21 Review

There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: "21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.


THE GOOD: Cinematography. If you don't pay attention, you'll miss all the really cool shots that are done in this movie. One such example is at the beginning where the camera starts off high up in the air and ends up riding right next to Jim Sturgess. Lots of cool close-up shots and dissolves in the casinos too.

Pacing. The movie does really well with its pacing. It's a bit leisurely when the crew is at MIT, then alternates to fast-paced Vegas casino action. It keeps the viewer interested and makes the movie feel faster than its 123 minute running time makes it. I watched this movie on the bus and didn't feel like it dragged at all.


THE BAD: Lack of card playing. The movie is about counting cards and there's barely any card playing. It goes as far as watching the character sit down, get the card count, and then play the first hand. Another thing that was never explained was how they would determine that the deck is getting cold.

Casting. The movie is based off of a book which is loosely based off the actual MIT Blackjack Team. The real team was made up entirely of Asian Americans because we're so good at math. It's kind of disappointing that they chose to go with Caucasian actors for the main roles. Even more, going with Jim Sturgess as the main character who is a British actor. His performance wasn't even that great; same with Kate Bosworth. Kevin Spacey is alright though.

Cheesy. I was expecting more of the same feeling I have when I watch Ocean's Eleven. That "cool factor" just wasn't apparent in this movie. Instead, it came off as really cheesy. Like, the slow motion of them walking through the casino. In Ocean's, it was a brilliant success. I'm not sure why they couldn't pull it off in this one. Maybe it was the casting once again.


THE END: The movie is not terrible, but it's not fantastic either. It definitely has some well-intentioned messages about greed and materialism, but it comes up empty in terms of quality. One thing that I thought was really cool was explaining the Monty Hall paradox which has always been fascinating to me. More cool stuff like that would have been cool. And the twist at the end was a bit predictable. It was still entertaining for me because of the camera shots and pacing. Plus, there's nothing much else for me to do on the bus.


DISCUSS: Did you like 21? What did you think of the acting? What are some similar movies that pulled this off better?