Inspired by a true story, 21 is a film that seeks to put the excitement back into playing cards in Las Vegas.  Taking its cues from the fact-based story of six MIT kids going to Vegas and working the system, the film seeks to be one of those movies that entices while showing the glamorous side of the Vegas casinos.  The film doesn't jump right into it though, but gradually works through its main character Ben Campbell (played by Jim Sturgess) who is at MIT to try and get a good job.  His immediate problem though, is that he doesn't have a  good way to pay for college, and the expenses of attending MIT are a bit more than he can work with.  Though he takes on a job to try and pay for the tuition, he still seems to be coming up short.  That is, until he crosses paths with professor Micky Rosa.


Professor Rosa has been hosting meetings with a group of MIT students who he wants to train to become card counters.  Though they may have their own talents at the table, he feels that the best way to go into the casinos with an advantage is to be able to count the cards being dealt.  The game of choice is blackjack, and the idea is to set up a team in a casino that will spot which tables are hot and send the best player to that table.  This is how Ben is drawn into the equation, as he is a quick study at math, and quickly picks up on how to count cards extremely well.  With this new method of earning money in Vegas, Ben sees a way to get all of his tuition paid for in a very short time, but of course he doesn't see early on that there could be many strings related to this interaction later on down the road.


21 is one of those films that walks the line between showing the glitz and glamour of Vegas as well as the dark underbelly of the people who run the casinos.  While card counting isn't illegal, it is frowned upon by casinos that just don't want to lose the house money.  With Professor Rosa and his team making their way through a casino and walking out with a lot of cash, it will surely attract attention, and that is where the subplots start to get interesting.  From the beginning, the intent of 21 is to keep its viewers interested through lots of card-play, while simultaneously working through the relationships of friends, family, and a significant other for Ben.  At times it really seemed like the movie was striving too hard to create many different facets of Ben's life, and while some of it was necessary, other parts seemed to slow down what needed to be a quicker paced movie.


When it comes to deciding whether 21 was a good film or not, you have to take into account that it had a pretty good cast.  With Jim Sturgess as the lead, Kevin Spacey as the professor, Laurence Fishburne as a casino head of security, and Kate Bosworth as the love interest, there was a lot to work within the acting category.  The story though seemed to get a little lost in trying to wow the audience, rather than just telling the story that was right in front of them.  The over-dramatization of the real-life story, and the ultimate revelation that money can create greed is a little much for this tale, but could be exactly what some people are looking for in terms of escape.  21 was definitely an entertaining story, don't get me wrong, and the viewer has to keep watching to find out what is going to happen in the end.  The ability to keep my attention is what gets a recommendation for the film, but it seemed to be missing that little thing that could make it a really good film.  It gets a recommendation for a lazy Sunday viewing, but it’s not going to change anyone's life.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD