47
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSteve Martin is good at that aspect of the Bilko persona, and good, too, at suggesting that there's not a mean bone in the sergeant's body.
- 75San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSgt. Bilko's attempts at loose-cannon nuttiness sometimes go astray, but under Jonathan Lynn's direction, the film manages to keep a lively balance between the dumbed-down antics of Bilko's platoon of young motor- pool hustlers, to whom he is mentor, and the more nuanced satire of dimwit military brass.
- 63Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonA definite improvement. However, whatever gains this adaptation makes are due entirely to the inspired goofiness of its star, Steve Martin, and not to anything that director Jonathan Lynn or screenwriter Andy Breckman may have contributed.
- 60Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumA reasonably updated facsimile of a 50s service romp called Operation Mad Ball, a similar celebration of high jinks.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineMartin's Bilko is a career grifter who comes out on top every time. He's a Bilko for the nasty '90s, oily and smug.
- 50Even Steve Martin back in his wild-and-crazy mode can't breathe much life into Sgt. Bilko - a somewhat unlikely candidate for translation from the TV sitcom vaults to the bigscreen. Bilko can't really be much more than the series - the exploits of an unscrupulous army scam artist constantly looking for new ways to make a buck.
- 50San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserBilko and his gang are far less concerned with valve jobs and retreads than with greyhound racing, off-track betting, numbers, poker and pool, and most of the movie's gags reflect this limited premise.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovAll things considered, Sgt. Bilko is little more than a lengthy episode of the original show. Only less creepy.
- 30Time OutTime OutThis is shoddy hackwork, replaying classic scenarios (the honest new recruit, audits by Pentagon bigwigs and manoeuvres in Nevada) with such disregard for narrative structure the reels might be in the wrong order.
- 0Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanBilko is a weightless comic creation, and Steve Martin, perhaps sensing this, drifts through the movie with a misplaced balletic goofiness.