Leonard Klady of "Variety" wrote, "It's a visceral delight that refuses to be deterred by niceties of plot or character consistency and prefers sweat to emotion." Richard Harrington of "The Washington Post" wrote that the film depends too much on car chases, which end up dominating the film. Lawrence Van Gelder of "The New York Times" wrote, "From start to finish, 'Maximum Risk' presents spectacular stunts choreographed and coordinated by Charles Picerni and some hair-raising, stomach-churning automotive chases attributed to Remy Julienne, the French master of the art."