The reviews lean towards qualified approval, with praise clustering around Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans’ chemistry, the sharp put-downs and the elaborate action. Most critics find something to enjoy in the hard-edged humour, even when the buddy-action formula feels familiar. The stronger notices welcome its nastiness and ironic edge rather than treating them as obstacles. Slant Magazine particularly admires Tony Scott’s busy visual style and his smoggy, heat-shimmered Los Angeles.
The reservations concern how little the plot matters once the shooting starts, alongside the thin treatment of women. There is a wide spread between enthusiastic genre recommendations and outright rejection, though several reviews settle on entertaining but unremarkable. The Los Angeles Times is the clearest dissenter, finding the film slick and empty despite admiring the editing and Willis’s weary performance. The central divide is over whether the jokes and action compensate for the familiar plotting and bloodshed.
