21

Rating:

* * *

Verdict:

A good reminder that Vegas is only fun when you're winning.

21

is a fascinating true story adapted into a mildly interesting film. Based on the book

Bringing Down the House

by Ben Mezrich, it's the story of how a group of Boston M.I..T students, under the tutelage of one of their professors,  spent their weekends in Las Vegas secretly ripping off casinos.

The film is narrated by student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a maths genius, nice guy and a bit of a geek who likes entering science competitions. His father has passed away and even though his mother works hard as a waitress to help him with his dream of going to Harvard School of Medicine, he's aware there's no way he's going to be able to afford it without a scholarship.

As the likelihood of that scholarship dims, Ben takes up an offer from his maths professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) to join a secret gambling ring. Featuring five other highly intelligent students, including campus hottie Jill (Kate Bosworth), Rosa trains the group in the technique of "counting cards" in the game of blackjack. He takes them to Las Vegas, gives them some cash, and sits back as his geniuses make a killing.

Gambling is not my thing, which became obvious as I failed to understand exactly how this system worked, but it seemed to be a very fast way to make some serious dosh, or maybe it just wasn't explained very well as in these PC days

21

obviously wouldn't want to be seen to be encouraging gambling.

In fact, Ben learns  the pitfalls of betting the hard way, but that doesn't stop director Robert Luketic (

Legally Blonde

) from making this film as glamorous as possible. In doing so though, he seems to lose the heart of the story amid the visual thrills and melodrama, fast-paced edits and music video-like sequences that make

21

a film much like Vegas _ all show and not much substance.

There are some very funny moments, a nice twist or two and solid performances from Spacey (who doesn't have to do much to steal a scene), Fishburne and Sturgess, but overall, as hard as it might try, 21 is a few cards short of a winning hand.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Jim Sturgess

Director:

Robert Luketic

Running Time:

123 mins

Rating:

M (Medium Level Violence)

Screening:

SkyCity and Hoyts Cinemas.