21 (M)

Director:
Robert Luketic

Starring:
Kevin Spacey
Jim Sturgess
Kate Bosworth
Laurence Fishburne
Liza LaPira

Plot Summary:
The true story of the very brightest young minds in the country - and how they took Vegas for millions. Ben Campbell is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who -- needing to pay school tuition -- finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor.

Genre:
Drama, Crime

Duration:
2 Hours 2 Minutes

Origin:
U.S.A.

Language:
English

Reviews:

Andrew L. Urban at URBAN CINEFILE
No wonder the Las Vegas casinos were happy to let the filmmakers use their venues to film them being milked; it makes it look so easy that you can just about see the cinemas emptying as the planes to Las Vegas fill up with hopefuls. It’s another useful reminder that reality usually ends once you’re inside the cinema. But that’s why Aussie director Robert Luketic will forever be celebrated as a director who steered a movie to No 1 at the US box office (as did Tropfest founder John Polson with Swimfan, in September 2002).

It’s a great fantasy story propelled by the fact that it’s based on fact. A small group of clever uni students team up under their maths professor and invade Vegas to milk the blackjack tables by counting cards, a demanding but effective way of keeping ahead of the odds that always favour the house. Wouldn’t we like to be in their shoes? Wouldn’t we just!

The film has a feisty sense of fun as well as a darker underbelly and the performances are great. Like all good Hollywood movies, our hero has friends he has to let down and a conscience he has to grapple with, and the moral issues about gambling are consumed by other moral issues. Entertaining – I bet you’ll enjoy it.

Louise Keller at URBAN CINEFILE.
Based on a true story of M.I.T. students who hit Vegas in the 90s with a winning formula, 21 takes us along for the entire ride. There’s the anticipation, the thrill, the despair…. the how, the why and the wherefore. But winning needs more than a winning hand, as Jim Sturgess’ hard-working student Ben discovers when his logical mind and natural mathematical ability open doors that lead him into a life style he could never have dreamed of.

21 is a fast-paced tale that makes winning look not only easy, but a lot of fun. Egos are shaken, friendships tested and a couple of double crosses never let us forget to use everything within reach to maximise that winning hand.

Rolling Stone
In a multiplex of dumb-luck hits, it's a kick to watch Spacey and a gifted young cast use smarts to deal audiences a winning hand.

Entertainment Weekly
The fun of 21 is the way that this sharp, hyperaware star in the making, his face as readable as a mood ring, pours us into an adrenalized cocktail of fear, desire, and mental buzz.

Philadelphia Inquirer
21 makes for some slick escapist fantasy. Even if, and because, the fantasy has its roots in something real.

The Hollywood Reporter
Escapist moviegoers happy to live out a flashy fantasy get a brief comeuppance and still walk away from the table with a little something in their pockets.

Variety
Picture shrewdly shuffles together attractive young leads, cagey screen vets and a fantasy-fulfillment scenario in a slickly polished package that should appeal to anyone who's ever dreamed of beating the odds.

Salon.com
Spacey's engaging in one of his patented double-edged, sharky roles.

Trailer: