3 stars out of 5 -- "It's about slick, muscular tag-team action chops....Pared-back purity of purpose is HAYWIRE's point -- and it's played with tough panache."
Total Film

3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[Soderbergh's] dexterity in managing a chronologically tangled multi-city narrative makes for stylish fun."
Box Office

"[A]n elegant machine....Its lustrous surfaces offer great and guilt-free pleasure."
Wall Street Journal

3 stars out of 4 -- "[A] vigorous spy thriller that consistently beckons the viewer to catch up with its narrative twists and turns."
USA Today

3 stars out of 4 -- "Soderbergh is a master craftsman whose work moves almost eagerly between genres....It's a pleasure to see an A-list director taking the care to make a first-rate genre thriller."
Chicago Sun-Times

"[W]atching Carano kick, spin, flip, choke, crack and crush the fiercest of foes -- mostly men about twice her size -- is thoroughly entertaining, highly amusing and frankly somewhat awe-inspiring..."
Los Angeles Times

"[T]he film, written by Lem Dobbs, proceeds through a series of expertly choreographed, meticulously edited scuffles and chases..."
New York Times

"[S]tylish, quietly exhilarating....That Carano does all her own stunts, of course, only adds to the allure."
Movieline

3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Soderbergh gives HAYWIRE B-movie oomph without sacrificing his fluid elegance."
Rolling Stone

3 stars out of 4 -- "HAYWIRE possesses a lean, unfussy style, from the blown-out lighting to fight sequences that Soderbergh stages with a minimum of unnecessary flourish or fanfare."
Washington Post

"Soderbergh drops all but the raw sound of pummeling from the fights, a masterstroke that Caranos dexterity makes possible....Shes a new model of action star." -- Grade: A-
A.V. Club

"Time and again, Soderbergh shows his mastery of action technique, filming and editing each set-to with electrifying composure, as the widescreen frame becomes a playground for limbs outstretched in combat."
Sight and Sound