During the postwar period, war films were one staple of the British film industry, with "Sink the Bismarck!" an exemplar, sharing the "common themes, actors ... visual style and ideological messages ..." of the genre. British magazine "Radio Times" viewed "Sink the Bismarck!" positively, stating that "this fine film fully captures the tensions, dangers and complexities of battle by concentrating on the unsung back-room planners as much as on the combatants themselves" while also praising More's performance. Attention was drawn to the ways in which it deviated from other war films of the period, specifically commenting on how "there is a respect for the enemy that is missing in many previous flag-wavers". The film was given a four-star rating.