"the other guys" received a 78% approval rating from 202 surveyed critics on review aggregator rotten tomatoes; the site's critical consensus reads: "a clever parody of cop-buddy action-comedies, "the other guys" delivers several impressive action set pieces and lots of big laughs, thanks to the assured comic chemistry between will ferrell and mark wahlberg." it has been called "a highly entertaining movie filled with witty dialogue and over-the-top action." peter travers of "rolling stone" praised the film, saying, "don't let anyone spoil the wildly hilarious surprises. ferrell and wahlberg will double your fun. guaranteed." some critics praised "the other guys" as the best police film of the year, comparing the film to the critically panned "cop out", with richard roeper stating, "note to kevin smith: this is how you do a spoof of the buddy-cop genre," and stephen whitty of "the star-ledger" said in his mixed review, "measured against this year's other police farce—remember "cop out"?—it looks absolutely heroic."