21 review - Topic Powered by eve community

21
Columbia
PG 13 123 min

There aren’t many actors who can practically guarantee that I’ll go to every film they’re in, but ever since THE USUAL SUSPECTS Kevin Spacey has been one of them.
And also among the film genres that almost always catch my attention, those that feature gamblers grifters and con men are right near the top.
So I was up for 21, the memoirs of an MIT mathematical whiz kid Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) who made and lost a fortune playing an almost fool proof system at the Blackjack tables in Las Vegas.
Beats the hell out or landscaping during spring break huh?
Here’s the, uh, deal.
Ben’s brilliant, a real prodigy.
But every kid looking to get a scholarship to Harvard med is just as smart.
What the scholarship committee needs is outstanding life experience; some kind of awesome achievement that sets the winner apart from the guys that made vinegar and baking soda volcanoes for their science projects. Well then…
Back at MIT Ben’s computer-like mind caught the attention of one of his math professors, Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) who invites him to a little after school meeting.
This is where Rosa introduces Ben to his team. A team of bright students who have mastered a card counting system that, if used properly, can really reset the odds in a Blackjack game.
Not only do they count cards and assign values but also an elaborate series of table talk and signals to follow.
The conventional (to the point of dull) Ben wants no part of this walk on the wild side but he’ll be drawn in by a girl named Jill (Kate Bosworth) who he’s had the hots for all semester.
Well as the team grows more and more successful Ben becomes less and less reserved which leads to romantic financial and physical danger.
He’ll run afoul of not only Rosa, who isn’t quite as nice as he seemed and a casino fraud consultant (Lawrence Fishburne) who is a mean SOB from the get.
Supposedly these events are from the real Campbell’s autobiographical book and that may well be so.
It occurred to me that a fictionalized version might be a bit more interesting.
It isn’t dull but the dangers and bad guys never surpass it’s PG 13 rating.
There seems to be little actual harm done with most left to the imagination, and a few loose ends left untied.
But it’s interesting enough if not the extravaganza I’d hoped for, and perhaps that’s the fault of my own elevated expectations.

B-
WSS
westsidesteve

Keep drinking.
The show doesn't get any better.
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Posts: 5314 | Location: Norton Ohio USA | Registered: Mon September 15 2003

Chicopee John

Pro Bowl Player

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My son, Jack, recently read the book so I took him to the movie tonight.

Jack said the movie was about 25% true to the movie and, to my surprise, said he enjoyed the movie more than the book.

We both agreed that Kate Bosworth was enough to make, even a bad movie, interesting and enjoyable.

Posts: 1481 | Location: South Windsor, CT | Registered: Fri September 12 2003

goodgem

High School Baller

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The movie was good!

Official Website: http://www.insearchofamidnightkiss.com

Smile smile

Posts: 10 | Location: UK | Registered: Mon June 18 2007

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