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91What's fun is how the new Karate Kid embraces and vastly improves the cliches, keeping the plot cleverly updated for a generation that never heard of Ralph Macchio.
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88If you've seen "The Karate Kid" (1984), the memories will come back during this 2010 remake. That's a compliment.
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80Given the dreck we've seen this summer, it's nice to be reminded of the virtues of clean storytelling and cultural curiosity.
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80Jaden Smith is destined to be a star by the force of will (and wallets) of parents Will and Jada Smith, both producers on The Karate Kid. But he's also got the raw material.
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80Jaden may have to carry the burden of family celebrity, even as he carries his new film. Expertly.
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75The kung fu sequences, although enjoyable, probably would not make the Jackie Chan Top 10. However, Chan's acting is his most affecting since the 1993 policer "Crime Story."
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75A fine, fun remake of a movie that updates, transplants and reimagines the original without sacrificing its heart or goofy charm.
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75Solidly entertaining.
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75The new Karate Kid brings fresh life and perspective to the classic tale of perseverance and cross-generational friendship, thanks to Harald Zwart's sensitive direction and two exceptionally appealing stars.
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75The one thing that should have been changed but hasn't is the title, which makes no sense at all in a movie about kung fu.
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75The casting is perfect, and the resetting of the story to China allows for a satisfyingly cinematic retelling.
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75The kids in the movie, from musicians to marital artists, are unusually skillful, and Smith seems assured of more starring roles. By the end of The Karate Kid, we can't help cheering, even when we know we've been sucker-punched.
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75Fun, and believable, on the most important level: It convinces us that Jaden Smith has what it takes to fight his way to the top.
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75Ultimately, it's a formulaic sports movie for kids that hits the expected dramatic beats.
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70If only the director had learned Mr. Han's most important lesson: Being still and doing nothing are two very different things.
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70It has heart and a good kick.
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70It's a sign of that pic's dramatic durability that "Kid" manages to be as absorbing as it is, despite its nearly 2½-hour running time.
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67A winning update of a classic piece of Eighties' filmmaking, and that in itself is something of a coup.
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67The Karate Kid will probably work best for young audiences unaware of its predecessor – or of much of anything else for that matter.
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63Jackie Chan co-stars in Morita's old role of the humble maintenance man who coaches the Bullied One. The older Chan gets, the simpler and truer he becomes as a performer.
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63The problem with the film is that that story, hackneyed when it first made it to the screen in 1984, has grown only more tired over the past 26 years.
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60Smith might be the focus, but while he's got the charisma and the moves, it's Chan who makes it punch above its weight. Nice scenery too.
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60Does the movie have anything new to say, anything different from John G. Avildsen's 1984 original, with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita? Not particularly.
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60A kung fu kick of a film that hits more than it misses.
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60If I had a child near Dre's age, I'd drag him or her out of "Marmaduke" and into The Karate Kid--but not before requiring an at-home screening of the still unsurpassed original.
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58That 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.
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50It'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.
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50Despite the local color, the movie isn't especially globalized. The major characters all speak English, and the action sequences throb to the music of Lady Gaga, the Roots and Gorillaz.
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50Short review of three little words: Way. Too. Long.
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50Smith's charisma isn't always an asset to the movie though. Unlike the unknown Macchio in the original Kid, there's nothing vulnerable about Smith except for his diminutive size, which is its own problem.
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50At two hours and 15 minutes, the new Karate Kid takes an absurd amount of time to get to that "big match."
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50At times, the movie feels less like a coming-of-age tale and more like an extended promo for the Chinese tourism bureau.
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50There is the impression, deadly to the sense of fun, that the talent here actually thought they were remaking a classic.
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50Is this Karate Kid as good as the original? No, although it is better than the sequels. But why bother with nostalgia? It's probably good enough.
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50You could also say it's like they're likable tourists on a quest to plunder an endearing movie that didn't need this mediocre remake.
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50This is a smart departure for Chan, who's been wasting his talent in mediocre comedies; the other actors don't fare as well. The plot takes forever to get rolling, and the movie is hamstrung by numerous tourism sequences.
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38A popcorn picture that thinks it's "The Last Emperor," The Karate Kid is about as likely to grab your youngster's attention as any other propaganda film made by the Chinese government.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 40 out of 57
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Mixed: 2 out of 57
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Negative: 15 out of 57
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ShiangH.3I almost died of goosebumps while watching this dreadful movie.