Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
xx
Adjustment Bureau, The
53
Alice in Wonderland
47
A-Team, The
84
Avatar![]()
63
Babies
34
Back-up Plan, The
53
Book of Eli, The
22
Bounty Hunter, The
30
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
xx
Chain Letter
39
Clash of the Titans
31
Cop Out
55
Crazies, The
56
Date Night
51
Death at a Funeral
72
Despicable Me
56
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
56
Dinner for Schmucks
51
Eat Pray Love
45
Expendables, The
23
Furry Vengeance
65
Get Him to the Greek
61
Green Zone
30
Grown Ups
63
Hot Tub Time Machine
74
How to Train Your Dragon
79
IMAX: Hubble 3D
74
Inception
57
Iron Man 2
33
Jonah Hex
52
Just Wright
61
Karate Kid, The
66
Kick-Ass
21
Killers
46
Knight and Day
20
Last Airbender, The
xx
Last Exorcism, The
33
Last Song, the
31
Letters to God
50
Letters to Juliet
43
MacGruber
30
Marmaduke
35
Nightmare on Elm Street, A
75
Oceans
64
Other Guys, The
38
Our Family Wedding
47
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
xx
Piranha 3-D
51
Predators
50
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
56
Ramona and Beezus
40
Remember Me
53
Robin Hood
65
Salt
67
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
27
Sex and the City 2
46
She's Out of My League
58
Shrek Forever After
63
Shutter Island
46
Sorcerer's Apprentice, The
66
Splice
45
Step Up 3D
xx
Takers
92
Toy Story 3![]()
58
Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
43
Why Did I Get Married Too
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
52
[Rec] 2
xx
12th & Delaware
xx
180° South
90
45365![]()
55
8: The Mormon Proposition
xx
Accidents Happen
62
After the Cup: The Sons of Sakhnin United
36
After.Life
73
Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, The
55
Agora
82
Ajami![]()
77
Alamar
78
Anton Chekhov's The Duel
63
Around a Small Mountain
57
Audrey the Trainwreck
xx
Badmaash Company
xx
Barking Water
75
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
62
Behind the Burly Q
63
Best Worst Movie
31
Black Waters of Echo's Pond, The
35
Boogie Woogie
64
Breath Made Visible: Anna Halprin
xx
Brotherhood
24
Burzynski
51
Butcher's Son, The
xx
Ca$h
67
Cairo Time
59
Cartel, The
68
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
37
Charlie St. Cloud
xx
Cheech & Chong's Hey Watch This
48
Chloe
66
City Island
52
City of Your Final Destination, The
56
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
58
Concert, The
xx
Contenders, The
xx
Convention
71
Countdown to Zero
83
Crazy Heart![]()
51
Creation
xx
Cremaster Cycle, The
73
Cropsey
73
Cyrus
74
Daddy Longlegs
64
Disappearance of Alice Creed, The
73
Dogtooth
50
Don McKay
66
Double Take
47
Dry Land, The
67
Eclipse, The
85
Exit Through the Gift Shop![]()
56
Extra Man, The
75
Farewell
76
Father of My Children, The
30
Finding Bliss
38
Flipped
52
Formosa Betrayed
60
Fresh
xx
Fruit Fly
53
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema
43
George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead
76
Get Low
68
Ghost Bird
77
Ghost Writer, The
68
Girl on the Train, The
66
Girl Who Played with Fire, The
xx
Gone with the Pope
40
Good Heart, The
69
Good, The Bad, The Weird, The
49
Great Directors
45
Greatest, The
76
Greenberg
59
Handsome Harry
24
Happiness Runs
73
Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
55
Harry Brown
80
Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West
57
Here and There
xx
Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
51
Holy Rollers
54
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
32
Human Centipede (First Sequence), The
79
I Am Love
91
I Was Born, But...![]()
33
In My Sleep
60
Infidel, The
67
It Came From Kuchar
74
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
79
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
57
John Rabe
55
Joneses, The
55
Juche Idea, The
65
Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D
86
Kids Are All Right, The![]()
53
Killer Inside Me, The
53
Killing Kasztner
44
Kimjongilia
xx
Kings of the Evening
68
Kisses
62
Kites: The Remix
47
La Mission
xx
Last Letters from Monte Rosa
xx
Law, The
63
Lbs.
xx
Le amiche
58
Leaves of Grass
87
Lebanon![]()
72
Let It Rain
70
Life During Wartime
41
Lightkeepers, The
76
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
37
Living Wake, The
66
Looking for Eric
72
Lottery, The
37
Love Ranch
86
Mademoiselle Chambon![]()
xx
Malice in Wonderland
46
Mercy
78
Messenger, The
47
Metropia
62
Micmacs
75
Mid-August Lunch
60
Middle Men
54
Misfortunates, The
64
Mother and Child
75
Mugabe and the White African
35
Multiple Sarcasms
65
Mundo Alas
xx
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
50
My Name is Khan
41
Nature of Existence, The
71
Neshoba: The Price of Freedom
xx
Nightfall
71
No One Knows About Persian Cats
59
Nobody’s Perfect
72
Oath, The
xx
Ocean of Pearls
65
Ondine
59
Only When I Dance
58
OSS 117: Lost in Rio
xx
Oxford Murders, The
37
Paper Man
63
Parking Lot Movie, The
68
Patrik Age 1.5
40
People I've Slept With, The
42
Perfect Game, The
47
Perrier's Bounty
48
Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies
78
Please Give
31
Pornography: A Thriller
41
Princess Kaiulani
90
Prophet, A![]()
xx
Raajneeti
67
Raavan
78
Racing Dreams
xx
Ramchand Pakistani
xx
Red Birds
63
Reel Injun
85
Restrepo![]()
xx
Road, Movie
45
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead
xx
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
43
Salt of This Sea
81
Secret in Their Eyes, The![]()
81
Secret of Kells, The![]()
73
See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
57
Severe Clear
57
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
52
Shine of Rainbows, A
48
Sicilian Girl, The
77
Single Man, A
68
Smash His Camera
69
Solitary Man
45
South of the Border
56
Spoken Word
47
Spring Fever
75
Square, The
22
Standing Ovation
75
Stonewall Uprising
53
Tales from the Script
74
Terribly Happy
78
Teza
75
That Evening Sun
xx
They Came to Play
49
Thorn in the Heart, The
xx
Thru the Moebius Strip
60
TiMER
64
Tirador
15
To Age or Not to Age
52
Touching Home
33
Trash Humpers
59
Trotsky, The
xx
Trust Us, This Is All Made Up
24
Twelve
56
Two in the Wave
62
Valhalla Rising
85
Vincere![]()
xx
Visionaries
54
Wah Do Dem
70
Warlords, The
56
What's the Matter with Kansas?
55
When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors
68
Whiz Kids
52
Who Do You Love
35
Who Killed Nancy
64
Wild Grass
xx
Wild Hunt, The
56
Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, The
69
Winnebago Man
90
Winter's Bone![]()
68
Women Without Men
xx
World on a Wire
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Karate Kid, The
EMAILPRINTColumbia Pictures (Sony)

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 66 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Drama | Family/Kids
Written by: Michael Soccio
Directed by: Harald Zwart
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 11, 2010
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: USA | China
Summary
RATING: PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
Starring Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, and Taraji P. Henson
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying—and the feeling is mutual—but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has no one to turn except maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life. (Sony Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
St. Petersburg Times Steve Persall
What'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.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
If you've seen “The Karate Kid” (1984), the memories will come back during this 2010 remake. That's a compliment.
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf
Given the dreck we’ve seen this summer, it’s nice to be reminded of the virtues of clean storytelling and cultural curiosity.
Read Full Review >Boxoffice Magazine Amy Nicholson
Jaden 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.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
Jaden may have to carry the burden of family celebrity, even as he carries his new film. Expertly.
Read Full Review >New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott
The casting is perfect, and the resetting of the story to China allows for a satisfyingly cinematic retelling.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
The 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.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
Ultimately, it's a formulaic sports movie for kids that hits the expected dramatic beats.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Amy Biancolli
A fine, fun remake of a movie that updates, transplants and reimagines the original without sacrificing its heart or goofy charm.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
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.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams
The 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.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
The 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."
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The 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.
Read Full Review >Movieline Michelle Orange
If only the director had learned Mr. Han’s most important lesson: Being still and doing nothing are two very different things.
Read Full Review >Variety Justin Chang
It'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.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
The Karate Kid will probably work best for young audiences unaware of its predecessor – or of much of anything else for that matter.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
A winning update of a classic piece of Eighties' filmmaking, and that in itself is something of a coup.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The 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.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Jackie 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.
Read Full Review >Arizona Republic Bill Goodykoontz
Does the movie have anything new to say, anything different from John G. Avildsen's 1984 original, with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita? Not particularly.
Read Full Review >Empire James White
Smith 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.
Read Full Review >Slate Dana Stevens
If 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.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey
A kung fu kick of a film that hits more than it misses.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
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.
Read Full Review >NPR Mark Jenkins
Despite 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.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
This 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.
Read Full Review >Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore
At two hours and 15 minutes, the new Karate Kid takes an absurd amount of time to get to that “big match.”
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
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.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Nick Pinkerton
There is the impression, deadly to the sense of fun, that the talent here actually thought they were remaking a classic.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
You 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.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Mary Elizabeth Williams
At times, the movie feels less like a coming-of-age tale and more like an extended promo for the Chinese tourism bureau.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Smith’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.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Is 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.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
A 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.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 66 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Eric M. gave it a1:
The only thing wrong with this movie is that they changed if from a teenager in California to a kid in China. Seeing Jackie Chan fight six 12 year olds is silly, not exiting. That about sums up what is wrong with the picture. Whoever wrote this, never watched the original, just read a treatment. So much is lost. Lost sources of conflict include; rich versus poor, racism against orientals, and the misuse of karate. Also lost humor, pacing, and some great little touches. For example. What does the mother do? In the original she is working in a restaurant and going to become a manager. What happened to the girl's girlfriends? Don't violin prodigies have any friends? As for the principle characters motivation. Changing them from sixteen year teenagers to twelve year old kids makes the story silly. I just can't buy hormone driven behavior in these kids. However, I'll give it points for nice location, and finding all those English speaking actors.
Michael M gave it a7:
This movie seems to revert to older ways of film making. The story has a moral and the audio actually fits the emotion of the scenes. The story can seem to drag out in some parts (I blame the screenwriter trying to fit too much in), though the acting is believable from the cast. I feel the movie was appropriately cast and the camera is not too jerky or capturing worthless angles. This is a martial arts movie; if you do not like martial arts movies do not go see it. There are no car chases, big explosions, gun fights, sex scenes, or gore. 7 for not a bad movie, but not brutal.
Alan G gave it a9:
This movie is really cool.
Peter gave it a9:
Loved it. Better than the original.
Shiang H. gave it a3:
I almost died of goosebumps while watching this dreadful movie.
James M. gave it a10:
It was really really good the action was great and i got to say they were all really good actors and my favorite part is when he saw the snake and he was staring at mr han.
John S gave it a3:
The only guy that did it right (in my opinion)sumarizing the crtic of this movie is Rene from MiamiHerald..."Smith is a cute kid, but fundamentally miscast. The protagonist in the original film was in his mid-teens, a young man in the making. Here, prepubescent seventh-graders enact heart-thumping romance and bone-thumping beat-downs, which makes for uncomfortable viewing. Ironically, Smith radiates a confidence that makes him seem less vulnerable than his predecessor, Ralph Macchio. "
