Film Review: 21

by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

21 (12 A, 123 mins)
Stars: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira
Directed by Robert Luketic

IS IT possible to beat the bank playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino? Apparently it is, and all was revealed in the book Bringing Down the House, telling the story of a group of American students who did just that.

21 is the fictionalised film version of the book and never quite as exciting as it should be.

For one thing, anyone hoping to learn the technique of winning at blackjack will be disappointed.

It involves a system of counting cards and using a stooge partner at the table, but that’s about as far as explanations go. Secret signals are given by partners and – whoopee – you are in the chips. But with such minimum background detail the games lack tension.

At the centre of the story is Ben played by Jim Sturgess (one of those anonymous young actors one finds too often in college films) who needs to raise money to pay his fees for Harvard Medical School.

Unexpected help comes in the shape of his professor (Kevin Spacey in hard-boiled mould) who runs a secret college team which regularly visits Vegas and cleans up on the blackjack tables with the card counting method.

Initially doubtful, Ben soon finds the enterprise enjoyable and fruitful and there is the added attraction of blonde Jill (Kate Bosworth) on the team, said to be the prettiest girl in the college.

He’s earning thousands, ignores his best friend (Jack Black lookalike Josh Gad) and gets to bed the girl. But up against him is the casino security team led by hard-faced Laurence Fishburne, one of the more interesting characters in the film, but underwritten.

The security men don’t mess around. If you are found working a winning system, you are taken into a back room and given a good thumping, as Ben is to discover.

Naturally, it all goes wrong but there are a couple of final twists which bring the tale to some sort of a close, whether satisfactorily depends on your moral viewpoint.

Spacey turns in his usual professional performance and Fishburne works well with the small amount of material given. But the young leads are bland and the other team members hardly feature at all.

The original book, which I have not read, is said to be a great page-turner. The film is not without its interest but in the end, a bit of a plod.

philkey@dailypost.co.uk