- 8
If you've seen The Karate Kid (1984), the memories will come back during this 2010 remake. That's a compliment.
—Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
- 7
The filmmaker has a good eye for action, but he remains too tentative with both the story and his actors, particularly the kids, and the movie gets away from him at times. Thankfully Chan is usually there to save the day, with Smith, a worthy student, right beside him.
—Betsy Sharkey Los Angeles Times
- 7
...surprisingly sure-footed and deft in its new setting.
—Claudia Puig USA Today
- 7
...fun, and believable, on the most important level: It convinces us that Jaden Smith has what it takes to fight his way to the top.
—Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly
- 6
Overall, the filmmakers have largely opted to embellish rather than excise, suggesting their reluctance to depart much from the original template. Still, it's a sign of that pic's dramatic durability that Kid manages to be as absorbing as it is, despite its nearly 2 1/2 hour running time...
—Justin Chang Variety
- 6
That the film works as well as it does -- as an attractive, rousing time-passer for children -- speaks more to the endurance of a good formula than its revitalization.
—Scott Tobias Onion AV Club
- 6
...relies on the heart and cheery bloodthirstiness of the original...
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune
- 5
It's a measure of the times that the new version of The Karate Kid manages to be longer and bigger-budgeted than the original while having lesser impact.
—Frank Scheck Hollywood Reporter
- 5
...very long ( 2 hours 12 minutes), dramatically thin and unevenly acted, but it was filmed almost entirely in China, mostly Beijing, and it has an unexotic, lived-in sense of place unusual in current Hollywood movies.
—A. O. Scott New York Times
- 5
There is the impression, deadly to the sense of fun, that the talent here actually thought they were remaking a classic.
—Nick Pinkerton Village Voice
- 5
While it doesn't bring anything really bad to the mix, this new Karate Kid doesn't bring anything new either.
—Bill Gibron filmcritic.com
- 5
There is the impression, deadly to the sense of fun, that the talent here actually thought they were remaking a classic.
—Nick Pinkerton LA Weekly
- 5
Short review of three little words: Way. Too. Long.
—Peter Travers Rolling Stone
- 5
...wobbles, flails, and ultimately stumbles in a futile attempt to top the original.
—Dezhda Gaubert E!
- 4
...a lame remake...
—Kyle Smith New York Post
- 4
...bluffs its way through the motions and never manages to invest a shred of conviction in its banal paint-by-numbers stock plot.
—Simon Abrams Slant Magazine