mohammad kamran jawaid of "dawn" gave "waar" a negative review, calling the screenplay a "codswallop of instances taped together to form narrative coherency". he also criticized the use of english, stating that "catering to the international market is one thing, but relying solely on it is either ignorance or arrogance". his review labels "waar" as a "'showy' enterprise" where the "story, the plot, the resolve — in fact everything — hangs on a failing thread". salman khalid for "daily times" talks about the message given by the movie that highlights the "pakistani perspective on the menace of terrorism", while acclaiming the story, direction, action sequences and individual performances. rubban shakeel of skotato gave "waar" 3.5/5 stars, calling it one of the best action films on pakistan. on skotato, too, umer ali called "waar" "a ray of hope."