Greg Burliuk of the
Kingston Whig-Standard said it is "a crackling good thriller". Furthermore he praised the actors and the direction. Robert DiMatteo of
The Advocate-Messenger praised Bronson acting against type. He felt that Mackenzie's direction was especially good when handling the antagonists by saying "he brings out a disturbing comic cretenism in his villains". Michael Walch of
The Province felt that the movie didn't have a good balance between the Yablonski and Paul Gilly's story and was out of focus. He thought Bronson was miscast, and characters that surround Paul Gilly reduced the quality of the performance of actor
Robert Schenkkan. Joel Pisetzner of
The Record said "it is not a bad movie, merely an incredible underachiever." He felt that Mackenzie made Yablonski too much of a Saint instead of a man hence his story is less interesting than the one of his killer Paul Gilly. While praising the acting, especially of Barkin and Brimley, he also felt many elements of the story were unexplored. ==References==