43
Metascore
34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 67Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldIt doesn't really come off, but it's an admirably ambitious, and mostly very engaging, coming-of-age adventure that apes the spirit of Joseph Conrad.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaWhether he's smacking into an iceberg or flopping topless onto a sandy beach, DiCaprio is still maddeningly lightweight.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumAs a book, The Beach offers the option of diving deep. As a movie, it sticks too close to the shoreline.
- 50Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonTries to take us from heaven to hell but winds up leaving us in limbo: exasperated and dumfounded.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA seriously confused film that makes three or four passes at being a better one and doesn't complete any of them.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversColorful and exciting, as far as it goes. But Boyle and Hodge pull back on their usual wit and grit.
- 40Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorA narrative that tries to juggle thriller elements, tons of pop culture imagery, and way too much philosophical baggage.
- 40SalonStephanie ZacharekSalonStephanie ZacharekBoyle's Beach lacks imagination and energy, two things that might have distracted us, at least occasionally, from the material's tepidness.
- 34Mr. ShowbizMr. ShowbizThe movie is an experience, of a sort they had a name for in the '60s: bummer.
- 25USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkMurky, pretentious and torturously inert.