In the United Kingdom, "Empire" gave the film four stars out five, referring to it as a "A keystone of the wuxia genre" and noted that the film "may lack plot complexity and period spectacle. But the stand-off in a remote inn is flecked with tension, wit and slick martial artistry." Michael Brooke ("Sight & Sound") referred to "Dragon Inn" as "one of the most important "wuxia pian" films to emerge from the Chinese-speaking world prior to the great martial arts boom of the turn of the 1970s." and that it was "riotously entertaining". Brooks commented on the action scenes, opining that they "aren't quite as breath-catchingly dexterous as the ones Hong Kong cinema would later produce, they're both lively and agreeably frequent, with Hu using the Scope frame to its full advantage". Brooke concluded that "If it's not quite first-rank Hu when set against "A Touch of Zen" or "The Fate of Lee Khan", it makes for a superb introduction." The "Radio Times" gave the film a four out of five star rating, and felt the film surpassed "Come Drink With Me", noting that Hu's "control over camera movement and composition is exemplary, building the tension and invigorating the swordplay."