Review of 30 Minutes or Less (2011) by Russell G — 10 Nov 2012

I was expecting a goofier and more slapstick brand of humor but it was surprising violent and dark, which made it unexpectedly more original. The two low life slackers who conceive the get rich terrorist heist scheme are completely dislikable (more so McBride's character).

Their plan of wiring a completely innocent stranger to a bomb and forcing him to rob a bank is a fresh idea that would have worked well in an action movie and is a surprising well thought out premise for a comedy.

The seemingly loose early scenes of the movie begin to weave together in a gratifying manner. Jessie Eisenberg was a good fit for the underachieving slacker who turns into a jittery spaz once strapped to a bomb.

The high-strung sarcastic Aziz Ansari adds a lot of laughs and he has great chemistry with Eisenberg. The numerous details and side characters all make for one interesting and fun messy adventure. Many people were turned off by this movie and found it to be too mean for a comedy but everything turns out well enough in the end and I thought it was both humorous and fun.