[2] Paul Garson, a contributor to several motorsports magazines including Hot Bike,[3] was approached to write the screenplay by Ray, who knew him from his press work.

[5] Some press items, perhaps based on early promotional material, mentioned Patrick McGoohan, Robert Vaughn[3] and Russ Tamblyn[8] as part of the cast, although they do not appear in the final version.

Star Heather Thomas was difficult, at one point threatening to no-show the next day unless she was given a pair of Fred Segal Tark'1 jeans to wear.

[5] However, he maintained a good rapport with Landau,[5] and struck a friendship with Jeffrey Combs after discovering that the latter was his neighbor and a friend of his son, which led to further collaborations.

[14] During an appearance on the NBC talk show Late Night with David Letterman shortly before Cyclone's opening, Heather Thomas denounced the film, saying she had done it to pay for her divorce bills, and that it was "coming to an airplane near you".

[18] Cyclone was slated to come to Blu-ray through Code Red on November 31, 2021, but the release was cancelled after it turned out that MGM, who had licensed the film's rights to the publisher, did not own them anymore.

Bob Ross of the Tampa Tribune lambasted the film as a "laughably inept chase-adventure [...] that lacks even rudimentary traces of professionalism.

"[14] Kevin Tomas of the Los Angeles Times found that "Thomas is a spunky, believable action heroine, and she has a strong assist from Martine Beswicke [sic]" but "[a]ction movies don’t come dumber than Cyclone.

"[21] John Stanley, author of the Creature Features series of books, gave the movie two out of five stars and stated that it contained "one blazing firefight and vehicle chase after another with no plot twists to brag about or motivated characters.

"[22] Sister publications TV Guide and the Motion Picture Annual gave the movie two out of five stars, writing that "Thomas is a likable enough heroine, though the script makes no real demands of her.

The real source of interest is the cast of B-movie veterans whom director Fred Olen Ray habitually assembles for his films.

"[1] In an article focusing on B-movies, Doug Brod of Video Review gave the film three and a half Bs (a replacement for their usual stars) out of four, and wrote that "[l]ots of action and a terrific supporting cast make this one whirl.