36
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50VarietyLisa NesselsonVarietyLisa NesselsonLeisurely and overly familiar pic should appeal to young teen girls, but won't be breaking any B.O. bricks with its bare hands.
- 50Baltimore SunStephen HunterBaltimore SunStephen HunterThis film feels like a desperate attempt to squeeze a few last bucks out of what was once a very obliging cash cow.
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyThe fourth film in the series, the newest installment has a new director, Chris Cain, and a female Kid, Hilary Swank, but otherwise it reprises the formula established by John G. Avildsen in 1984: A troubled teen conquers self-doubt and the local bullies with the help of an enigmatic karate teacher.
- If this installment is just slightly less laborious than Karate Kid II or III, it's not from Mark Lee's surprise-free script or Christopher Cain's placid direction, but because young Swank really might be a find. Early on, she's such a convincingly testy teen that parents may flinch, but she does seem to blossom before your eyes.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineOverlong and utterly predictable, The Next Karate Kid offers little excitement, even in its culminating fight sequence.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumClearly, three sequels haven’t improved Miyagi’s English, but there is something bitchin’ about seeing a babe give a bully a good thwack. Not that girls will go see this or boys will care.
- 40EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasAlmost a guilty pleasure. But not quite.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovThere's really nothing new here (as if anyone expected there would be), but it's a decent enough entry into the Karate Kid series, if you don't mind having seen it all done before, and better.
- 38The Seattle TimesJohn HartlThe Seattle TimesJohn HartlThe Next Karate Kid is harmless as children's entertainment, but for 104 very long minutes, there isn't a recognizable human being in sight.
- 25Chicago TribuneClifford TerryChicago TribuneClifford TerryIt should be obvious to anyone at this point in time that Kid is getting a little long in the tooth. As Miyagi might say: Those who keep milking same idea . . . end up killing cash cow.