Scott Tobias of "The A.V. Club" contends the film is "certainly never boring"; he felt that director James Wan was "too busy jamming the accelerator to realize that his movie's spinning out of control." Matt Zoller Seitz of "The New York Times" said, "Aside from a stunning three-minute tracking shot as the gang pursues Nick through a parking garage, and Mr. Bacon's hauntingly pale, dark-eyed visage, Mr. Wan's film is a tedious, pandering time-waster." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" felt that "morality of revenge is barely at issue in a movie that pushes the plausibility of revenge right over a cliff." Conversely, Justin Chang of "Variety" called the film "well-made, often intensely gripping". Similarly, Bill Gibron of "PopMatters" felt the film was "a significant movie" and "a wonderfully tight little thriller". Darren Amner of "Eye for Film" also gave the film a positive review, praising Bacon's performance in particular: "portrayal is emotional, sympathetic and highly aggressive. As a father he is touching and as a stone-cold killing machine he is even more convincing."