On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 45% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 5.02/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Like countless sequels, "The Karate Kid Part II" tries upping the stakes without straying too far from formula -- and suffers diminishing returns as a result." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average score of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.