Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Laurence Fishburne Director: Robert Luketic Screenplay: Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich Music: David Sardy
I’ve never been much of card player so most movies revolve around card games like blackjack or poker lose me when it comes to the intricate details of the game. The part that I look forward to most in these movies, are the characters & the story. 21 is based on a true story of the MIT blackjack team. The story was chronicled in the book “Bringing Down The House” by Ben Merzich.
Ben Campbell (Jim Strugess) is a brilliant MIT student who has been admitted to Harvard Medical School & is vying for the prestigious “Robinson” scholarship since he can’t come up with the 300,000$ school fees. In his “Non-Linear Equation” class at MIT his math skills sufficiently impress his professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) who opens up a window for Ben by offering him a place in his MIT blackjack team. This is the easy way out for Ben to help him make easy money ( his school fees for Harvard Medical ) in Las Vegas beating the system on blackjack by using his counting & mathematical skills. Every weekend Ben, Micky Rosa & four other students travel down to Las Vegas & win tons of money. From then on the movie goes down the usual path of squabbles within the team, love interests, greed & a Vegas security thug Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
The concept of someone using their mathematical skills to beat the casino system to win at blackjack is compelling. However the movie doesn’t manage to execute it well. It never takes the pain to explain properly the dynamics of the trick nor how the game is set up. So then , all that is left then are the characters & the story. None of the characters other than Ben have any sort of arc during the movie. In fact some of his team members are so one dimensional that it seems difficult to care about them in any manner much less care if they are geniuses or not.
The acting is uniformly adequate. Jim Strugess as Ben does a good job of going from a shy introverted boy to someone who can stand up on his own. Kate Bosworth as a member of the team & Ben’s love interest is flat & their love story feels forced. Kevin Spacey as Ben’s professor/mentor Micky Rosa does well as he always does with these kind of roles but has very little to work with. Laurence Fishburne gives a good turn as a burnt out Vegas thug looking for a cushy retirement pension. His past with Micky Rosa would have made a very interesting story which unfortunately isn’t expanded upon here.
The movie has a fantastic story idea & a very good cast to round off things however after the idea has been laid out & the specifics in place it falters & becomes sluggish. It never really draws the viewer into the trick which is used by the team. So it becomes a hollow flashy concept to marvel at & be intrigued by & that’s all it remains.
The first half is good while things during the second half become sluggish & suddenly race towards a hasty unsatisfactory end. I wish I could have recommended this movie because it has a lot of potential but this isn’t a winner.
Final Verdict: If you are looking for a flashy heist teen flick without having to use much of your grey cells this is your ticket
Grade: B-
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
An interesting idea turned into a generic formula.
21 
