21 (2008)
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 165
Fresh: 59 | Rotten: 106
21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 26
21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 328,827
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Movie Info
Director Robert Luketic adapts Ben Mezrich's best-seller Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions to tell the true-life tale of six genius students who used their brains to beat considerable odds. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) may be shy, but his wallflower reputation betrays his inner brilliance. As smart as Ben may be, however, if he can't pay his tuition he'll be kicked out of M.I.T. Fortunately, the answer to all of Ben's problems is right
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Cast
-
Jim Sturgess
Ben Campbell -
Kevin Spacey
Micky Rosa -
Kate Bosworth
Jill -
Aaron Yoo
Choi -
Liza Lapira
Kianna -
Jacob Pitts
Fisher -
Laurence Fishburne
Cole Williams -
Jack McGee
Terry -
Josh Gad
Miles -
Sam Golzari
Cam -
Helen Carey
Ellen Campbell -
Jack Gilpin
Bob Phillips -
Donna Lows
Planet Hollywood Dealer -
Butch Williams
Planet Hollywood Dealer -
Jeffrey Ma
Planet Hollywood Dealer... -
Frank Patton
Planet Hollywood Floor ... -
Steven Richard Vezina
Red Rock Dealer -
Chaska T. Werner
Red Rock Dealer -
Kyle D. Morris
Red Rock Dealer -
Ernell Manabat
Red Rock Doorman -
Frankie DeAngelo
Red Rock Host -
Marcus Weiss
Red Rock Valet -
Anthony DiMaria
Hard Rock Doorman -
Christopher Michael Holle...
Philosophical Gambler -
Scott Clark Beringer
Big Shot -
Terasa Livingstone
Russian's Girlfriend -
Jeff Dashnaw
Russian Mafioso -
Colin Angle
Professor Hanes -
Supriya Chakrabarti
Professor -
Bradley Thoennes
Warren -
Kieu Chinh
Chinese Woman -
Alice Lo
Chinese Woman -
Sally Livingston
Chemistry Review Girl -
Henry Houh
Chinatown Dealer -
Frank Chen
Shinatown Host -
Spencer Garrett
Stemple -
Celeste Oliva
Airport Screener -
Tom McGowan
Husband -
Ruby Hondros
Wife -
Christian Mello
Drunk Dude -
Greg Seymore
Drunk Dude
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21 Trailer & Photos
All Critics (167) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (109) | DVD (16)
If only director Robert Luketic and screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb had not opted for glitz. As filmmakers, they're playing for very low stakes.
The whizzo-conceit and slick visual bling do give it an undeniably diverting buzz, yet the movie's cautionary formula shows its hand way before the clunky final reel.
Top CriticThe students are so blandly written this never builds any suspense, though it probably has some value as an empowerment fantasy for debt-ridden collegians.
Although it's definitely a fictionalization of a true story, they get the essence of this insanely crazy double life that these kids led as they were breaking the bank in Vegas.
Inspired by the real-life story of the M.I.T. students who took Las Vegas casinos for millions, 21 has been reshaped to fit a simple movie template -- and it's nearly as much fun as watching an insurance professional compute actuarial tables.
A movie with an irresistible premise that ultimately collapses around the whole issue of motivation.
Craps out leaving you wondering how it all went so wrong.
Too bland, too bright and too long, 21 may talk a big game but it is mainly insipid entertainment.
Luketic's dunderheaded, would-be caper is a morality tale where the only moral at stake is the dullard-hero's thoughtless entitlement
It's a slick enough movie, with an intriguing enough concept. It would be a much more enjoyable movie, however, if the wheels didn't come off script-wise.
One can't help but think there was a smarter film to be made from this premise.
When the movie 21 was announced with Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne, it sounded like a winner. When everybody else involved in 21 was mentioned, it was doomed to be a loser.
As ever with gambling films, it's difficult to convey the thrill of winning at second hand; the human-interest complications are unconvincing and Spacey himself, I'm afraid, is a lugubrious and deadening presence.
Spacey makes a nicely chilly villain and Bosworth a warm and glamorous leading lady, if an implausible maths genius.
Disappointing thriller that's let down by a tedious script, a frankly ridiculous final act and some dodgy overacting by Kevin Spacey.
This is a prime example of a movie that isn't bad, per se, just unnecessary, a competently made but wholly unremarkable trifle.
See this for the sheer fascination of it.
Regardless whether there are a number of clichés and plot incongruities, this entertaining and fast-paced flick will find an audience hoping to learn how to beat the dealer.
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Foreign Titles
- Las Vegas 21 (FR)
