"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

21 

2008; USA; 123 min.

Director: Robert Luketic

Screenplay: Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb, Ben Mezrich

Music: David Sardy

Cast:

Ben Campbell - Jim Sturgess

Prof. Micky Rosa - Kevin Spacey

Jill Taylor - Kate Bosworth

Choi - Aaron Yoo

Kianna - Liza Lapira

Jimmy Fisher - Jacob Pitts

Cole Williams - Laurence Fishburne

Terry - Jack McGee

Miles Connoly - Josh Gad

"21" is the true story of five students from MIT who count cards playing blackjack. When Prof. Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) encounters Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) in his math class, he quickly realizes that Ben is extremely smart. Ben is a hardworking student who wants to go to Harvard Med upon graduation from MIT. The only problem is that he doesn't have the money to afford the $300,000 tuition. His only chance for affording Harvard Med is a prestigious scholarship. Even though Ben has an extremely impressive academic record (1530 on his SATs, 4.0 GPA from MIT, 44 on his MCATs...), so do the other applicants for the scholarship. Ben needs something that will "jump off of the page" and "dazzle" the interviewer. There's nothing in Ben's life that really stands out, so when Professor Micky Rosa offers Ben the chance to join his underground blackjack team, Ben jumps at the chance. The team teaches Ben how to count cards - he catches on quickly enough to be designated as their team's captain. On the weekends, Ben and the team go to Vegas with Micky to play the system and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. The plot gets quite interesting when it seems like someone in the casino is beginning to catch onto Ben and the team.

I was extremely impressed with the camerawork in the film. I thought that some of it was reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's. The shots were precise and the high speed chases were filmed beautifully. The film actually reminded me a lot of "Good Will Hunting" - it's probably because it deals with MIT and Boston, though. I absolutely loved this film! I think it's a great story and the cast is wonderful. This had to definitely be one of my favorites! I would highly recommend this film to anyone - it's a truly fun film to watch!

iRate: 5/5 chips

Trailer: Click here!