Danny Kamekona was convincing as men accustomed to being obeyed. His Sato in The Karate Kid Part II makes a long-held grievance feel personal, though the sequel's thin writing limits a performance worth noticing.
Fi1m perspective
In The Karate Kid Part II (1986), Sato brings a long-held grievance to his confrontations with Mr Miyagi. Danny Kamekona makes the anger convincing, and gives us some sense of the friendship that preceded it. We found his confrontations affecting because he gives Sato's long-held grudge emotional weight. It is a good supporting performance in a modest sequel, though it cannot do much about the thin dramatic development.
The film was his feature debut, after years of television work including Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, P.I.. He was often asked to play businessmen or authority figures, a restricted set of jobs for an actor to keep making distinct. His work in Hawaiian theatre informed a forceful delivery, and his grounded presence was useful in parts that could otherwise become caricatures. We would be wary of treating the repeated casting as proof that these were the only people he could play.
Sato is a wealthy industrialist, but the more interesting thing Kamekona has to play is his history with Miyagi. That gives the confrontations with Pat Morita a personal cause; we can understand why this particular man provokes him. Kamekona is worth noticing for that, even though Ralph Macchio and Morita provide most of the sequel's warmth. The familiar lessons remain familiar, and giving a grievance emotional force is not enough to make up for the thin writing around it.
The subsequent film work included science fiction in Robot Jox (1989), followed by comic supporting parts in Problem Child (1990) and Honeymoon in Vegas (1992). The genres changed without making him a leading man, and those credits are reason enough not to define him entirely by Sato. Start with The Karate Kid Part II, provided another visit with Macchio and Morita already sounds like a reasonable evening.
Biography
Danny Kamekona was an American actor. He was born in Hilo, Hawaii, and died in Los Angeles, California, on 2 May 1996.
Kamekona began his career with a 1968 appearance on Hawaii Five-O and went on to make numerous television appearances, including multiple episodes of Magnum, P.I. and Hawaii Five-O. His film debut came in 1986 as Sato in The Karate Kid Part II. Other film roles included Problem Child (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) and Robot Jox (1990).
