Indeed. I've seen some mightily acerbic rebuttals to other researchers' articles published as articles; I dread to think what a rebuttal to a review might look like.

I'm sure someone will say "well, maybe the acerbicness is the problem"; perhaps so, but I welcome the rigorous honesty with which some academics willingly write.

True, and just imagine if the reviewer were a PhD candidate who would be seeking a job in a few years.