Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four, stating that ""The Specialist" is one of those films that forces the characters through torturous mazes of dialogue and action, to explain a plot that is so unlikely it's not worth the effort. You know a movie's in trouble when the people in line at the parking garage afterward are trying to figure out what the heroine's motivations were." James Berardinelli rated it one and a half out of four stars, writing "This movie is excruciatingly dumb. And, given the releases of "Speed" and "Blown Away" this summer, there's no dearth of explosion-based motion pictures. The only twist this one offers is that here, the bomber is the good guy (...)."