[2] Karl Schiffman, a friend of Flak's, was brought in and instructed to rewrite the script from scratch based on a stock buddy movie template, which he did in two weeks.

"[9] The BBC's Radio Times called it "[a]n incredibly brutal film that boasts about one shoot-out or bone-breaking fight every ten minutes but, to its credit, it doesn’t take itself that seriously, and it’s sure to please action fans looking for some dumb, violent fun.

"[11] In his publication VideoScope, genre critic Joe Kane called the film "a nearly nonstop series of shoot-outs, chases, and punch-ups that, while energetically staged, grow too numbingly repetitious even for diehard action hounds."

"[13] Sight & Sound, the British Film Institute's magazine, assessed that "[m]id-range martial-arts star Blanks teams up with Piper for a by-numbers action vehicle".

[14] Contrary to the Toronto Star, TV Guide did not find it a meaningful improvement over Blanks' Merhi-produced films, calling it: "a disposable, direct-to-video action bloodbath from the creators of the substantively similar Talons of the Eagle and TC 2000.

"[15] Schiffman was booked to write a treatment for a direct sequel, which came close to getting into production,[3] but SGE instead opted to commission a spiritual successor starring Piper and Blanks from a different team.