30 Beats
Metascore
20 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 10 out of 12
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  1. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Jul 19, 2012
    20
    It means to be an interconnected story, in which one coupling leads to another in increasingly ridiculous fashion, until you're not only no longer interested, you're grinding your teeth, hoping it will end.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    Jul 19, 2012
    30
    The only payoff to Lloyd's structure is that the young actress Condola Rashad, a recent Tony nominee, is allowed to appear in both the film's first scene and its final segment to bring the story full-circle, though her enigmatic, beguiling presence underlines just the sort of energy missing from the rest of the film.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Jul 21, 2012
    20
    Everything that goes around comes around, but the roundelay in 30 Beats comes off, well, a little square.
  4. New York Observer
    Reviewed by: Rex Reed
    Jul 18, 2012
    25
    Director Lloyd leaves it all to the imagination, but in a movie this slow and indecisive, the imagination is no longer enough when we've seen stronger stuff elsewhere.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    Jul 20, 2012
    38
    There's an argument to be made that sex scenes, done to death, are best left to the imagination - but only if they're replaced by something more interesting. In 30 Beats, the conversational foreplay is hopelessly flaccid.
  6. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Diego Costa
    Jul 19, 2012
    25
    While it lends itself to some interesting insight on the politics of non-exclusive, fuck-buddy dynamics, its characters are ultimately too one-dimensional and their dialogue too theatrical to sustain an involving cinematic experience.
  7. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    Jul 20, 2012
    38
    Where the original play "La Ronde" was a social satire about the transmission of venereal disease, 30 Beats is a sickly stepchild.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    Jul 20, 2012
    20
    Clearly aiming for high artistic ground, the film doesn't even satisfy on an arousal level, with the discreet nudity and endless yakking not exactly proving a turn-on.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    Jul 19, 2012
    30
    Beyond its eye candy, this wisp of a movie, inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's play "La Ronde," offers only hints of the complicated personalities behind the characters' sleek, well-toned surfaces.
  10. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Matt Singer
    Jul 17, 2012
    40
    There's an interesting idea about the way people assume wildly disparate personalities to please different sexual partners, but the flaccid execution of this promiscuous–New Yorkers circle jerk is more worthy of the clap than a round of applause.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    Jul 19, 2012
    40
    The jazz-scored picture relies heavily on quirkiness to round out shaky characterizations and inject interest into otherwise forgettable pairings.
  12. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    Jul 17, 2012
    0
    It is absolutely terrible.

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