21 (2008)

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writers (WGA):

Peter Steinfeld (screenplay) and
Allan Loeb (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 maaliskuu 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Inspired by the true story of five students who changed the game forever.

Plot:

"21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Student | Professor | Harvard | Card Counting

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jim Sturgess	...	Ben Campbell
Kevin Spacey	...	Prof. Micky Rosa
Kate Bosworth	...	Jill Taylor
Aaron Yoo	...	Choi
Liza Lapira	...	Kianna
Jacob Pitts	...	Jimmy Fisher
Laurence Fishburne	...	Cole Williams
Jack McGee	...	Terry
Josh Gad	...	Miles Connoly
Sam Golzari	...	Cam
Helen Carey	...	Ellen Campbell
Jack Gilpin	...	Bob Phillips
Donna Lows	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #1
Butch Williams	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #2
Ben Campbell	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer Jeff (as Jeffrey Ma)

Also Known As:

21 - The Movie (USA) (promotional title)
Untitled Blackjack Picture (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12A | Sweden:11 | UK:12A | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | New Zealand:M | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43290) | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | South Africa:13V | Singapore:PG | Poland:15 | Brazil:14 | Italy:T | Greece:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIB | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Norway:11 (theatrical rating)

Filming Locations:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

The "2.0.9" robotics competition shown in the movie is based on the actual "6.270" programming competition at M.I.T.

Goofs:

Plot holes: If Ben didn't deposit his winnings in a bank to avoid suspicion or a paper trail, how was he planning on paying Harvard?

Quotes:

Micky Rosa: [to Ben about card counting] What were going to do is perfectly legal and they can't do a single thing about it.
[very next scene: in a concrete room, bare bulb lights, a fist hits a guy who's strapped to a chair: he's bleeding/sweating]
Cole Williams: You think you can beat the system?
[shows guy his meaty fist]
Cole Williams: This *is the system*....*beating you back*

Movie Connections:

Features V for Vendetta (2005)

Soundtrack:

Young Folks

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

There are many stories about success based on hard-work and perseverance. There have also been many stories about success based on crime and abandonment of the law. Both of these scenarios can make for great movies -- but when a movie like 21 comes out, it's both great AND fresh. 21 is a movie about success based on locking in on a hole in the system, and exploiting it.

Card counting is legal, and anyone able to do so can take the house's edge away in a game of blackjack. That is the basic premise of 21: A team of intelligent students at MIT structure a team to make vast amounts of money at the blackjack table. They have everything down pat, from the counting to the signals to alert of suspicious casino workers (because if you can believe it, casinos don't like to lose money in such high amounts.) The movie portrays the situation stylishly, perfectly blending in montages and effective music when necessary. Add in some Hollywood "embellishment" such as a particularly harsh head of security (Laurence Fishburne), and you have the making of a good movie on your hands.

It is disappointing that the production team felt the need to re-assign the races of the actual MIT Team (of which the majority was Asian), but that's more of an issue of ethics and sociology. Don't let it ruin a perfectly good movie. Aside from this blunder, 21 is an excellent film.