The New Karate Kid (1994)

(In French, On Cable TV, June 2019) Four movies into the franchise, it’s normal that The New Karate Kid looks as if it’s in desperate need of inspiration. Dispensing with the hero of the first three films to take on a new female protagonist didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the material, and the film seems intent on proving all skeptics right. At least Pat Morita is back as Mr. Miyagi, although by this time in the series he had become a caricature of his former self. The plot gets going as Miyagi travels east and encounters a young struggling orphan. If you’ve kept up with the series so far, this fourth entry will not hold any surprise, so closely does it stick close to the martial-arts-as-a-pathway-to-personal-growth template. The gender of the protagonist doesn’t change much. The New Karate Kid is not that good, but Morita carries the movie and Hilary Swank makes it just a bit less painful—her performance is distinctive enough even in a dull movie. Swank fans, you know who you are. You’ll be joined by Karate Kid completists.