Commenting on its commercial performance, "Total Film" called it the "biggest flop of 1998" but said it deserved to perform better because of its "fun tension-cranking moments". On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 28% approval rating based on 43 reviews. The site's consensus states: ""Hard Rain" is an implausible heist movie soaked in disaster movie trappings." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.