Review of 21 (2008) by Hisyam S — 19 Apr 2011

I love true stories. Now, admitly, some writers can just form stories that grab you in your seats and create characters that you love and hate, as well as adding as many twists and turns as they want. But there is something about a true story that allows me to fall in love in easier, mainly because as I am watching the movie I have this tagline in my head, "this actually happened" or "something like this happened". The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team. The film draws from Bringing Down the House, the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich.

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent, student at M.I.T. in Boston who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine with the desire to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 for the four to five years of school since he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor Micky Rosa into a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Jimmy whom are being trained by Professor Rosa of the skill of card counting at blackjack. Intriged by the desire to make money, Ben joins his new friends on secret weekend trips to Las Vegas where, using their skills of code talk and hand signals, they have Ben make hundreds of thousands of dollars in winning blackjack at casino after casino. Ben only wants to make enough money for the tuition to Harvard and then back out. But as fellow card counter, Jill Taylor, predicts, Ben becomes corrupted by greed and his arrogance at winning which lets his feelings get in the way, and it also puts Professor Rosa, as well as the group, on the radar of a brutal casino security enforcer, named Cole Williams, who holds a personal grudge of some kind against Rosa which threatens to undo everything the students have learned and earned.

I enjoyed this movie. Casino Royale, Oceans 11 and all those other gambling movies just have a hook. The movie is shot really well and you really get a feel for Vegas by looking at the dramatic pans across the city, as well as the high rolling rooms, the insane parties and the huge shops to go wild in! Also, Card Counting, is something I have heard of in the past but I have never since it done in this way before. As one of the lines in movies goes "numbers became words and words became numbers". It is a very clever and witty little system they use in this movie.

Jim Sturgess is an actor I am a huge fan of. I really feel like alot of great work is going to come from him and I believe everyone should be keeping an eye on his career. He delievered an A+ performance in this roll as the nerd who gets lucky and hits the big time. He was 100% believable the whole way and honest. A top performance.

Kevin Spacey is another one of my favourite actors and has to be one of Hollywood's finest. However, he basically sleep walks through this movie. Not that he is terrible or anything but its no American Beauty performance or anything. Still good but.

Kate Bosworth? Man... I got to look at Kate Bosworth in next to nothing for 2 hours, I am not complaining!

Its a good soild film, no work of art or anything but it doesnt try to be, what it tries to be is a fun flick. And it is. My only problem was that it should have been alittle shorter and less montages of the kids mucking around and stuff in vegas. Besides that? Nothing! A good soild matinee film.