the karate kid part iii is a 1989 american martial arts drama movie and the second sequel to "the karate kid" (1984). the movie stars ralph macchio, pat morita, robyn lively, and thomas ian griffith in his movie debut. as was the case with the first two movies in the series, it was directed by john g. avildsen and written by robert mark kamen, with stunts choreographed by pat e. johnson and the music composed by bill conti. in the movie, the returning john kreese, with the help of his best friend terry silver, tries to get revenge on daniel larusso and mr. miyagi which involves hiring a ruthless martial artist and harming their relationship.