A. O. Scott from "The New York Times" had a mixed feeling towards the film, saying, "Alex Proyas's hectic thriller engages some interesting ideas on its way to an overblown and incoherent ending". Roger Ebert, who had highly praised Proyas' previous films, gave it a negative review, saying, "The plot is simple-minded and disappointing, and the chase and action scenes are pretty much routine for movies in the sci-fi CGI genre". Claudia Puig from "USA Today" thought the film's "performances, plot, and pacing are as mechanical as the hard-wired cast". Todd McCarthy, from "Variety", simply said that this film was "a failure of imagination".