21 (Single-Disc Edition)

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DVD details

Actor: Jack Gilpin, Jack McGee, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter
Composer: David Sardy
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 123 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-07-22
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures

DVD Reviews of 21 (Single-Disc Edition)

DVD Review: It may be fun, but it sure is empty...
Summary: 3 Stars

In the long running tradition of films that lack substance yet make up for it in fun, `21' works quite well, delivering a thrill ride movie experience that is entertaining and engaging even if it is nothing we haven't already seen a hundred times before. With palatable performances and a decent flow of action, `21' tries very hard to reach its target audience (rebellious teenagers) and in that regard it hits the nail on the head. If you are looking for a more intelligent look at this true story then you may be let down, since this movie is purely superficial and exists only to rake in the money.

The film tells the story of math genius Ben Campbell who's dreams of getting into college ride on the chance to snag a scholarship, a scholarship that he deserves but most likely won't receive. His mother has saved up all her money to give him for tuition, but he doesn't want to take her savings (he's a saint of sorts). That's when he gets a proposition, to join a secret team of similar math geniuses who train to count cards and then let loose in Vegas under the watchful eye of their professor Micky Rosa.

So the film is really little more than a small group of good looking teens gambling and drinking and partying.

Like I said; money maker.

I really felt that `21' would have a little more substance, beings that the story is so engaging, but they totally went the sell out route with this one, making it nothing more than a random collage of everything you would find in a teen movie. That isn't to say it isn't entertaining, because it is, but it's the type of pointless entertainment you can find almost anywhere. They try and play the whole morality card, but even that attempt is halfhearted and feels a little dead.

The performances are actually pretty good, especially from the older actors in the film. Kevin Spacey is pitch-perfect as the `hidden agenda ridden' professor Rosa, and Laurence Fishburne (who I tend to find stiff) is flawless as the hard edged security man trying to hunt down the casino's heavy hitters. The group of youngsters is pretty decent, standouts being Sturgess and Yoo. I usually really like Bosworth (I adored her breakout performance in `Blue Crush') but here she is stale to me.

This is not your typical biopic; it's your typical teen Blockbuster. Watch it for the sheer entertainment value but don't expect to really care too much. There is a slew of much better, far richer Blockbuster fare released this very year. Even the superhero movies released this year have more depth than this missed opportunity.

DVD Review: Good Movie, kept me guessing the ending.
Summary: 4 Stars

I thought this was a great movie. Not sure if I would buy it, but would rent again. Shocking ending, decent cast and every few minutes something unexpected happened.

DVD Review: Very good!
Summary: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was great, and the storyline kept me interested throughout the whole movie. I have watched it 5 times so far it just keeps getting better and better with each viewing!

DVD Review: 21
Summary: 4 Stars

This movie looks great in the Blu-Ray format. The Las Vegas scenery is gorgeous. The story is interesting and the characters are believable.

DVD Review: Slick &Entertaining, But Far From Reality
Summary: 3 Stars

I enjoyed the movie because it was entertaining all the way. It was slick and had interesting characters. The only problem was the last half of it where credibility when flying out the window. The movie is all about supposedly very intelligent people, led by the smartest of the all the group, the only veteran in this college age-dominated cast: "Professor Mickey Rosa," played by Kevin Spacey. Well, Rosa would not do what he did here, for starters, meaning trusting an untrustworthy and revenge-seeking kid. If you've seen the movie you know what I mean. The others in the group wouldn't go along with the renegade - "Ben Campbell" (Jim Sturgess) - either. There is no way this kid is going to totally outsmart the professor, but it makes for good Hollywood dramatics.

There are a bunch of other holes, too, such as wanting to be anonymous but going back to the same place; a ridiculous chase scene through the casino gambling area and kitchen; hand signals that a junior detective could see (and are never changed!) and - maybe the worst - winning tons of money in sessions. Nobody with half a brain would win much at any session, because it draws attention. You win a little here, a little there and go from place-to-place and remain anonymous. This movie is based on a true story, and I can guarantee you that's what the MIT students did in real life - not what you see here.

Still, facts aside, it's still a fun movie to watch and since entertainment is the name of the game with films, it succeeds and I still give it an "8" star rating for that. At no time was I bored and overly insulted at the dumbness that I would have stopped playing the DVD. It will hold your interest and you'll be thoroughly entertained, especially if you don't know a lot about blackjack and how casinos operate.

Oh, as a postscript: they don't beat up "card counters" in back rooms of casinos. If they think you are counting cards, which I don't believe is illegal, they still have the right to kick you out of their establishment.....but they ask you nicely and you are removed from the floor with no big scene or violence. They have your picture, there are security people everywhere, and you aren't allowed back.

So, enjoy the film but don't believe the screenplay.

Description of 21 (Single-Disc Edition)

Inspired by the true story of MIT students who mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Looking for a way to pay for tuition, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) finds himself quietly recruited by MIT's most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of a brilliant statistics professor (Kevin Spacey) and armed with fake IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in breaking the impenetrable casinos. Now, his challenge is keeping the numbers straight and staying one step ahead of the casinos before it all spirals out of control.

An unconvincing exercise in moral complexity, 21 is based on Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) plays brilliant, blue-collar scholar Ben Campbell, whose doubts that he'll win a scholarship to Harvard Medical School compel him to join a secret, M.I.T. gang of math whiz kids. Under the silky but chilling command of a math professor (Kevin Spacey), Jim and the others master card counting, i.e., the statistical analysis of cards dealt in blackjack games. The team lives a humdrum existence during the week, but on weekends in Sin City, the students are rolling in cash, going to exclusive clubs, and feeling on top of the world. (Ben even gets the girl: a comely, fellow counter played by Kate Bosworth.) Despite all that success, Ben feels ethically compromised, and indeed director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde), in the old tradition of American movies, plays it both ways where fun vices are concerned. On the one hand, it feels so good; on the other, ahem, we know it's wrong. That studied ambivalence proves wearing after a while, making the most interesting character in the film a casino watchdog played by Laurence Fishburne. A master at reading the emotions of gamblers beating the house with a scam, he's admirable for being good at his job, but repellent for wrecking the faces of counters in casino dungeons. He's all about moral complexity in the tradition of anti-heroes, and a truly provocative element in an otherwise superficial movie. --Tom Keogh

Beyond 21

On Blu-ray
Read the book 21 was based on
UMD for PSP

Stills from 21 (click for larger image)

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