30 Minutes or Less
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: August 12, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
20
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAug 11, 2011
A darkly comic underachiever that manages to charm almost in spite of itself, Ruben Fleischer's 30 Minutes or Less is probably best watched as it was made: without much evident effort. In other words, wait until it hits DVD, order a pizza and Netflix it. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichAug 10, 2011
It's hard to hate a movie that affectionately references the oeuvre of Kathryn Bigelow (both The Hurt Locker and Point Break!) and uses a whiny Third Eye Blind ballad as an acidic punch line. Read full review
50
ObserverMeghan KeaneAug 17, 2011
In the end, 30 Minutes or Less is a tidy, entertaining nerd action movie that should provide a good distraction for viewers this summer. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenAug 12, 2011
Approximate time spent laughing: 30 seconds or fewer. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 11, 2011
30 Minutes or Less is a strange case. Either it goes for a particular tone and doesn't achieve it. Or it does achieve a tone that's not really worth striving for. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigAug 11, 2011
30 Minutes or Less is "Pineapple Express" gone sour. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsAug 11, 2011
30 Minutes or Less could have been a guilty pleasure, but the crusty caper is half baked. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaAug 11, 2011
Eisenberg (who starred in director Fleischer's far better Zombieland) does his usual Eisenbergian thing, more slacker and less hacker, but still hitting the same notes. And Ansari squawks and yelps, like a parrot with a grudge. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisAug 11, 2011
The crime is appallingly petty. But occasionally the friction between two actors' idiocy will produce a comic spark. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderBen SachsAug 11, 2011
The film contains a remarkable level of violence, yet never establishes a tone that would make it seem funny or truly shocking; the jokes flounder in an air of half-hearted spite. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinAug 10, 2011
An egregiously miscast Eisenberg stars as a young man toiling as a pizza boy, even though he displays only slightly less intelligence and savvy than the world-beater Eisenberg played in "The Social Network." Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 10, 2011
The movie's strategic error is to set the deadline too far in the future. There is something annoying about a comedy where a guy is strapped to a bomb and nevertheless has time to spare for off-topic shouting matches with his best buddy. A buddy comedy loses some of its charm in a situation like that. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 10, 2011
Director Ruben Fleischer, who directed Eisenberg in the worlds-better "Zombieland," never finds that kind of successful groove here, instead bouncing from one set piece to another, with vastly inconsistent results. Read full review
50
Village VoiceSeth Colter WallsAug 9, 2011
A comedy that knows it has to move with all due dispatch to keep from disappointing the customer. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 5, 2011
"Less" has trouble framing simple action, yielding clumsy car chases that put the burden of generating excitement on the music and editing. As a result, pic looks cheap and feels clipped. Read full review
45
NPRMark JenkinsAug 12, 2011
This slackers-go-gangsta comedy demonstrates that less than 90 minutes can be a very long time. Read full review
40
SlateDana StevensAug 13, 2011
30 Minutes or Less is a second movie that feels more like a first: slipshod, derivative, and unsure what tone to take toward its own sometimes distasteful subject matter. Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 11, 2011
30 Minutes or Less features about half of a decent idea, which works out OK since it ends up as half a movie. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 11, 2011
The dual bromances at the heart of his new film, however, are as unconvincing as the life-and-death action plot that propels the film. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttAug 5, 2011
Fleischer stages one chase scene with a bit of comic flair but otherwise never locates that mix of macabre action and comedy that at least made "Zombieland" amusing. Read full review
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