The woman is seen as merely a pawn in this contest between men. She is the property of the old lion, the young lion comes sniffing around, and then she’s mauled and thrown aside so that the real story — the showdown between the males — can begin […]. It’s possible to respond to this material in more than one way. On the one hand, Revenge is a well-made movie […]. The action scenes are well-handled […]. All of that works. But still I didn’t care about the outcome of the movie, because its values seemed too twisted.
In a film like this it is helpful to believe that at least one of the characters is acting wisely and well, and Revenge has no righteous characters — they’re all silly, stupid or ruthless. — Roger Ebert, 1990.

Everything in Revenge is so archetypal and obvious that the film plays like some laughably solemn ritual. — Owen Gleiberman