is using the action tunes of the previous scores but more orchestral and this transition is definitely nice to discover. Of course its understood that the middle part (The Karate Kid II) would hold more ethnic based material and that was also its biggest strength, but its always nice to see the Karate Kid music grow in volume. With 'Getting the Tree' a selection of styles is noticed, from upbeat scherzo's to soft music, it has a bit of everything. However new for the genre is the racing violins and pounding percussion that shouts danger in 'Jessica's Slip'.

However what's most notable of all this music is how less actually stings and lingers behind. Like 'Daniel Sings Up', a cue that uses Mr. Miyagi's theme at the end but for the rest not much actually happens. Or cues 12-14 that basically are there but fly by unnoticed. Luckily such a great theme as the love theme doesn't go by unnoticed and how brief it is 'Jessica's Kiss' is a really lovely piece of work. The rhythm picks up a pace in 'Miyagi Kicks Butt' but again nothing spectacular happens. This is sad considering I kinda hoped that the action music would progress, and at least in the various action moments of the film. The always stunning main theme on surging strings is ever beautiful in 'Kata Training' but then again, we already heard it. Only the variation at the end is new to discover. But like in any Karate Kid score you have an ending that outdoes the rest and no difference here when we reach 'The Final Blow'. Its amazing that Conti holds this piece of music until the end but this is by far the biggest and most powerful track yet of the genre. The love theme is actually used first to warm up the proceedings and when the rhythm picks up more speed, the brass truly blasts its power away. As said here no more cheap synths are discovered and this orchestral feast at least lets you enjoy yourself for 4 minutes. Sadly this track comes a bit too late, the middle wasn't really holding a lot of new intriguing tracks and the scherzo / new theme is nice but doesn't contain an extra dash of power to it, something the second score had aplenty. The Karate Kid III is thereby a bit the weaker one of the bunch. It sure holds one of the genre's most powerful tracks and a wonderful flute / string theme is always nice but that version we already encountered before. For new material its limping just a little too much behind. However as a score for the successful genre and continuing feel it feels right at home. Its just sad something is missing to make me wanna love it more. Part 3 of four is where the score lingers behind but where the final blow surely hits you silly in sheer delight.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (5.36)

2. Terry Silver (1.14)

3. The Last Tree (1.55)

4. Terry's Next Move (2.55)

5. The Hidden Tree (3.25) Excellent Track

6. Terry Sneaks In (2.12)

7. Mike States His Case (1.07)

8. Getting The Tree (4.32)

9. Jessica's Slip (1.06)

10. Daniel Sings Up (3.08)

11. Miyagi's Prayer (1.00)

12. Daniel Submits (1.21)

13. Miyagi's Shut Out (0.34)

14. Terry Owns Daniel (0.38)

15. Jessica's Kiss (0.48)

16. Daniel's Resolution (1.42)

17. Miyagi Kicks Butt (1.56)

18. Kata Training (1.55) Excellent Track

19. Bonsai Prayer (0.35)

20. The Final Blow (4.03) Excellent Track

Total Length: 41.42

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=== Link to Composer Site: Bill Conti ===