Batman Movie Collective

'30 Minutes or Less'

Rated R

The title of “30 Minutes or Less” doubles as a measure for how long the movie should actually last. That it stumbles on for 90 minutes, with its paper-thin concept and a noticable lack of comedy, seems improbable and unreasonable. “30 Minutes or Less” might have worked well as a short film, maybe even a two- or three-minute sketch. Or maybe it would have worked better had it never actually been made and existed only as one of those conceptual movie pitches that never went anywhere. 

It likely got made because it has, at first glance, a lot going in its favor. Director Ruben Fleischer’s first film, 2009’s “Zombieland,” was funny and clever, even if it didn’t totally gel by the end. Jesse Eisenberg, who also starred in “Zombieland,” leads the cast in “30 Minutes,” and he’s joined by Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride, and Nick Swardson, all reliably funny dudes who can do a lot with small roles. It’s not necessarily a recipe for greatness, but it should’ve been a recipe for a better-than-average comedy.

But “30 Minutes” is worse than you might expect. The screenplay, by Michael Diliberti, based on a story by Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan, can’t move beyond its basic concept. Nick (Eisenberg), a down-on-his-luck pizza delivery guy, gets a bomb strapped to his chest and is given 10 hours to rob a bank for $100,000. The mad bombers are Dwayne (McBride) and Travis (Swardson), a pair of dumb-ass slackers. Dwayne wants the money so he can hire an assassin to kill his dad (Fred Ward), a hard-ass Marine and lottery winner who’s got a few million left from a $10 million jackpot. While Dwayne and Travis keep Nick on track to rob a bank, Nick enlists the help of his best friend Chet (Ansari), an elementary school teacher who, it turns out, has a flair for crime.

The problems in “30 Minutes” show up right away. Eisenberg, who’s made a career out of playing cerebral, nervous types, just isn’t convincing as a dumb pizza jockey. He and Ansari don’t have a lot of chemistry, either, and their banter and bickering is forced, awkward and humorless. Swardson and McBride riff naturally with each other, but they’re such unlikable goons that their scenes are a bit of a chore to get through. Diliberti’s script is all concept, and until the characters are moved into position for the bomb-and-bank-robbery action, there’s nothing for them to do or say. 

There are hints of good material in here. In a few scenes, there’s some commentary on action movies (“Die Hard,” “Point Break” and so on), but it never makes the same comedic leap that, say, Edgar Wright’s “Hot Fuzz” does. Michael Pena is great as a somewhat sensitive assassin, and Fred Ward has a good turn as McBride’s dad, but “30 Minutes” is largely devoid of good, recognizable (or relatable) characters. Ruben does what he can—there’s a decent mid-movie car chase that springs from Eisenberg’s ability to drive fast and deliver pizzas quickly. It’s a good touch that seems out of place in a script that almost never bothers to consider its characters.

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