The Next Karate Kid
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: September 9, 1994 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
9
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
VarietyLisa Nesselson
Leisurely and overly familiar pic should appeal to young teen girls, but won't be breaking any B.O. bricks with its bare hands. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunStephen Hunter
This film feels like a desperate attempt to squeeze a few last bucks out of what was once a very obliging cash cow. Read full review
50
Washington PostRita Kempley
The 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. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesChris Willman
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. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Overlong and utterly predictable, The Next Karate Kid offers little excitement, even in its culminating fight sequence. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelLina Sebastian
The formulaic plot does not give the actors that much to work with. Swank, though, does a good job as Julie. [16 Sep 1994, p.2]
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Clearly, 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. Read full review
40
EmpireWilliam Thomas
Almost a guilty pleasure. But not quite. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
There'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. Read full review
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