The reviews lean mixed to negative, with only one plainly positive notice among nine. Where there is praise, it clusters in the same two places: Jet Li’s fighting, which several critics call the best thing the fourth film adds, and the easy rapport among the returning cast, whose verbal sparring is credited even by those who dislike everything around it. The action set-pieces are generally granted professional execution, and the freeway chase comes up more than once.
The complaints are about the story and the jokes. Most critics find the plot thin or illogical, the humour tired and the running time padded, and there is a recurring sense that the series has run out of steam and its leads are going through the motions. The spread is wide. Variety is the lone enthusiast, calling it buoyant popcorn fare, while the Los Angeles Times declares it creatively bankrupt and Eye for Film says it wastes Li. Two notices are partial, so the picture is less firm than the count suggests.