Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Metascore
39 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 24
  3. Negative: 7 out of 24
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    It's as slam-bang preposterous as any R-rated comedy you can name. It's just that Paul Blart and the film's other characters don't feel the need to use the f-word as the building block of every sentence.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Adam Markovitz
    75
    Has a few surprises in store. The biggest is James, an unexpectedly nimble master of the face-plant, the failed jump, and the lopsided tumble.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    It's fine for kids, though, and it doesn't try too hard.
  4. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    Although Paul Blart is by no means great cinema, there is amusement to be uncovered as we watch Kevin James bumble his way through actions oh-so-similar to those navigated with more blood, sweat, profanity, and dead bodies than Willis. Too bad there's no "Yippekayay...."
  5. Empire
    Reviewed by: Simon Braund
    60
    Hardly promising but, thanks to James' winningly gung-ho underdog and the fat-man grace he brings to a pratfall, unexpectedly watchable.
  6. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    50
    The film is completely forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.
  7. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
    50
    Thanks to a tight script and brisk pacing from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Doolittle 2), there's little fat in Mall Cop, save the a yawn-inducing parade of fat-guy jokes.
  8. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    50
    The bad guys just seem like a bunch of X-Games rejects, and Blart's ingenuity proves way more effective than it has any right to be.
  9. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Travis Nichols
    50
    The only real difference between this and the handful of other Happy Madison flicks is that James (executive producer, co-writer, star) has made this Sandleresque movie family-friendly, with very little swearing, no nudity and all the edginess of a "King of Queens" rerun.
  10. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    50
    Done as an all-out battle to the death, this could have been an entertaining mix of "Die Hard" and "The A-Team."
  11. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Glenn Whipp
    50
    Underneath all the cartoonish mall mayhem and silly slapstick lies a comedy that aspires to be the sort of gentle crowd-pleaser John Hughes used to make.
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Jen Chaney
    50
    Mediocre, unmemorable comedy.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    42
    James has a sweet, appealing presence, but the dreary, joke-light script and generic direction do him no favors.
  14. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    40
    Great comics from Jerry Lewis to Peter Sellers have turned pathetic into comedic. But James never seems to able to get beyond pathetic.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    40
    Perfectly inoffensive and almost entirely unfunny, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is more of a numbing experience than a painful one.
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    40
    A tossed-off comedy from Adam Sandler's production company that makes one long for the comparative genius of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry."
  17. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    40
    An almost shockingly amateurish one-note-joke comedy.
  18. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    38
    The last name Blart may be the funniest thing in the movie, so that's a hint as to just how bad this shopping-center saga can be.
  19. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Michael Ferraro
    30
    Director Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care") tries nothing new in the world of aesthetics. Should be no surprise considering that any film put out by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions doesn't really need to take any kind of cinematic risk.
  20. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    30
    To call this Kevin James comedy fatuous might be misinterpreted as an attack on the star's girth--so how about inane, tepid, lazy, puerile, phony, and unfunny?
  21. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    25
    The action sequences are just as ridiculous as the romance parts, but at least James seems comfortable with the pratfalls and gross-out scenarios.
  22. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Perry Seibert
    25
    James plays it safe. And, short of unfunny, safe is the worst thing a comedian can be.
  23. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    20
    Paul Blart: Mall Cop deserves to be cited for loitering.
  24. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    12
    Looks like something stubbed out in an ashtray.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.0 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 57
  3. Negative: 19 out of 57
  1. EvanB.
    10
    Surprisingly funny!
  2. M0vieAddict
    2
    Kevin James has potential somewhat (see Grown ups, Hitch, I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry) but Paul Blart: Mall Cop squanders his ability to make audiences laugh and proves he cannot carry this unfunny script as an awkward, terrified mall cop. This movie is quite simply boring, dumbed down and leaves little to the imagination. James should stick to pairing alongside Sandler in movies, he ultimately fails on his own.… Full Review »
  3. dev92
    1
    An awful film, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is just another reason why Kevin James should never have a starring role in any film. He needs a much better actor to carry him through nearly ever film he has ever been in.… Full Review »
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