Catch That Kid
Fox 2000 Pictures | Release Date: February 6, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
11
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Cast and crew have a blast making a family movie that spoofs its James Bond-like premise, is jam-packed with action, sweaty-palm suspense and adventurous, high-tech fun effects, and yet never loses its at-the-core heart and sympathies. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Catch That Kid respects all of the requirements of the genre, and the heist itself is worthy of "Ocean's Eleven" (either one; take your pick). Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
A passable, but entirely uninspired "Spy Kids" wanna-be. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Flatters its audience by dividing the grown-up world into mean idiots and nice idiots, which might be interestingly subversive if the movie had anything on its mind. Instead, it's just a Hollywood crash course: Heist Films 101. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLuke Sader
An action romp with heart. If that heart is somewhat misguided, it's hard to deny the family-friendly thrills and spills along the way. Read full review
50
Film ThreatKevin Carr
It’s not a great film, and it does rely a bit too much on the “evil bank” motif, but it might be worth a Saturday afternoon with the kids. Read full review
50
PremierePeter Debruge
While this Kid isn't up to "Spy Kids" standards, the good news is the film hews closer to the high-concept kids' movies of the 1980s than to all that Disney Channel goo that's been repackaged for the big screen lately. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
There's a little humor, a little suspense, and not a hint of reality. You'll tune out quickly, unless you're 11. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Mr. Freundlich's naturalistic sensibility gets in the way of the film's broad fantasy elements, turning what might have been a stylized romp like Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" into something a little too real for comfort. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The children are engaging yet the script and direction are not, which leaves the thing to get all bogged down in its own derivative mechanics. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleC.W. Nevius
What started out with the feel of a tight little kids' thriller turns into a Nickelodeon afternoon movie. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The heist itself is a charm with the kids zipping about in go-karts and eluding klutzy security guards, but the film seems trapped in a strange Twilight Zone somewhere between comedy and drama. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
A parade of missed opportunities. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
This heist flick is far more likely to drive audiences away than catch and keep anyone's interest in the title kid -- or more accurately, kids. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneEllen Fox
It's a juicy premise, but the enactment is so dumbed-down -- by turns preposterous and predictable -- that you couldn't possibly fault your jaded children for yawning and rolling their eyes. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
''Kid'' seeks to ''empower'' its target audience of recent Pokémon grads with an adult antihero desperation that feels preemptive and inappropriate. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The plot of this PG action thriller, a remake of the 2002 Danish film Klatretosen, is so full of holes that even middle schoolers might give it the raspberry, but a bigger problem is the three leads' lack of on-screen chemistry. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The film combines dour heroes with a drab look, and the string of "Don't try this at home"-style stunts should underwhelm even viewers too young for James Bond or XXX. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Lackadaisical feel of the film; Freundlich is unable to generate much suspense. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Offers little in the way of originality, real excitement or even genuinely transgressive behavior. Read full review
30
VarietyBrian Lowry
Feels like a prolonged episode of "Power Rangers" minus the colorful costumes. Whatever charm the original had was clearly lost in translation, resulting in a tedious exercise that 6- to 10-year-olds may find mildly diverting. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
When Catch That Kid isn't careening from plot point to plot point, events turning on unseen dimes, it's trying to ingratiate itself with stunts and chases that its young audience have seen done better on Saturday-morning TV. Read full review
25
USA TodayMike Clark
Kid's tone is off 100% of the time. The young actors are irredeemably bland, and two of the adults (Michael Des Barres' bank president, James LeGros' Storm Trooper-like security guard) are hammy enough to make James Brown seem controlled. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Serviceable trash. It looks and moves like a low-end action movie, complete with thumping soundtrack, nanosecond-fast edits, stunts that probably look scary to anyone who doesn't know better and even a third-act police chase through downtown L.A. In other words, it's Bruckheimer for babies. Read full review
20
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The movie isn't only boring; it's troubling: Read full review
12
New York PostMegan Lehmann
The family at the center of "Catch" is likable and authentic, but the seriousness of their plight sits uneasily with the shoddily assembled escapist goof it generates. Read full review
10
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
A stale, overbudgeted, child-empowerment fantasy that's every bit as excruciating as the director's previous work. Read full review
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