Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1859 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2008-07-22
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com
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

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Read the book 21 was based on

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Customer Reviews

21
Ben Campbell (Sturgess) has a problem. He is graduating from MIT and has been accepted to Harvard Med School, but he doesn't have the $300,000 it will cost him to attend. Then, along comes Professor Micky Ross (Spacey). Mickey offers him a place on his "team". This team visits Las Vegas on weekends, and by counting cards makes a lot of money. After initially refusing, Ben is swayed by the need for money and the affections of Jill Taylor (Bosworth), a member of the team. In Vegas, Cole Williams (Fishburne), the head of security of one of the casinos is about to figure out the team's scheme. Ben may be in for more than he bargained for.

"21" is the fictionalized account of college kids who really did beat one of the most sophisticated anti-crime systems in Las Vegas. The story is interesting, even if it has been Hollywoodized. The plot points toward the end are predictable, but the fact that these kids were able to get away with this for so long sustains the interest for the majority of the movie. Kevin Spacey is good as always, radiating intenseness. Sturgess and Bosworth get the job done, while not providing memorable performances. "21" is an interesting, enjoyable film.

This is not bringing down the house
If your expecting a movie about the book 'Bringing Down the House' you will not be happy about your rental/purchase. I didn't believe the poor reviews at first and so I rented it...I wish I had listened.

The story is narrated by our main character throughout the film and it is horrible to listen to for both content and the annoyance of his voice.

They really Hollywooded up the plot, with all the predictable twists and happy-ending everything-is-ok-in-the-end and we-have-learned-our-lesson bull-s...There was just nothing at all that stood out about this movie. They could have replaced BlackJack with any other activity, like skydiving, tennis, or working at a McDonalds and they could have reused much of the script and the plot lines. The second star is because I didn't shut it off part way through.

Wait until this one makes it to HBO.

There's Something About 21 That Just Doesn't Add Up.
Yet another "probably wouldn't rent if it wasn't that it was free" title, 21 seemed pretty exciting on the trailer, but fell sorta flat fully seen. This film's about a "brilliant with numbers" MIT student joining a secret college club that has figured out how to never lose at Blackjack in Vegas and walk away with thousands, all the while led by their professor, played by favorite Kevin Spacey was decent, but I kept asking myself, where did I see this story on film before? The lead is played by Jim Sturgess, who impressed me in Across The Universe, but here I could hear his English accent bleed out with every other word. Kate Bosworth, who starred in Superman Returns with Spacey, plays the love interest, but just didn't seem all that interesting.

In fact, the only thing interesting was how they got away with it, because the code-words, hand signals, and disguises seemed so transparent the film's ending should have happened when they first got off the plane! So if you're really big on Vegas Heist films, it's worth a view, but to most others, bet on another film and wait for cable.
(RedSabbath Rating:6.5/10)