Stream it now 21 2008

 

great movie

A tad long for my liking, but otherwise, a decent film.

I honestly don't know why seemingly everyone thinks this film is so bad. The acting is good (from Kevin Spacey especially), and the action is fine. While it does add a bit too much melodrama, it doesn't ruin the movie.

I read the book "Bringing Down the House" a few years ago and have been anxiously awaiting this film ever since. What could be more exciting then leading a double life counting cards, winning thousands as a high roller, and returning to school during the week? Jim Sturgess does fairly well as a naive MIT student, while Fishburne provides a bit of fire playing loss prevention officer Cole Williams. Overall, the actors did their best but end up giving us one-dimensional performances (including Kevin Spacey & Kate Bosworth) due to the script's lack of character depth. The script is all structure, paint by the numbers predictability--it moves fast but the characters are thin skeletons, dull stereotypes. 21 also deviates from its source, for instance there was another blackjack team from MIT that played in Vegas, as well as many weekend trysts with Vegas showgirls. What could have been an intriguing look at the dark underside of Vegas was turned into little more than a Disney inspired send off. If you were looking for a gritty story about gambling and girls in Vegas (like Casino, Leaving Las Vegas, The Cooler) it sure ain't here, 21 is a complete bust.

I say good movie, I guess most critics don't agree, but they apparently didn't notice that Aaron Yoo is in this film! Aaron Yoo, great actor; also in Friday The 13th(2009) and Disturbia, two movies well worth your time.

Skip this movie and read the book that it was VERY, VERY loosely based on: 'Bringing Down The House'.

21 was a high paced adventure with lots of thrills, and lots of card playing. it could've been better if they had worked the story a little more deeper, but still passes as a good movie.

21 is decent movie overall in my opinion. But I can understand why alot of people don't like it. For one thing, it could have been way better, concentrating more on the counting cards technique. I like the ideas 21 presents though, and when the movie gets into the card counting scenes, its really fun to watch. While it may not be the best film out there, it does put forth a good effort and overall is pretty entertaining.

Too pretentious and convenient. Could have been great, but ends up not even being good.

i had a winning hand when it came to high expectations for this movie...but sadly, it was about as interesting as counting cards itself. the blackjack scene in the hangover was every bit as good as this movie as a whole.