The Beach (2000)

All Critics (132) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (98) | DVD (26)

A narrative that tries to juggle thriller elements, tons of pop culture imagery, and way too much philosophical baggage.

April 6, 2010 Full Review

Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Ultimately, it seems more bland than bad.

March 22, 2002 Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

The Beach, designed to provoke audiences, stops for too many Hollywood moments to get the job done.

May 11, 2001

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

Its narrative waters become rather muddy in the late going, and its currents finally don't run very deep.

January 1, 2000 Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Top Critic

All the beauty in the world can't camouflage the movie's gorgeous emptiness.

January 1, 2000 Full Review

Steve Murray

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Top Critic

A mad assemblage of earlier, better bungle-in-the-jungle stories.

July 23, 2007 Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

By attempting to combine elements of mystery, adventure, action and romance, 'The Beach' becomes too jumbled to follow with much interest.

April 24, 2005 Full Review

Betty Jo Tucker

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

A brilliant example of changing the material to suit the medium without losing the message.

March 28, 2005

Joe Utichi

FilmFocus

While it thumped along, I had plenty of time to ponder the other and better movies that it reminded me of.

June 23, 2003 Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Three-fifths of a great movie sunk by a crucial tonal misstep. A cross between Lord of the Flies, Swiss Family Robinson and Apocalypse Now.

February 17, 2003 Full Review

Brent Simon

Entertainment Today

...Riddled with bizarre contrivances and unlikely scenarios.

February 8, 2003 Full Review

John R. McEwen

Film Quips Online

The film equivalent of eating one of those circular rice wafer things that taste like nothing.

December 8, 2002 Full Review | Comments (4)

Chris Gore

Film Threat

In pitching for the mass market, Boyle's film has allowed itself to be rebranded as a Hollywood star vehicle, a cynical assemblage that is never more than the sum of its market-researched parts.

December 2, 2002 Full Review

Xan Brooks

Sight and Sound

• 1. Richard: That is an ASSHOLE idea!
  – Submitted by Zach W (12 months ago)
• 1. Richard: You hope and you dream. But you never believe that something's gonna happen for you. Not like it does in the movies. And when it actually does, you expected to feel different, more visceral, more real. I was waiting for it to hit me.
  – Submitted by Sara B (13 months ago)
• 1. Richard: Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.
  – Submitted by Sara B (13 months ago)
• 1. Richard: And me, I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for, 'cause it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment... it lasts forever.
  – Submitted by Lou R (20 months ago)
• 1. Richard: No offence an' all, but, you're fucked in the head, right?
  – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)
• 1. Francoise: Richard, this is just the kind of pretentious bullshit that Americans always say to French girls so they can sleep with them.
  – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)

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