All eleven reviews come down on the film’s side. Almost every critic names Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs as the reason to watch: a suicidal detective played at full pitch, manic and dangerous, holding the eye through every crash. His pairing with Danny Glover’s steady family man draws the next most praise; the reviews treat the odd-couple friction as the engine of the film. Richard Donner’s fast direction, the stunts and Shane Black’s script are credited with carrying a familiar formula on energy rather than novelty.
The reservations are mild and mostly about plausibility. Several critics find the plot thin or illogical and say the film gets by regardless; The Hollywood Reporter thinks the central conflict takes too long to arrive and complains of slack expository scenes. Slant Magazine, writing later, objects to the series’ casual attitude to police violence. The spread is narrow, from good to admiring, with most of the later retrospective reviews warmer than the notices from its release.