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21 (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Editorial Reviews:
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Inspired by the true story of MIT students who mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Looking for a way to pay for tuition, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) finds himself quietly recruited by MIT's most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of a brilliant statistics professor (Kevin Spacey) and armed with fake IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in breaking the impenetrable casinos. Now, his challenge is keeping the numbers straight and staying one step ahead of the casinos before it all spirals out of control.
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An unconvincing exercise in moral complexity, 21 is based on Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) plays brilliant, blue-collar scholar Ben Campbell, whose doubts that he'll win a scholarship to Harvard Medical School compel him to join a secret, M.I.T. gang of math whiz kids. Under the silky but chilling command of a math professor (Kevin Spacey), Jim and the others master card counting, i.e., the statistical analysis of cards dealt in blackjack games. The team lives a humdrum existence during the week, but on weekends in Sin City, the students are rolling in cash, going to exclusive clubs, and feeling on top of the world. (Ben even gets the girl: a comely, fellow counter played by Kate Bosworth.) Despite all that success, Ben feels ethically compromised, and indeed director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde), in the old tradition of American movies, plays it both ways where fun vices are concerned. On the one hand, it feels so good; on the other, ahem, we know it's wrong. That studied ambivalence proves wearing after a while, making the most interesting character in the film a casino watchdog played by Laurence Fishburne. A master at reading the emotions of gamblers beating the house with a scam, he's admirable for being good at his job, but repellent for wrecking the faces of counters in casino dungeons. He's all about moral complexity in the tradition of anti-heroes, and a truly provocative element in an otherwise superficial movie. --Tom Keogh
Beyond 21 
On Blu-ray | 
Read the book 21 was based on | 
UMD for PSP |
Stills from 21 (click for larger image)
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21 (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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User Comments About 21 (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was great, and the storyline kept me interested throughout the whole movie. I have watched it 5 times so far it just keeps getting better and better with each viewing.
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This movie looks great in the Blu-Ray format. The story is interesting and the characters are believable. The Las Vegas scenery is gorgeous.
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Slick &Entertaining, But Far From Reality
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The others in the group wouldn't go along with the renegade - "Ben Campbell" (Jim Sturgess) - either. You win a little here, a little there and go from place-to-place and remain anonymous. The only problem was the last half of it where credibility when flying out the window. I enjoyed the movie because it was entertaining all the way. Nobody with half a brain would win much at any session, because it draws attention. It was slick and had interesting characters.
At no time was I bored and overly insulted at the dumbness that I would have stopped playing the DVD. Still, facts aside, it's still a fun movie to watch and since entertainment is the name of the game with films, it succeeds and I still give it an "8" star rating for that. There are a bunch of other holes, too, such as wanting to be anonymous but going back to the same place; a ridiculous chase scene through the casino gambling area and kitchen; hand signals that a junior detective could see (and are never changed). If you've seen the movie you know what I mean. and - maybe the worst - winning tons of money in sessions. It will hold your interest and you'll be thoroughly entertained, especially if you don't know a lot about blackjack and how casinos operate.
Well, Rosa would not do what he did here, for starters, meaning trusting an untrustworthy and revenge-seeking kid. They have your picture, there are security people everywhere, and you aren't allowed back. There is no way this kid is going to totally outsmart the professor, but it makes for good Hollywood dramatics. If they think you are counting cards, which I don't believe is illegal, they still have the right to kick you out of their establishment.but they ask you nicely and you are removed from the floor with no big scene or violence. The movie is all about supposedly very intelligent people, led by the smartest of the all the group, the only veteran in this college age-dominated cast: "Professor Mickey Rosa," played by Kevin Spacey. So, enjoy the film but don't believe the screenplay. This movie is based on a true story, and I can guarantee you that's what the MIT students did in real life - not what you see here.
Oh, as a postscript: they don't beat up "card counters" in back rooms of casinos.
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3 Stars Good but not Great
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21 was a fun movie to watch. There is nothing extremely captivating about the movie. Something about the story line of going to Vegas to beat the odds is fun and it gets the addreniline pumping even as you watch but in the end you know it will come crashing down. Many of the other reviews talk about the storyline but I am writing this just as one man's opinion. 3 stars is a perfect rating because although I would recommend it to most people, if you have something else you have been really wanting to buy then buy that movie instead of 21 I was honestly more enthusiastic to watch the movie than I should have been. The bottom line about this movie is that it has a decent story line and is entertaining.
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On a positive note, this movie was cute and the acting was great. I love Kevin Spacey. On the other hand, it was just a little ho-hum. A movie that is lightly based on a true story of MIT students counting cards in Las Vegas to pay their way through college. I think it could have been a little more exciting and visual. The ending had a couple of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and it made me smile at the end. Nothing spectacular.
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