 Roger Ebert awarded the film 2.5 out of 4, saying "This isn 't a great heist movie for a lot of reasons, beginning with the stupidity of its heist plan and the impossibility of these characters ever being successful at anything more complex than standing in line," but appreciated that the comedy did not "go heavy on the excremental, the masturbatory and symphonies of four-letter words", calling it "funny in an innocent screwball kind of way." Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum called the film "overblinged, eye-catching, and essentially tacky," and praised Murphy, saying "when Murphy is on screen, his comedic vigor ... gooses the movie's energy level ... but whenever Murphy wanders off, the movie's pulse rate drops. Tower Heist is in effect two movies: One belongs to Murphy, the other to the rest of the cast." Time Out London's Trevor Johnston said that "though it's hard to get excited by this amiable potboiler, Tower Heist is so at home with its limitations it's equally hard to dislike," but criticized the finale "which might have been a bit more tense had we been able to take it remotely seriously." Conversely, Time Out New York's David Fear gave it 2 out of 5 stars, saying "one nail-biting moment and some much-missed Murphy mouthiness won 't keep you from feeling like you're the one being ripped off."
