The reviews lean towards mixed or negative, with praise clustering around the performers rather than the parody itself. Dan Aykroyd’s convincing embodiment of Sergeant Joe Friday and Tom Hanks’s comic contributions give critics something to enjoy even when the jokes falter. Some also credit the film’s affection for its television source, bright dialogue and clever ideas, though these pleasures do not add up to sustained comedy for most critics.
Reservations centre on the shortage of laughs, repetitive disguises and a plot that lets spectacle crowd out the fun. There is disagreement over the sacrifice material: Radio Times identifies the virgin-sacrifice gag as a comic highlight, while the Los Angeles Times faults the pagan-sacrifice storyline and excessive car chases. The spread is fairly wide. Collider supplies the clearest positive dissent, praising the leads’ chemistry and treating the film as an entertaining adaptation that works independently of its source.