travels to Boston, Massachusetts to attend a commendation for Japanese-American soldiers, who fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. He meets Louisa Pierce, the widow of his commanding officer and a lieutenant, Jack. At Pierce's home, they catch up on old times and war stories. Miyagi is also introduced to Pierce's granddaughter, Julie, a high school teen struggling with anger issues due to her parents' death in a car accident. Her behavior has led to friction between Julie and her grandmother, along with her fellow students and teachers. She sneaks into the school at night to care for an injured Harris's hawk, whom she names Angel, which she keeps in a pigeon coop on the roof. Miyagi invites Louisa to stay at his house in Los Angeles to enjoy peace and quiet tending his garden while he stays in Boston as Julie's caretaker. At school, Julie meets and befriends Eric McGowen, a teenage security guard-in-training and a pledge for a shady school security fraternity, the Alpha Elite. The members are taught to enforce the school rules, mostly by using physical force, by a self-styled colonel, Dugan. His toughest, strongest, and most aggressive student is the short-fused Ned, who makes unwanted sexual advances on Julie. When Julie survives almost being hit by a car by jumping into a tiger position, she finally learns to confide in Miyagi when he approves of Julie's talent. She reveals that she was taught karate by her father, who learned from her grandfather, Miyagi's student. While trying to feed Angel one night, Julie is detected by the Alpha Elite who chase her through the school. She hides in the cafeteria until Ned finds her, at which point she hits a fire alarm with her backpack to get away. Outside the school, she is arrested by the police and gets suspended for two weeks by Colonel Dugan. Miyagi uses this time to take Julie to a Buddhist monastery to teach her the true ways of karate and how to handle her anger issues. Julie learns through direct lessons about balance, coordination, awareness and respect for all life. She befriends several monks, including the Grand Abbot. The monks host a birthday party for her, giving her a cake and an arrow that Miyagi had caught in mid-flight in a demonstration of Zen archery, as well as conceding to her wish that they visit her in Boston, where they go bowling with Miyagi. A local player challenges them, loses the match, and accepts their tutelage in how to bowl a strike blind. Upon returning to school, Julie discovers that Angel was found by Ned who reported her to animal control. Miyagi assists Julie in releasing the bird back to the wild, using the pain suppression technique from the first film to heal Angel's wing. In preparation for the school prom, Miyagi teaches Julie how to dance, and purchases her a dress. Julie goes to the prom with Eric, but under the orders of Colonel Dugan, the Alpha Elite bungee jump in. When one of the members breaks his arm, Eric shows concern, but Ned tells him to mind his own business. Eric drives Julie home and kisses her. Ned follows them, and smashes Eric's car windows with a baseball bat. Ned challenges Eric to a fight at the docks, and is joined by Colonel Dugan and the Alpha Elite. They set fire to Eric's car and severely beat him, but Eric is saved by Julie and Miyagi. Ned tries to grab Julie, but she challenges him to a fight. She holds her own, using the karate she has learned, even when Ned throws sand in her face. Julie defeats Ned and turns her back on him; Colonel Dugan bullies the rest of the group to continue the fight, but they refuse. Miyagi challenges Colonel Dugan to fight and wins, leaving the Alpha Elite disappointed in their instructor. The film concludes with Angel flying freely above the water.
The Next Karate Kid has been critically panned. However, many critics praised Swank, and it is still considered to be her break-out performance. The film's consensus on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes is "The Next Karate Kid is noteworthy for giving audiences the chance to see a pre-Oscars Hilary Swank, but other than a typically solid performance from Pat Morita, this unnecessary fourth installment in the franchise has very little to offer." The film received an approval rating of only 7% based on 27 reviews. Stephen Holden said it "may be the silliest episode yet in the popular Karate Kid series," a film that "doesn't even try to achieve surface credibility;" about the only thing positive Holden says about the film is that Swank makes an "appealing debut." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F. In February 2005, upon the release of the three-DVD "Karate Kid Collection," Variety magazine called The Next Karate Kid a ":wikt:boilerplate|boilerplate coming-of-age sequel," but notes that Swank's "plucky determination and athletic drive shines through" as she would later do in Million Dollar Baby. The Next Karate Kid was by some margin the least successful movie of the series at the domestic box office. Indeed, the film's performance ensured that the franchise disappeared from cinemas for sixteen years, only reappearing in 2010 with a remake of the original movie. The total box office gross for The Next Karate Kid was $8.9 million, compared to $90.8 million for the original, $115.1 million for Part II, $38.9 million for Part III, and $171.8 million for the 2010 Karate Kid.
Year-end lists
Dishonorable mention – Dan Craft, The Pantagraph
Home media
The film was released on DVD on August 28, 2001. A manufacture on demand Blu-ray release was released on September 6, 2016, as part of Sony's Choice Collection.
