Rating summary
| Movie |  | 2.5 |
| Video |  | 1.0 |
| Audio | | 2.5 |
| Extras |  | 0.0 |
| Overall | | 1.0 |
The Karate Kid: Part III Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 9, 2019
Mill Creek has released 'The Karate Kid: Part III' to Blu-ray and is currently only available in a bundle with 'The Next Karate Kid' Sony previously released the film to Blu-ray as part of its controversial 'Choice
Collection'
line. That disc offers vastly superior video and improved audio.
For a full film review, please click
here.
The Karate Kid: Part III Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The Karate Kid: Part III looks much, much worse on the Mill Creek disc compared to the Sony release. While Sony's effort was not perfect, it
delivered a generally pleasing, filmic presentation without much in the way of compression problems or source flaws. In comparison, Mill Creek's
version is
texturally deficient, appearing smoothed over, hopelessly flat, and absent any semblance of high yield texturing. The image is further degraded by
the presence of sloppy artifacts. Macroblocking is a significant problem, as is wobble and some jagged edges. The image appears to be on the verge of
collapse
in every scene. The film does share a disc with The Next Karate Kid, and Mill Creek has chosen to hinder this film with a very low bitrate that
hovers in the 11-12 Mbps range. Colors lack the nuance and vitality of the Sony disc but are at least passable in isolation. The image is borderline
unwatchable. It looks like a poorly compressed digital stream.
The Karate Kid: Part III Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
In what may be another space-saving measure, Mill Creek presents The Karate Kid: Part III on Blu-ray with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
rather than a lossless option, such as the one featured on the Sony disc. The track is not the train wreck that is the picture quality, but it still has its
limitations. Even with the same number of channels at its disposal, some of the more prominent moments -- a train rumbling by around the 20-minute
mark -- lack the same immersion, depth, and expert stage traversal of the Sony lossless track. Surrounds do engage on occasion, to wrap the listener
in some crowd din and atmosphere during the tournament at film's end. Clarity is not as good as the Sony track, either, whether considering effects,
music, or dialogue though all are certainly passable.
The Karate Kid: Part III Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of The Karate Kid: Part III contains no extras. The Sony disc only offered a few trailers for the franchise.
The Karate Kid: Part III Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
As it shares a disc with The Next Karate Kid, Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of The Karate Kid: Part III is a major disappointment. The
video quality is horrible. The 5.1 lossy soundtrack is decent. No extras are included. Sony's Blu-ray costs more than double, but it delivers a much
better A/V experience.
