Movie Review - 21

Monday, April 21, 2008

Movie Review - 21

Starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, and Laurence Fishburne.

Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual content including partial nudity. Run Time of 2 hours and 3 minutes.

First off, let's get the facts straight. This is a movie based on a book written by the guy that did it all, so yes, this is a true story. Having not read the book myself, I was unsure of how close the movie "21" followed the book, "Bringing Down the House." I am assured that it does not follow extremely close but gets the main idea down great.

So, without further explanation, the movie '21' is about a college student named Ben who is going to M.I.T. and is trying to get into Harvard Med. Ben has applied for a scholarship that gives him a full-ride but if he doesn't get that, there is no way he can afford Harvard. Then, he gets invited to join a group of students lead by one professor that go to Las Vegas on the weekends to count cards while playing Black Jack and bring home a ton of cash. Soon, Ben is saving enough money for Harvard, but things start to go wrong.

21 is a great movie, however it rarely goes off the standard movie formula and relies heavily on the charm of Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth. It also stands on the elusive nature of the counting cards legend. It is a talent/trick that a lot of people would love to be able to do effectively but very rarely can, even though its based on very simple math. The entire movie does very little to show you how to count cards, but rather gives you just enough information that you are intrigued on what the code word or what the count is when the big spender sits down. 21 makes you feel like you are part of the secret group and that is an important part of why 21 is winning over audiences.

The eye-candy duo of Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess only helps the easy-to-digest movie become even more smooth. Jim is slowly proving that he is and will continue to be a crowd pleasing, easy to watch screen presence that can carry a movie with or without an accent from Liverpool (He previously starred in another great movie, Across the Universe). Kate Bosworth has been in lots of movies since she was young and is becoming more of a presence in higher quality movies in recent years like Superman Returns. The two of them do a great job acting the part and making the movie tick. Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne provide the support and are great actors. They give the necessary heavy back end to propel the movie along. Just as things start getting boring, one of the two step in to propel the story on. Overall, great casting for this flick really helps it glide along at a fast pace.

With great acting and an intriguing story that is made to make you feel like you are part of the secret, there is no wonder that this flick is out performing expectations. I really enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it. I watched it with my wife and when we got home, she pulled out a deck of cards and looked up how to do the counting. The rest of the night she counted cards and eventually got decent at it. We aren't ready for Vegas yet, but soon. Very soon.

21 is now playing at Cinema 3 in McCook. Check out www.fridleytheatres.com for showtimes as well as other flicks that are playing this week.

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