Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three and a half out of four stars and called it "a grand and glorious romantic adventure, filled with brave heroes, beautiful heroines, fearsome monsters, and awe-inspiring duels to the death. It is a lot of fun." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" also gave the film three and a half stars out of four and called it "a special effects spectacular that succeeds brilliantly as an old-fashioned adventure film based on the legends of Greek mythology." "Variety" called it "an unbearable bore of a film that will probably put to sleep the few adults stuck taking the kids to it. This mythical tale of Perseus, son of Zeus, and his quest for the 'fair' Andromeda, is mired in a slew of corny dialog and an endless array of flat, outdated special effects that are both a throwback to a bad 1950's picture." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote, "Though not very witty, the adventures are many and involve a lot of Mr. Harryhausen's specialities," though he thought the monsters were "less convincing than interesting." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" stated that the film "has charm, it has imagination, but it is also too often stodgy. It is an instance of the whole not being nearly as good as its parts. However, Harryhausen's contributions do delight, and this may be more than enough for his ardent admirers and most youngsters." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" wrote that Hamlin was "always a magnetic presence" but the film's appeal was "quaint and stilted." Geoff Brown of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote that the film "unfortunately fails to shake much dust off the genre ... Despite the producers' protracted labours, there's a real possibility that some audiences will be turned to stone before Medusa shows up." "Time" stated "The real titan is Ray Harryhausen."