21 Movie Review
By Becky Vasquez
Who’s In it? Jim Sturges, Kate Bosqorth, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Spacey, and Aaron Yoo.
What’s the deal? Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who needs to pay tuition to Harvard Medical School. He is recruited to join a secret group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend with fake identities and the knowledge to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. The team is led by his math professor who teaches them a flawless way to beat the dealer by counting cards. By using this method and secret hand signals the team wins thousands from Vegas each weekend. Mesmerized by the money and the Vegas lifestyle, Ben begins to neglect his old friends and dives deeper and deeper into the life of a wealthy gambler. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the casinos discourage card-counters from coming by brutally, violently beating them.
What was cool? The movie really appeals to those who like the edgy yet fabulous life of Las Vegas. The team is composed of many unique college students each who bring their own agendas and personalities to the movie. The coolest part of the movie is definitely all of the unique identities and personalities that the characters must take in order to avoid being caught by the casinos for cheating. Ben’s development is also very noteworthy. Starting out as a shy geeky student he becomes a young, rich Vegas big shot as he and his teammates enjoy the vast amounts of money they win each weekend. Also the movie had a very cool soundtrack that fit perfectly with the Vegas lifestyle.
Any Downsides? This movie is one of the best “college based” movies I have ever seen. Not only did it have the feel of a college student going through hard times, but it also displayed the fun and wild side of Las Vegas. Although there were many attempts at creating comedic moments it only worked half of the time. There were clearly moments that were meant to be funny but really didn’t garner any laughs. Also, although each student had many identities all of the students themselves were very one dimensional and developed very little in the movie.
The Verdict: Its one of the better movies that has come out recently and really has great appeal to high school and college students. Despite a few letdowns in terms of character development, 21 has an intriguing and suspenseful plot that never has a boring moment.
21 gets… 8.0 out of 10
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