The critical picture is mixed, with praise concentrated on individual sequences rather than the thriller as a whole. Empire finds Patriot Games a sound, entertaining suspense film, while acknowledging comic excesses and shallow politics. Its particular highlight is the detached satellite-monitor sequence. Radio Times also singles out the remote-controlled desert massacre for praise, though it finds that the film never quite gets its act together.
The available verdicts range from qualified enjoyment to outright dismissal. Variety objects to incoherent action staging and a shallow, biased treatment of the Irish conflict, finding the direction inept and the film morally repugnant. Time Out likewise dismisses the film as deeply inept, questioning its casting choice. Three of the seven listed reviews have no accessible verdict text, which limits how confidently their scores can establish shared reasons for praise or disappointment.