Most critics land in the middle, and they agree on where the fun is. Johnny Depp’s CIA agent is singled out again and again as the best thing in the film, and several reviews say the energy drops whenever he is off screen. The action is generally thought to be handled well, and more than one critic finds the whole thing enjoyable in a loud, brash way even while admitting it disappoints.
The reservations cluster on the plot. Nearly everyone calls it overcomplicated, meandering or rushed, and a few find it a repeat of the series’ formula with Banderas pushed to the margins. The spread is fairly narrow: eight reviews are mixed, three are negative, none are positive. The AV Club takes the harder line, calling it an overstuffed misfire while still praising Banderas and the action choreography; Slant finds the violence increasingly rote. Collider, writing years later, mostly commends the Blu-ray transfer.