21
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Laurence Fishburne
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An M.I.T. student (Jim Sturgess) joins a group of students and a professor (Kevin Spacey) involved in counting cards in Vegas. He joins with the intention to save enough money for Harvard Medical School. However, as they make more and more money, he finds it harder to keep his pledge to quit when he's ahead.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed this movie. I'm usually not overly excited about poker or blackjack movies, but this film focuses a great deal on the human complexities involved. On different levels, this is a character study of greed, morality, and much more. Even more important, the film is entertaining.

Jim Sturgess is quickly becoming an impressive actor. He's very believable here, and likeable as well. He was a good choice for the lead role, and we get emotionally invested in his story. Kevin Spacey was also a great casting choice. He balances perfectly between being a mentor and succumbing to his own greed. He and Sturgess are terrific in their scenes together. I'm typically not a fan of Kate Bosworth, but she was fairly good in this movie. It'll take many more roles like this to convince me, but I didn't have any problems with her here. I also loved the casting of Laurence Fishburne. He's always, always good. The cast is surprisingly strong, and they are operate well together.

The film does drag in a few places, and could have been tightened up a bit more. However, the movie more often than not moves quickly, and keeps us interested in the story. There are a few moments where the film gets a bit too preachy and proud of itself for telling such a morally ambiguous story. Its easy to overlook these flaws, however.

What I was most impressed about 21 is that it creates this very believable world- bringing you back to your poor college days, and makes you wonder what it would be like to have more money than you could possibly imagine and very few rules to live by. It is understandable how you could get caught up in that glamorous life, and this realization helps you get into the story. This isn't a great movie, but it does so much right that it's an easy recommendation.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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