Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing that "'Sharky's Machine' contains all of the ingredients of a tough, violent, cynical big-city cop movie, but what makes it intriguing is the way that Burt Reynolds ... plays against those conventions....
Roger Ebert gave the film a score of 3.75, indicating that "'Sharky's Machine' includes the standard elements for a tough, violent urban police story, yet its uniqueness comes from Burt Reynolds' performance that challenges these conventions...