There's no suspense (ETs rampage from the word go); no frissons (loud hailers telegraph the shocks); and it's insufficiently bright to be an hommage.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
A choppy, unsuspenseful succession of chases, melodramatic showdowns and routine special effects.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
rotten:
The Puppet Masters occasionally lives up to its reputation, but the delay between story conception and celluloid conversion has clearly wilted its power and potential.
– Richard Harrington,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Attempts at detailed characterization don't work particularly well, and there's a love story that feels as forced as it is superfluous - although even that isn't as unnecessary as the film's final ten minutes.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Only the most undiscriminating monster-pic buff will come away satisfied.