Ralph Macchio Hates One Karate Kid Movie
Recently, Ralph Macchio sat down for a chat with The Hollywood Reporter about the fourth season of the hit Netflix series, Cobra Kai, which debuted on December 31 (a New Year treat indeed!).
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Recently, Ralph Macchio sat down for a chat with The Hollywood Reporter about the fourth season of the hit Netflix series, Cobra Kai, which debuted on December 31 (a New Year treat indeed!). It is already the number one show on the streamer’s Top 10 US list. In the past, Macchio has been vocal about his dislike for the third Karate Kid film. But as now, the new season of the show has brought back the popular Karate Kid villain Terry Silver (Thomas Griffith) and is being loved for the addition, has he changed his thoughts?
Nope. During the interview, Ralph Macchio still maintained that he is “not a fan of how the Karate Kid III came out.” According to him, the film’s story was not exactly an original creation and was just a poor repetition of what had already happened in the past films. It also didn’t do any favors to his character of LaRusso as it “was not character forwarding.” Macchio also revealed that when it was being filmed, it was “not a smooth ride” as the script was being constantly changed. “In the end, there were parts of the character that I didn’t embrace as well as I did with the original and the first sequel. I don’t put it on the top of my résumé,” Ralph Macchio added.
While the Karate Kid franchise will always be a legacy that will live on no matter how many decades go by, The Karate Kid III will remain its weakest link. The film was strongly criticized for rehashing elements from the first two films without managing to bring back their engaging storyline or character arcs. And surprisingly, it’s not just the fans who still detest the third film as Ralph Macchio, who continues to play the beloved character of Daniel LaRusso, has established in this recent interview. He isn’t shying away from bringing back the one popular element from the movie in Cobra Kai though.
As aptly highlighted by Ralph Macchio, there is one thing the film is still fondly remembered for: giving us an amazing villain like Terry Silver, played with perfection by Thomas Griffith. Introduced in the third Karate Kid film, Terry Silver was seen as a wealthy businessman who ran Dynatox Industries, a toxic waste facility. Silver owed John Kreese his life after being saved by the latter multiple times when they were both in the military. So, when Kreese visited his friend after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Miyagi and Daniel, Silver decided to exact vengeance. He concocted an elaborate plan to end Daniel’s future in karate as well as malign Miyagi’s reputation but his evil schemes were thwarted by the end.
While critics laid out some pretty heavy negative reviews about almost every aspect of the film, many were impressed with Griffith’s performance and went as far as to point out that Terry Silver was the only saving grace of the third movie. And now, as highlighted by Ralph Macchio, he is shaping up to be the best villain Cobra Kai has had to date.
“There is a larger-than-life element to Cobra Kai. When you break it down, it is kind of ridiculous — but that is why it is so much fun! So, you take a character like Terry Silver for this show, with those larger-than-life elements and his relationship with Daniel, then add those layers of complexity to his evilness. And now it becomes a refined performance. On top of that, from the perspective of Daniel as an adult, now we are adding other stakes and elements about his own kids and students. It is remarkable that what I would call the shortcomings of the original franchise are now bearing fruit 36 years later,” Ralph Macchio explained.
Apart from Ralph Macchio and Thomas Griffith, the fourth season of Cobra Kai also features William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso, Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri Alexopoulos, Peyton List as Tory Nichols, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, Jacob Bertrand as Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz, Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz, and Martin Kove as John Kreese. Cobra Kai Season 4 is currently streaming on Netflix.
