Synopsis
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
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Cast
- Pat MoritaMr. Miyagi
- Hilary SwankJulie Pierce
- Michael IronsideColonel Paul Dugan
- Constance TowersLouisa Pierce
- Chris ConradEric McGowen
- Arsenio "Sonny" TrinidadAbbot Monk
- Michael CavalieriNed
- Walton GogginsCharlie
- Jim IshidaTall Monk
- Rodney KageyamaMonk
Recommendations
- 50
Variety
Leisurely and overly familiar pic should appeal to young teen girls, but won't be breaking any B.O. bricks with its bare hands. - 50
Baltimore Sun
This film feels like a desperate attempt to squeeze a few last bucks out of what was once a very obliging cash cow. - 50
Washington Post
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. - 50
Los Angeles Times
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. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Overlong and utterly predictable, The Next Karate Kid offers little excitement, even in its culminating fight sequence. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
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. - 40
Empire
Almost a guilty pleasure. But not quite. - 40
Austin Chronicle
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.
