The film was not without its detractors. Anthony Puccinelli gave the film one star, calling it "worthless" and remarking: ""A Time to Kill" argues for vigilantism but disguises its message by making the vigilante black, allowing viewers to think their blood lust and thirst for revenge is actually empathy for the oppressed." Peter Travers felt that "they and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman cramin too much," adding, "This distracts from the heart of the picture, which is in the bond between Carl Lee (the brilliant [Samuel L. Jackson is quietly devastating) and Jake, a husband and father who knows he, too, would have shot anyone who raped his little girl." Gene Siskel remarked it was "An overwrought, contrived courtroom thriller", "cornball" and concluded "This story has been recycled out of countless better movies."